# Advantages of looking young? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 15, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323 "2004-02-15T07:14:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323/21 "2004-02-16T13:51:05Z")
> [@Lyllyan](#): > > It may not seem to be such a great thing now, but wait til you hit 35 or so. I was carded until I reached 30, and, while it wasa pain in the ass, it is a huge ego boost. > > Enjoy it! Exactly, **mudcrutch**. While I am 34 and don’t get carded nearly as much as I did 5 years ago (and was also carded to buy a lousy lottery ticket – wouldn’t have been so bad if I’d won, but…no), I am often told that I look about 25. I don’t mind at all, and am thinking of the money I’ll save by not undergoing Plastic Surgery when I’m 50, and everyone else has gone under the knife! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323/22 "2004-02-16T15:28:38Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > I’ll be 28 this month, but people think I’m anywhere from sixteen to eighteen. I get carded regularly. It’s still damn annoying – if they at least thought I was in my twenties, but not usually. AAAAGH! > > It doesn’t help that I’m very short as well. I’m convinced one of these days I’m going to get accused of having a fake ID or something. Maybe I should start carrying my birth certificate with me. It’s no fun, is it? Especially job interviews…you probably know the _look_ when you introduce yourself that says " This person can’t have done what they claim on their resume’, they’re too young." I’m going to be 27 in April, and apparently I look around 20, since people more often guess I’m my brother’s twin than my own age. (actually, people guess I’m a teen more often than my age too, but…) Short doesn’t help, it just makes people more inclined to guess you’re young and still growing. **mudcrutch** , good luck with your quest to find something good about it… hey, at least we can go to kids movies without kids and not get strange looks 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Scarlet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Scarlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlet)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323/23 "2004-02-16T15:39:52Z")
I’m going on 27 and I get carded for everything! R-rated movies, lighters, beer, cigs… you name it, I also get accused of having a fake id quite frequently. Sometimes its nice to look so young, but for the most part it annoys me because no-one takes me seriously (ie. I must be young, therefore have no clue). ---
**Author:** ![jellen92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@jellen92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellen92)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323/24 "2004-02-16T21:28:00Z")
The older people get, the younger they think others are. I’m 30, and most people around my age guess me at 26-28… but ask an old person… heck, they think I’m 17. Looking 15 at age 20 is not that uncommon, you still need to get a little weathered from life. Facial hair and lifting weights might help you if you are attempting to look your true “ripe” age of 20 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jeevwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@jeevwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeevwoman)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323/25 "2004-02-16T21:51:25Z")
I’m 32 and am still often carded at the grocery store if I buy wine. I usually don’t get carded at a restaurant or liquor store, though. I find it to be not at all flattering; I don’t think I look that young, it is just that I am petite and so that _must_ mean I am a child. Everyone says it will be great when I am 40, but they said that, too, about 30. If you find it annoying now, you will find it annoying always. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323/26 "2004-02-17T02:57:53Z")
> [@](#): > > originally posted by **Cardinal** > > _I would rather have been assumed to be adult and competent when I was in my 20s than be assumed to be “youthful” and whatever now. I guess it’s the silver lining, but I’d rather just look my age. Looking young is not a talent, and so is no credit to me, but making people assume that I’m not experienced is quite a detriment._ Preach it, **Cardinal**! At work, I dress conservatively, act professionally, and don’t discuss my personal life. This rarely stops folks from assuming I’m the intern. The fact that I have an advanced degree and years of experience in the field apparently doesn’t outweigh the fact that I look 18. And believe me, it’s not a compliment to be told, “You’re so well-spoken for someone your age.” ---
**Author:** ![Dirty\_Earthworm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dirty\_Earthworm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dirty_Earthworm)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323/27 "2004-02-17T12:38:37Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > I’ll be 28 this month, but people think I’m anywhere from sixteen to eighteen. I get carded regularly. It’s still damn annoying – if they at least thought I was in my twenties, but not usually. AAAAGH! > > It doesn’t help that I’m very short as well. I’m convinced one of these days I’m going to get accused of having a fake ID or something. Maybe I should start carrying my birth certificate with me. I **do** carry my birth certificate around with me for this very reason. I’ll be 24 in April, and I still get carded for cigarettes and alcohol. It’s not that annoying anymore, since I’m used to it now. -Dirty ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323/28 "2004-02-17T14:14:23Z")
> [@yosemitebabe](#): > > A lot of younger people are fat, so being fat does not necessarily make you look older. (It depends.) A lot of younger men are going bald, but they still look young to me. All things being equal, receding hair and a fat middle make a person look older in a not very attractive way. Clothing, hair, facial hair also can affect how you look agewise - beard, conservative hair, sportsjacket = older. goatee, spikey or shaved head, A&F clothes = younger. Other things like having a proportionately large head (which you can’t do anything about) may also make you appear younger. > [@yosemitebabe](#): > > Wrinkles don’t necessarily make you unattractive (Sean Connery. I rest my case) but if you have a lot of sagging flesh then no, you probably aren’t going to appeal to the younger set. But you can still be attractive for someone in your age range, and _to_ someone in your age range. I didn’t say any of this was written in stone. But generally speaking, wrinkleface is not attractive, especially on women. Men also generally age better than women (show me the female equivalent of Sean Connery), probably because much of our attractiveness is not tied to simply looking pretty. > [@yosemitebabe](#): > > Who worries about “inappropriate”? People who don’t like to be hassled. But now that I think about it, if I’m 85 and hittin 23 year olds, WTF do I care if chumps think about how appropriate it is? ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323/29 "2004-02-17T15:37:08Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > It’s no fun, is it? Especially job interviews…you probably know the _look_ when you introduce yourself that says " This person can’t have done what they claim on their resume’, they’re too young." Actually, I haven’t had that particular problem yet, because I’ve been in school (except for the past year) and haven’t had to work. Also, I’ve usually gotten the “oh my GOD she’s disabled!” look instead of the “she’s too young!” look when I’ve tried, and since I couldn’t handle school and work at the same time I haven’t tried as hard as I might have if I HAD HAD HAD to work. (No wheelchair, though I’m considering a scooter for long distances; I have a weird orthopedic problem that, among other things, makes me have BAD scoliosis. Impressively bad. Oh, my poor back!) It’s going to be interesting once I do finish school, because I want to teach early grades – preferably not older than third. I know I’ll have to some fast talking to convince people that I can keep a group of kids in hand. Kids are FASCINATED with me, so I don’t think that’ll be as much a problem as some might think. ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323/30 "2004-02-17T23:23:48Z")
I will be 42 this September. I look like I’m 22. Advantages of looking young? I don’t need plastic surgery yet, unlike most of my sun-worshipping, same-age pals (some of whom who’ve already gone under the knife). Saves money, baby. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advantages-of-looking-young/229323.md?page=1)