# At what age are people officially old? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995 "2007-05-29T22:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/21 "2007-05-30T01:50:55Z")
Oh c’mom. 30 is middle aged?? On what planet? Or I should say, in what century, in what country? 40 is the new 30, haven’t you heard? I started to feel old…well not young…at 36. Right after the last time I got carded. But I don’t feel middle aged. Just not young. Middle aged: somewhere in your 40’s Old: somewhere in you 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_of\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@Sock\_of\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_of_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/22 "2007-05-30T02:21:49Z")
A man’s only as old as the woman he feels _goes back to smoking a cigar_ ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/23 "2007-05-30T03:40:54Z")
[QUOTE=Omega Glory] What would you consider to be middle aged? [/QUOTE] Damn. I don’t know. I just know that I find it awful hard to believe I will be \*middle aged \* next year, (when I am 34) or that I am middle aged now. I mean. WOW! No way. I am having a mid-life crises this very moment, in front of your eyes. I was just at a reggae concert Saturday night. I knew I was one of the older women there…I just didn’t think I was middle aged. Feeling that I am considered middle aged will be the final kick in the pants I need to make me abandon the clubs all together. Which I don’t want to do. I love the atmosphere, the music and the people watching. I don’t drink or smoke, but I do love the vibe of the night life. I am not going to be able to keep this up though. I may have to accept that I am a bit past it. Geesh. Middle aged. Damn! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/24 "2007-05-30T04:07:36Z")
[QUOTE=Absolute] Young: 0 - 29 Middle-Aged: 30 - 59 Old: 60 - 84 Really old: 85+ I mentally think of people as “old” once they reach 60. EDIT: I’m 19. [/QUOTE] At 19 I thought college graduates must be all old and mature. The reality is your still pretty much a kid until at least 25. 25-40 is generally just plain old “adult”. To put it another way, would you consider Johnny Knoxville, Cameron Diaz or Dane Cook as “middle aged”? ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/25 "2007-05-30T13:10:04Z")
[QUOTE=Nzinga, Seated] I was just at a reggae concert Saturday night. I knew I was one of the older women there…I just didn’t think I was middle aged. Feeling that I am considered middle aged will be the final kick in the pants I need to make me abandon the clubs all together. Which I don’t want to do. I love the atmosphere, the music and the people watching. I don’t drink or smoke, but I do love the vibe of the night life. I am not going to be able to keep this up though. I may have to accept that I am a bit past it. Geesh. Middle aged. Damn! [/QUOTE] Well it’s not like once you’re middle aged you’ve got to start knitting afgans all day and shaking your walker at kids as you scream at them to get off your lawn. ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/26 "2007-05-30T13:40:18Z")
Nah! 0-3 Weird space alien life form 3-17 Just a baby 18-25 Probably partying too much 25-39 Real Grown-Up 40-54 Middle-aged (at 40, all of a sudden you need bifocals. happens overnight) 55 AARP beckons 56-65 Waiting to retire 65-66 One Good Year 67-72 Run out of money, get job at Wal\*Mart 73-79 Parts start to fail 80 - OLD! (my Grandfather made it to 85 and he swore everything fell apart once he turned 80) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/27 "2007-05-30T14:15:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Old is 20 years older than whatever I am at the time. **silenus** got it right. I’ve noticed, as I get older, my definition of “old” is constantly being revised. I don’t ever intend to be old, and I figure I can do it with creative revising. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/28 "2007-05-30T14:24:14Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Old is 20 years older than whatever I am at the time. [/QUOTE] True, but that number shrinks starting at age 50. By the time you reach 70, old is just one year older then your age. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/29 "2007-05-30T15:24:38Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Old is 20 years older than whatever I am at the time. [/QUOTE] Yes. I constantly revise my “old” too. And I don’t intend to ever really be old either. ---
**Author:** ![Flipshod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f19dbf/32.png) [@Flipshod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipshod)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/30 "2007-05-30T16:38:58Z")
I agree that old is in the bifocaled eye of the beholder, but I always thought, even when young, that “middle aged” didn’t really mean the middle years, but was for, say retirement-age people who were still up and about, and old was reserved for, say 85 +. Maybe I’m remembering euphemisms from my childhood, but I’m 40 and would never consider myself middle-aged. Hell, I’m just coming out of my Gen-X years into something resembling adulthood. ---
**Author:** ![Flipshod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f19dbf/32.png) [@Flipshod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipshod)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/31 "2007-05-30T16:57:59Z")
So my system is: 0-18 = minority 19-65 = adult 65-85 = middle-aged 85+ = old ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/32 "2007-05-30T17:46:44Z")
Young: 0 - 29 Middle-Aged: 30 - 60 Old: 60 - 75 Really old: 75 and beyond I am 26. I’m not looking forward to being 30, even though I know several 30ish people who still act ‘young’. I’ll always look and act ‘young’, but once I turn 30, I’m officially middle-aged. It’s partly a math thing, too. 30-60-90. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/33 "2007-05-30T18:09:11Z")
I think there may be confusion because you’re including both children and adults as ‘young’. I would use: Child: 0-12 Teenager: 13-19 Young (adult): 20-39 Middle-aged: 40-59 Old: 60+ And although I posted this on another thread, it bears repeating: [Alf isn’t old - and he’s 90!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqfFrCUrEbY) ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/34 "2007-05-30T18:42:24Z")
young=0 to 12 teenage=12-19 20 to 50 middle age 50 to 65 senior 65 plus = old ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/35 "2007-05-30T19:27:37Z")
\>no one is old until they say they are When they fix it so no one is dead until they say they are, I’m interested. Until then, old is in the eye of the beholder. Young - till 30 Middle aged - till 60 Old - till 90 Lucky - made it through old ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/36 "2007-05-30T19:37:09Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Change Old to 70-80 and Really Old to 81+ and those are my answers too. I’m 30, and I sure as hell don’t feel middle-aged yet. [/QUOTE] I’d say the same but leave “realy old” at 85. Note that this is changing, dudes are having a much healthier senior life and living longer. I expect we’ll say “really old” is 90 soon. Used to be 50 was “old”, and now we all pretty much agree it is just part of middle aged now. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/37 "2007-05-30T19:47:19Z")
Paraphrasing a comment I saw at a recent seminar: “Baby Boomers do not consider old age starts until age 80. Interestingly this is three years **after** their average life expectancy.” ---
**Author:** ![AndLuna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@AndLuna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndLuna)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/38 "2007-05-30T21:59:36Z")
When I was a kid I used to think of “old” as starting at 60; I think I’ve shifted that to around 70 now. I tend to think of “young” as being 18 to 29, “middle aged” as being 40s and 50s, and “old” as over 70. “Really old” starts at maybe 85, 90. I have no idea what to do with the 30s and 60s, though; they seem sort of undefined in my head. (and for the record, I’ll be 28 in two days.) ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/39 "2007-05-30T22:15:06Z")
Adults only: Young: 18-25 Adult: 25-40 Middle Aged: 40-65 Old: 65-80 Really Old: 80+ Octagenerians are noteworthy for a reason. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2007, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995/40 "2007-05-30T23:01:19Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] Yes. I constantly revise my “old” too. And I don’t intend to ever really be old either. [/QUOTE] Good for you, **Anaamika** , I’m with you. I do like that 20-year older deal, that’s for me. I’m only a couple months away from being 80. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-what-age-are-people-officially-old/405995.md?page=3)