That weird feeling...

[Halo]

That's pretty normal, as everyone here has testified. It's tradition for us all to attach meaning to age, particularly at points we consider milestones - becoming a teenager, or an adult, or whatever. It's also become a running and tired joke to point out how you don't suddenly wake up on the day you turn 18 and suddenly feel different or more mature, and don't know any more about politics, the economy, and responsible drinking than you did before. People very rarely change in any dramatic way - the changes are small and subtle and take a long time. I don't think most people are fundamentally different when they're 30 than when they're 20, or when they're 40 than from being 30, and so on. Life lessons may be learned, but deep down people are who they are.

So why would you be able to tell their age online? At a certain point, people sort of settle into who they're going to be on a core level for most of their lives. They won't seem that different from year to year. Talking to people online is actually probably the best way to exemplify that fact - in this community there are people spanning two or three decades of age, and they all get along just fine. And as your experiences in the real world broaden as you get older, you'll tend to notice the same thing - you'll go to work and find people there of all ages, and there's often no age-caused barrier between coworkers getting along. Because in the end, people are just people. Your birthday teaches you nothing, regardless of how many of them you've had.

 

[Diana]

I am going to be the devil's advocate and say that yes, age does matter to me.

But NOT because I think teenagers are immature or not smart. And not because I think adults have all their shit together and are wiser. Cause that sure as hell isn't true. >> We have had 13 year old girls here be more intelligent and grown up than some 50 year old members. And vice versa.

For me it's about life experience and expectations of that age group. Someone currently in high school, no matter how intelligent and mature they are, will still fall in to certain kinds of beliefs and behaviors. Some of it is cultural and influenced by the other people they hang around in their age group, but most of it is the brain make up. You're still developing, learning, changing, etc.

There's always going to be the rare exception to the rule. But that's the rare case. O_O You don't know that you're the typical 16 year old or typical 23 year old until many years later when you look back in retrospect and realize "Oh crap, I was so dumb." or "Yup, that's how people are at that age." The older I get, the more I have noticed just how different these age brackets really are from each other. It's not a bad thing, is just how we grow.


So, age matters because I take that life experience and brain development in to account when I interact with people. I am going to be a lot more patient with someone at 14 if they're kind of disrespectful or rebellious to authority, because they're still learning and figuring shit out, testing their limits, etc. Compare to someone at 34 trying to pull the same stunts, of whom I would snap at immediately.

I mean, you should show all age groups respect, but you should still understand there IS a difference.

 

[Minibit]

I am going to be the devil's advocate and say that yes, age does matter to me.

But NOT because I think teenagers are immature or not smart. And not because I think adults have all their shit together and are wiser. Cause that sure as hell isn't true. >> We have had 13 year old girls here be more intelligent and grown up than some 50 year old members. And vice versa.

For me it's about life experience and expectations of that age group. Someone currently in high school, no matter how intelligent and mature they are, will still fall in to certain kinds of beliefs and behaviors. Some of it is cultural and influenced by the other people they hang around in their age group, but most of it is the brain make up. You're still developing, learning, changing, etc.

There's always going to be the rare exception to the rule. But that's the rare case. O_O You don't know that you're the typical 16 year old or typical 23 year old until many years later when you look back in retrospect and realize "Oh crap, I was so dumb." or "Yup, that's how people are at that age." The older I get, the more I have noticed just how different these age brackets really are from each other. It's not a bad thing, is just how we grow.


So, age matters because I take that life experience and brain development in to account when I interact with people. I am going to be a lot more patient with someone at 14 if they're kind of disrespectful or rebellious to authority, because they're still learning and figuring shit out, testing their limits, etc. Compare to someone at 34 trying to pull the same stunts, of whom I would snap at immediately.

I mean, you should show all age groups respect, but you should still understand there IS a difference.

^
The reason I have an age line for roleplay partners.

 

[Asmodeus]

Diana, stop trolling us. We're all super cool and don't care about age. We never cared. We could care less. That's how cool we are.

 

[GYARA]

I think you mean half your age + 7.

I'm 14.
Half of 14 is 7.
7+7=14.
damn.

Gyara, you are a sociopath. You assume we're all the same because you're narcissistic and have reduced us to homogenous Yungian blobs, only existing to pander to your diseased ego.

Oh snap. *calls the hospital* When could I meet a psychologist? What problem do I have? I reduce everyone to homogenous Yungian blobs. Aaaand they hung up.

But I guess age does not matter. I have never cared. Actually...
STORY TIME!
Once on omegle I met a guy named Michael. He was a nice guy to talk to and we talked for over 2 hours. And when I had to go, I realized that i didn't even know his age. And then I thought "But does it matter?" The conversation was nice, we had common interests and age was NOT A BARRIER at all. I mean, if you want to find a person to date, then a 50-year old trying to make out with a 12-year old is wrong, but otherwise, age is not important at all. It's the personality and interests we should worry about.

 

[Asmodeus]

I sense a newbie-snapping conspiracy in the works. :|

 

[GYARA]

I sense a newbie-snapping conspiracy

conspiracy? what conspiracy?