Do you hang out with people much older or younger than yourself?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

This question came up after I got into online dating, because I’m looking for someone who will get along with me and my friends. I’m 26, and I generally hang out with people in their early to mid-20s, although I have a friend who is turning 40 this year and I have work acquaintances who are 19.

So,

  1. How old are you?
  2. What’s the oldest person you consider a friend?
  3. What’s the youngest person you consider a friend?
  4. Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience?
  5. Do you and your older and younger friends hang out together and get along well?
#2
  1. How old are you? - 27
  2. What’s the oldest person you consider a friend? - My friend Donny. Met him when I was 15 and he was 40. He’s actually 3 months older than my mom.
  3. What’s the youngest person you consider a friend? I guess Zack. We worked on a movie together. I think he just turned 20.
  4. Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience? It’s harder with younger people.
  5. Do you and your older and younger friends hang out together and get along well? Yeah. They wouldn’t be my friends if we didn’t hang out and get along.
#3
  1. I’m 28.
  2. He turned 50 this year but he rocks harder than most of my friends.
  3. Several who are in the neighbourhood of 20-21.
  4. Most of my friends are pretty open-minded so differing life experience is something to learn from or teach from, not really something that leads to problems.
  5. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, so I could hang out with most of my friends (actually a relatively disparate group) and everybody could have a good time.
#4

1) How old are you?

28
2) What’s the oldest person you consider a friend?

I think that probably would be a former teacher of mine, now semi-retired, and a still-working professor, both perhaps mid-to-late 60s.
3) What’s the youngest person you consider a friend?

A few ex-pupils who I’ve kept in contact with, and a couple of kids of neighbours, so ages from 17 up.
4) Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience?

Nope. As with KarmaComa, age is just one of the differences between people’s experiences and their outlooks on life.
5) Do you and your older and younger friends hang out together and get along well?

No, but I don’t think they’d have any problem relating to one another.

#5

Yes, thirty-some times over, yes. I live in a monastery and I am, by nine years, the youngest member. It’s me at age twenty-three, another woman who is thirty-two, two sisters (religious sisters, not women with the same parents) who are in their late forties, and then about thirty women who are older than that.

  1. How old are you? 23
  2. What’s the oldest person you consider a friend? She’s in her eighties.
  3. What’s the youngest person you consider a friend? I have a good handful of friends who are in my age bracket, give or take a few years.
  4. Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience? There are differences in life experiences, but they’re generally pretty positive aspects of our relationships. Living in community, regardless of the ages of the members, brings a lot of different life stories to the table. In a healthy community, which this one seems to be, that’s a really beautiful thing to be a part of.
  5. Do you and your older and younger friends hang out together and get along well? None of my friends who are my age have visited the monastery yet, but I could see them getting along well with the sisters. Benedictines are amazingly hospitable and I have a hard time imagining someone really not liking the sisters. They’re very open, accepting women. The worst they do is over feed their guests.
#6

Interesting thread; I’ve been having some mixed feelings of late regarding age discrepancies in my circles.

  1. Recently turned 34.

    1. I have acquaintances older than me, but friends older than me bailed when I was married/divorced a few years ago.
    1. Younger if you include acquaintances or friendly interaction with students, friends’ family members, etc. I guess it’s a good thing that I can relate with the gothy outcast teenage daughter as much as I can her PTA soccer mom, but it becomes odd when both of them add me as friends on MySpace.

  4. Yes. Everything from childhood memories (I had difficulty convincing a few younger friends recently that the Challenger explosion was a big thing that rocked America’s self-confidence, since it pales in emotional impact to disasters since), to feeling like equals in dating situations (last girl I dated was a first grader when I would have been a HS graduate…). Peers become suspicious of my lack of children, lack of career, etc.

  5. In general, I get along better with younger friends; I’m divorced and childless, most of my age peers are married and with children, so I’m persona non grata in those circles any more. In addition, I’m currently in school, so I tend to have more in common with undergraduates (typically under 24 or so) and young adults who are still establishing their careers.

