They're just bad style. It comes back to basics. I believe basics/fundamentals still provide useful guidance, especially aesthetically. You notice ellipses beca

They're just bad style. It comes back to basics. I believe basics/fundamentals still provide useful guidance, especially aesthetically. You notice ellipses because they're being misused and they stick out. It's an aesthetic thorn caught in a silk scarf. Taking the subsequent step of interpreting it and ascertaining what specific bad thing it means, and what kind of "old" the person is etc. is to some degree unnecessary: it's just bad style. Similar to how at work, both your boring story about your commute, and whatever sexist/discriminatory/offensive thing you were gonna say, are both non-work-related communication I don't want to hear. Or just like how most dangerous things you can do in traffic are also illegal. Just stick to best practices and you tend to avoid most of the pitfalls. By the way, I remember people in the 90s overusing ellipses, and I found those people insufferably trendy or trying-to-be-mystical or something. "Like wow man... my thoughts... so freeform... and hard to capture in the ... framework, I guess?... of grammar and shit." There was a character on SNL recently, played by Beck Bennett, that was this exact type. I imagine his lines being filled with ellipses. "I just think... differently." Note the definitely-not-accidental reference to Apple's self-consciously iconoclastic marketing strategy of that time. (Edit: namely the 90s, though obviously they've ridden that wave clear on through to today!)