Age misperception on the SDMB

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I recently met a few Dopers whom I had never met before. As we were talking, the Doper commented that I was not what was expected. The Doper assumed that I was about 65 years old, and based it on my writing style. In reality, I am nowhere near that age (I’ve probably posted my age at one time or another on the boards).

In any event, have you ever met someone in person whom you’d only met on a message board and then were surprised to find out that they were much older or younger than you imagined them?

Zev Steinhardt

2

people look at me and think i am 14 - but in reality i am 20.

3

I have a tendency to assume everyone on the Internet is younger than 35, so it always surprises me when someone turns out to be retired. Age-ism I suppose.

4

Usually I unconsciously assume people are right around my age (33, BTW). If I read a post by someone clearly a lot more knowledgeable than I on some topic, I tend to assume they are older. I’ve been surprised quite a few times on this board to find out someone I’d assumed was older than I was in fact several years younger.

5

I’ve met a few people IRL from chat and messageboards and though I already knew their age before meeting, I can say that they were nothing like I imagined them in person. You would think that chatting with someone for over a year and then meeting them would at least give you some idea of what kind of person they are. Maybe it’s just me but I was quite surprised a few times :D.

6

Same here. Most of my misperceptions of Dopers are age mistakes. I usually get genders correct.

Actually, obvious teenagers aside, I tend to think everyone’s roughly 35.

Makes me wonder what the Dopers I’ve met thought when they met me.

7

I always assume posters are older than me…in their 30’s or more.

8

I thought Frannie was almost 40.

Well, until she told me she was far from that age in chat, anyway.

9

true Zev- I’d figured you for around 40-50.
You seem mature.

10

I dunno - how old do I sound?

11

Repetitive. :smiley:
I kinda thought zev was an older feller, too. He seems so… wise.

12

It always surprises me when I find out how old David Simmons is…and everybody seems to assume I am much younger then I am as well, but you can blame that on immaturity

13

In your case, zev, I think ‘Zev’ is part of it. IANAJ, but I don’t get the sense that even that many Orthodox Jews after, say, 1965 were naming their sons ‘Zev’. Maybe not even that many after 1945, AFAIK (but what the hell do I know?).

While ‘Zev’ may or may not be your IRL name, people normally don’t tend to choose MB handles that are a whole lot older-sounding than they are themselves.

On the subject of names and ages, whatever happened to all the women named Betty? You can hardly find one under 55, maybe even under 60.

14

I’m another one that figures everyone is in their 30s. And white, unless they say otherwise.
Maybe it’s just because of my life experiences - I’ve tended to hang around with people like me. I am in my 30s, and white.

(This is not a racist statement. There are just not people of any other race around where I’ve mostly lived.)

15

Another poster here who had a mental picture of Zev being in his 50s.

16

I pictured Zev in probably mid-late 30s.

I am older than most picture, I think, but that’s only due to my immaturity.

17

Everyone I talk to assumes I’m about 4 years younger than I am… I have the maturity of an 11 year old. sigh

18

And you’re not the only one. Everyone seems to think I’m older than I am. I’m 23! But I take it as a compliment.

19

Most people IRL mistake me for someone much younger.

I have no idea how old people here think I am.

20

Regarding zev, I always thought he was young…early 30’s.