# How old are you and what age would you consider to be "young?" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 16, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947 "2019-12-16T17:07:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/1 "2019-12-16T17:07:18Z")
I am curious how people view “old” and “young”, and whether it has a certain ratio to their own age. (That is, if Dopers feel comfortable sharing your ages.) Some people, for instance, seem to think that anyone who is younger than they themselves is “young,” regardless of whether it’s one year or thirty years younger. In my case, I’m 32, and I’d consider anyone 25 or under to be “young.” (Not specifying “young” for what purpose or criteria specifically, since that would bog us down into nitpickery - just what _feels or seems_ like a “young age” to you.) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/2 "2019-12-16T17:11:40Z")
I’m 42. Same as you, about 25 or under. 26 and older is still young, but it should be plenty old enough to “know better,” as we old people say. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/3 "2019-12-16T17:16:55Z")
I’m 59 (I don’t know how _that_ happened) and consider 25 and under “young,” but don’t consider myself “old,” yet, despite what my knees are saying down there; just ignore them. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/4 "2019-12-16T17:27:39Z")
I’m 37 and I’d put young at college age so 23 or younger. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/5 "2019-12-16T17:49:29Z")
47 here… my yardstick is arbitrarily set at 30, because you’re no longer in your twenties anymore, and you’ve probably gone through the growing up necessary to act like a fully fledged adult and are on some sort of life/career trajectory by that point. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/6 "2019-12-16T18:02:40Z")
49 / 30 Many women who want children will have started by this age, and their partners tend to be a similar age. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/7 "2019-12-16T18:06:23Z")
I’m 63. Youth ends in your 50s. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/8 "2019-12-16T18:19:40Z")
I’m 44. I’d say under 30 is young. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/9 "2019-12-16T18:23:02Z")
64, and I consider 0-30 young, 30-60 adult, 60-90 old, and above 90 ancient. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/10 "2019-12-16T18:23:15Z")
Same here - 44 years old and think of anyone under 30 as pretty young; 25 and under is very young. I still have trouble remembering that I’m actually as old as I am. Despite having birthed two children and living longer than I expected to, I’m still clueless enough and naive enough to feel like I’m in my late teens/early 20s. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/11 "2019-12-16T18:26:49Z")
1. I consider anyone less than 30 as young. Recently my shoulder and knee have reminded me that I am not young anymore. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/12 "2019-12-16T18:30:45Z")
44, and, yeah, about 30-ish and younger is young to me. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/13 "2019-12-16T18:33:55Z")
65 Anyone under 30 is young. After that, it’s all downhill. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/14 "2019-12-16T21:09:04Z")
60 I consider 60 to be young. (What?) ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/15 "2019-12-16T21:44:25Z")
Just shy of 66, and I’ll say 30 is the limit of young. I recently shared an office with a guy who’s 40 years younger than I am - he was definitely young. And not that you asked, but I’m starting to see 70-ish as old…er… But ask me in 4 years when I get there. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/16 "2019-12-16T21:46:24Z")
I just turned 50 a few days ago. My daughter is 30 and she hasn’t seemed young for a while but then again she’s incredibly responsible. I feel like youth is equal to inexperience and the lack of necessity to be responsible so I mean you can find a teen that may even seem old if they’ve been through a lot. If I had to give an age I guess I’d say around 25. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/17 "2019-12-16T22:11:58Z")
1. Depends on context. Porn? Under 30. Someone just died? Under 60. POTUS? Under 45. I could probably think of other examples, but those are the first 3 that popped in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/18 "2019-12-16T22:32:34Z")
I was born old. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/19 "2019-12-16T22:54:05Z")
I’m 39, and I agree with the general consensus that under 30 is young. I don’t think of myself as old, although I may jokingly call myself that sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947/20 "2019-12-16T23:03:45Z")
1. Anyone under 50 is young. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-are-you-and-what-age-would-you-consider-to-be-young/844947.md?page=2)