Sue is my walking partner and dear friend. Spending so much time walking and talking, she knows more about me than anyone. Sometimes when we are together with other friends and I forget a bit of the story I am telling, she fills in the details. We laugh and say she is my external hard drive.
Having this experience in my own life, I resonated with a 77-year-old YouTuber who said that memory is now a team sport, meaning that he and his wife help each other remember things. He also said that checklists have become his best friend. Yep. I who have a hundred little notes everywhere could identify.
I’m not much into social media, but I like this man’s channel. It’s called “Robert’s Retirement Reflections.” And the memory-as-a-team-sport comment was in his show called “10 Harsh Realities of Being a 77-Year-Old Man.” For those new to video-sharing social media platforms — or short of time — there are often “show notes,” and in the case of this show, the notes outline the 10 realities and even give the time at which that point is made in the video.
Before telling you his ten thoughts on the topic, let me tell you how popular his thoughts are. The “Harsh Realities” episode went viral in June and has over one million views. 16,000 people became subscribers to his channel because of it. In a video at the end of December, he said 100 people an hour are still watching it!
Clearly, baby boomers are identifying with him and benefitting from the show. He is too. He says the response tells him he is not alone.
This is an important statement! Loneliness and isolation have been declared an epidemic by former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. He wrote an 82 page report for the Department of Health and Human Services in 2023 on this topic.
And whereas the heavy use of social media platforms may be contributing to loneliness and isolation in younger age groups, for baby boomers — especially those who have left the go-go years for the slow-go or the no-go years — perhaps a social media channel such as Robert’s could be a new best friend.
A unique thing about Robert’s show is that he responds to all the comments he receives. He says the comments are thoughtful, useful and emotional. Though his wife says he does not need to respond to each one, he does. This is probably a key to his success.
Responding is no small feat. At the end of December 2025, which was the end of his first year as a YouTuber, his videos had 2.1 million views and over 20,000 comments had posted.
As I write this on February 18th, four days after he posted his 65th video, “8 Life Decisions that Matter More Than You Think” — the episode has 5,395 views, 467 thumbs-up reviews and 152 comments. It appears he is still responding to them all.
I promise I really will tell you his “10 Harsh Realities of Being a 77-Year-Old Man,” but first let me explain a couple of things about his video-sharing platform of choice. When Robert hit 500 subscribers (he currently has 32.1K), he was eligible to apply for the Partner Program. After being accepted and reaching 1000 subscribers, he got monetized, which means he started earning ad revenue. The amount of money depends on several factors, but on average the site Robert is on pays $0.01 – $0.03 per view. Thus for every 1000 views, Robert will earn $10 – $30. By the way, since views drive revenue, the number of views a YouTuber has is more important than the number of subscribers.
Ok. At long last. Here they are, Robert’s “10 Harsh Realities of Being a 77-Year-Old Man:”
– Realizing How Little Time Is Left
– Health Becomes Everything
– Independence Feels Fragile
– There are Memory Slips and Scary Lapses
– Watching Friends and Family Disappear
– Relationships Matter More Than Ever
– Shifting from Stuff to Simplicity
– Facing End-of-Life Decisions
– Becoming (or Avoiding) the Grumpy Old Man
– Seeing What Really Matters
I really identified with his story that accompanied point #4. He shares that he had been at the gym and bumped into a man he has known for two years and though the man’s name is Max, Robert’s brain insisted on calling him Norm. It took him two days to figure out that Max was Max.
That hit home but perhaps in a humorous way while other sections of the video had me literally down in the mouth, my face tugging me toward tears. I truly wondered if Robert turned off the camera at the end of the video and had a good cry.
But here’s the deal. These are all topics that need to be explored and while Robert does not candy-coat his remarks, there is a dusting of sugar on top of this video. Misery loves company, and with Robert we are in the company of a kind man whose comments are heartfelt and honest, thoughtful and useful.
To end on a very positive note, if you are wondering if Robert ever gets around to seeing the other side of the coin, yes he does. His next video is called “The Joys of 70s & 80s.”
OMG, he lists 16 joys! Rush right over and listen!
