"At What Age Are You Considered "Old?": People Are Sharing Their Opinions About Aging After This Person Wanted To Know If 35 Was Considered Old
The World Health Organization and the United Nations both consider "old age" to begin at 60.
That being said, people often speculate about what age others view as "old." So, when an anonymous Quora user wanted to know if most people thought 35 was still considered "young," here is what was said...
"As a 15-year-old, I’m probably in no place to answer this, but I’ll put my opinion out there anyway. In my opinion, 35 is young; a 35-year-old isn’t even halfway through their life. Physically, a person is in their prime at around 25, so a 35-year-old is only 10 years past their prime."
—Julian Glenister-Grot, Quora user
"In my opinion, age is a feeling. You may be 35 and feel so old due to a lack of joy, care, and attention and the eternal feeling of struggle and lack. A 60-year-old man could dance and live happily, feeling like a teenager. There are many misconceptions about age and physical condition. Age is a cycle of life, while aging is growing or transitioning through life’s changing moments, which in turn puts you in a world of feelings (desirable or not). At this point, how you feel about yourself internally will be reflected outwardly and interpreted according to the level of responsibility you dedicate towards your physical appearance. My recommendation is to love yourself at all times. Your age doesn’t define you because deep within, you never change, but your experiences are growing, and times are moving fast. The wet turns dry, and old things become new again."
—Oluwakemisola Loveth Odenusi, Quora user
"For the sake of argument, let's assume you will live 100 years. Many more people make it there considering all of the technological and medical advances. Now, we will break 100 years into the four seasons — spring, summer, fall and winter..."
"The first 25 years are like the spring season. Everything is young and tender, like the little buds that sprout on the trees. The first flowers bloom. Many animals give birth in spring. Most of your book learning will end, and experiential learning will begin.
Human summertime lasts from 26 to 50. These are mature (but still very youthful) years. Trees come into full foliage, and little birds leave their nests. Most important life decisions should be finalized in the human summer.
Fall will come at you fast. The years 51 to 75 are human autumn. Hairs fall just like leaves on the trees. Hopefully, you will reach your peak earning years and settle into retirement by the end of the fall (if you've made the right financial decisions). This is normally when autumners may welcome grandchildren! A stark reminder of how it felt to live in spring.
When winter shows up, you'll be between 76 and 100. If you've taken care of your health, you may still get around fairly well. But there will be no denying that things are much harder than they used to be. Hair begins to look like a Some great-grandchildren may even show up!
Well, we're at the end of our seasons. That 33-year-old you were asking about isn't even halfway through summer! Just a pup, really. I hope this was worth the time I spent and that I've answered your question."
—Memaw, Quora user
"Yes! It definitely is. Although you might feel otherwise, it is your subjective feeling. I felt old at 27, which is ridiculous, of course. I had a reason: clinical depression. I was sure that I was looking old. It was cognitive distortion. I am 35 now, still battling depression, but 35 feels so young in comparison with *that* 27. So, 35 is young, and it is a very good age – you are young, but you have experience. If you ask me, this is the best age."
—Xena Gaunt, Quora user
"I would say 35 is young because a 35-year-old today could expect to live to 90+ (with the likely improvements in rejuvenating medicine, I think it will be significantly more), so he or she is only just over a third of their way through life. Having said that, we start to physically decline at around 30, but there are people at 75 who are still very functional. I guess it depends on the person, but I think many people are fairly shot by 50 if they don't look after themselves."
—Johnty Andersen, Quora user
"Of course you are! I had my one and only child at age 38. I went back to school and got an MBA at 48 and an associate's degree in accounting at 52 while working. I got my CPA at 55. I go to movies and dancing with my friends. I quit my controller job with an IT company last year because I couldn’t sit for 10 hours straight to do invoicing because of a bad back. I will be young until the day I die because of my attitude. Life is there for you to live, learn, and work hard at to enjoy the benefits. I had two careers, lived in four states, and may move to a fifth to live near my son and his family. I will go to rock and jazz concerts until the day I die, and then I will have a celebration of my life with live music for my funeral."
—Leilani Brown, Quora user
"It's all relative. To a 21-year-old, 16 is young, and 30 is old. To a 55-year-old, 40 seems young. And to a 90-year-old, 70 seems young by comparison. So enjoy whatever age you are now, so you can always look back and remember what fun you had when you were young.
—Going Away, Quora user
"Depending on where and what you’re reading, 'young' or 'youth' has quite a few differing scales. Usually, adulthood is said to start at 18 legally in most places. 18–29 is usually considered young adult. But I’ve seen scales where it is 15–29, too. I’ve seen 18–35 at other times. I’ll admit, as I’ve gotten older, I keep sliding, favoring the larger scales just to feel better about it. This will sound cliché, but age is just a number. What you make of it matters, and how you treat yourself can make all the difference. I’ve seen people who were 25 who look, feel, and act 45. And I’ve seen 80-year-olds with the spirit of and better attitude than 20-year-olds."
"One thing a lot of people seem to do is 'let go' as they call it. They just think because they are older, they don’t have to do or like young people's things. They say things like ‘I’m too old for that’ which to me is just a learned helplessness. I never understood that. You can keep your youth well into your 50s if you take care of yourself. I’ve seen a lot of people like that, and I hope to follow their path."
—Rumpel Felt, Quora user
And, finally, here is this person's breakdown of age:
"35 is still young, though not 'young young.' Maybe you could call it the 'middle-aged young.'
A strictly personal breakdown:
20s — the young young
30s — the middle-aged young
40s — the old young -> [second half] transition to middle age
50s — the middle-aged
60s — the old middle-aged and transition to old age
70s — the young old
80s — the middle-aged old and transition to old old
90s — the old old
To me, the high points have been 40 and 70. Stay in shape, and you have a lot to look forward to."
—Annie Gottlieb, Quora user
So, now we open the floor to you. What age is considered "old" in your mind and what are your thoughts about aging in general? Let us know in the comments!
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