#7

Hah, yes. My Facebook friends are an equally broad span, from teenagers to pensioners. Thank god for restricted profiles!

#8

I am 32, and my youngest good friend–someone I have lunch with one-on-one and actually talk about things beyond current events with, is 20 (and a former student). My oldest friend, using that same definition, is 60. Oddly, I don’t have many friends around my own age–though there are lots of people that age that I am friendly with. Most of the people I know my own age either have small children or are into the club/party scene, and neither really describes me, so while we may be really friendly at work and chat all the time, they aren’t people I seek out–our leisure time is just really different.

#9
  1. How old are you?

  1. What’s the oldest person you consider a friend?
    I’m actually not sure of either of their ages, but either Vince or Amanda. The former I met at work a couple years ago and is about 33, I’d guess. The latter is roughly the same age, of course, and considers herself my big sister.

  2. What’s the youngest person you consider a friend?
    Rebecca? She just turned 21, I think.

  3. Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience?
    No, not really, but then I’m not the type to get bent out of shape over such things and think I’m pretty adaptable so even though I may not really understand some of my friends thought processes, I still respect them.

  4. Do you and your older and younger friends hang out together and get along well?
    Very few of my friends are also friends of each other. I do not have social circles.

#10
  1. 23
  2. Clearly has to be one of my chess buddies. One claimed to be over a hundred (and handed me my ass on the chessboard with clockwork regularity); unfortunately, he passed away last year. The oldest among the living is in his early or mid seventies.
  3. 18
  4. I rarely find common ground with my peers, geeks excepted. The 30+ crowd is usually more interesting.
  5. Several circles with little overlap.
#11
  1. I’m 34
    2/3) My best friend is 45. My other close friends are 33 and 25. I spend enough time with my younger brother to include him as my friend - he’s 17. In most periods of my life I’ve had friends of varying ages.
  2. Some of my younger friends can be immature or create drama at times. When I was younger I saw some of the older people in my life as friends, but if they had some kind of official relationship with me like being my teacher that could create a barrier to a more casual friendship.
  3. Yep. Aside from some broad generalities, my friends are different for reasons other than just age such as interests and personality. I tend to focus on whatever aspect of myself I have in common with them when I hang out with them. Some friends are for going out and partying, some friends are for conversation and watching tv, some friends are for sharing black humor, some friends are for professional interests, some friends are for physical activities or working out, etc.
#12
  1. 35
  2. 63 former coworker
  3. 26, below that there’s a maturity gap for me, although I can get along with younger folks okay, there’s a generation gap there, that I just noticed a couple years ago. Maybe because I’ve traditionally hung out with much older people myself.
  4. Plenty of differences. Younger is easy, the world’s changed a lot since I was a kid in the 70s/80s. There used to be a significant rural/urban split, nowadays your country kids are listening to rap and your urban kids are playing Hank Jr. Go figure. Older differences aren’t quite as noticeable or severe to me, although there’s sometimes a jealous moment here or there with an older flirty wife or girlfriend. :smack: Sometimes physical issues come into play as well, older folks with bad backs, or knees, or whatever, can’t really go skiing or other sports.
  5. Not really. My older friends are too old, my younger friends are too young. They’ll chat, but it’s similar to me talking to someone much younger than myself, more of a parental relationship than being friends. I’m more of a common connection when the groups interact. Most of the older folks I know that do “hang out” with much younger people (college kids) kind of annoy me, either they’re heavy drug users or have other issues.

Frankly, most of my friends are older, like a previous poster stated, folks my age are mostly dealing with spouses and kids, or careers, and there isn’t much time for kicking back to relax.

