I will divide ages simply :
—> 20 : kid
20-40 : young
40-60 : middle aged
60-80 : old
80+ : not dead yet
FTR, I’m a 49 yo middle-aged man.
I endorse your groupings! Nice work.
Middle age is when you start to feel old, but are surprised by it and still think you’re not old yet. That’s different for everyone, but is usually late 30s to early 40s. It goes up to retirement age, which 65 is a nice round average representative number for, even though most Governments are now messing around with that cut-off.
So lets say 38 to 65.
Middle age starts at 40.
I’m in my very late 30’s.
I’m 49 now and planning on being in my very late 30’s for a few more decades yet. Growing old is compulsory, growing up is optional.
I’m in the 45-60 camp. Forty seems a bit young, and did back when I was 40 (in my 50s now), but 40 wasn’t the milestone for me that it was for friends and siblings (my sisters went all out for their 40th birthdays). At 50, there was a bit of “Uh-oh, I actually am getting old.”
It really comes down to how your parents were, I think. A friend of mine is super nervous now that we’re in our 50s, as no one on either side of her family has made it to sixty.