#13
  1. How old are you?
    I am 55.
  2. What’s the oldest person you consider a friend?
    I’m guessing but probably 57 - 60.
  3. What’s the youngest person you consider a friend?
    25 or 26
  4. Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience?
    Does not compute.
  5. Do you and your older and younger friends hang out together and get along well?
    Not at all. It’s all different stuff, I hang out with different people for different things, but I’m sure if we all met up sometime it would work out fine.
#14

  1. How old are you? 43

  2. What’s the oldest person you consider a friend? 66

  3. What’s the youngest person you consider a friend? 20

  4. Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience? LOADS of differences, some of which are just fun. Difficulties are that there’s overlap in my circle of friends and my 18-year-old daughter’s - her boyfriend is 23, a bit older than my friend Thomas - and until my Mom passed away, there was overlap in that direction too, because she was a bit younger than three of my friends. Occasionally that FEELS awkward, although there’ve never been any problems because of it and no one else has expressed any discomfort, so it might be just me.

  5. Do you and your older and younger friends hang out together and get along well? For the most part, yes. I know that when I’ve had a party, I’m often struck by the vast range of ages and experiences among my guests, and I very much enjoy watching the interactions.

#15

  1. How old are you? 46

  2. What’s the oldest person you consider a friend? 61

  3. What’s the youngest person you consider a friend? 26

  4. Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience?
    Different jokes for different folks - the 61 yo has no idea about the latest internet memes, the 26 year-old doesn’t get some older cultural references.

  5. Do you and your older and younger friends hang out together and get along well? Yes.

#16
  1. How old are you?

  1. What’s the oldest person you consider a friend?
    Joanie, who is in her 70s but seems younger. Actually, I have spent a lot of time with my mom’s red hat society pals, senior center pals, and a bunch of older folks on bus trips and tours. I don’t mind them most of the time. Many of them are very funny and interesting to talk to.

  2. What’s the youngest person you consider a friend?
    N/A

  3. Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience?
    No.

#17
  1. How old are you?
    47
  2. What’s the oldest person you consider a friend?
    Somewhere in their 70s
  3. What’s the youngest person you consider a friend?
    Maybe late 30s
  4. Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience?
    Most of my friends are from golf or cards. Once I owned a home, had kids and had been in my job for a while, I realized I had much more in common with - and way more to learn from - the guys who were 10 or more years older than me than the guys my age or younger who were not married, home owners. The trend has continued since then.
    And I met a few foks from church and a Humanist discussion group whom I found so experienced and intelligent, it has been a pleasure to be considered their friends.
  5. Do you and your older and younger friends hang out together and get along well?
    Like I said, golfing and poker, with an occasional dinner at one or the others’ house.
#18
  1. 24
  2. Ummm… tdn probably. (zing!)
  3. In meatspace? Don’t know the absolute youngest, but nobody under 20 at this point.
  4. Not really. I’m a social chameleon and get along pretty well with everyone.
  5. Nope.

Sorry that wasn’t more exciting.

#19
  1. 29
  2. A friend I work with, he’s 49.
  3. My friend Viktor who has just turned 23.
  4. Not that I’m aware of.
  5. I don’t really hang out in groups, most of my friends I know individually and we do stuff one to one. Saying that when I do have get togethers with my friends (birthdays and so forth) they all get on well.
#20
  1. How old are you? 40
  2. What’s the oldest person you consider a friend? Mid-60s.
  3. What’s the youngest person you consider a friend? Mid-20s people I met through work; late-20s folk I babysat or helped with some school difficulty (being a Chemistry major is understood as “volunteering to help the neighbor’s nephew who’s having problems with Chemistry in junior high”).
  4. Are there ever any differences or difficulties based on life experience? Sometimes, but that’s one of the things that makes the friendship enriching, and given my CV I have them with most people my age, too. After all, “most people my age” are married, have kids and haven’t spent the last 8 years working in projects that have brought them to more than a dozen countries.
  5. Do you and your older and younger friends hang out together and get along well? Uh… what else do you call friends? Of course the “hang out together” part doesn’t consist of everybody going out together at 10pm on a Friday night until 5am, and given my calendar (see above) I don’t hang out regularly with anybody, but yeah. Many groups don’t “go together” (my excoworkers from RH involve people between “retired” and “mid 20s”, but they don’t go with people I met through Dad’s work); some include for example several people my parents’ age and their younger-than-me children and nephews.