To be surprised that 65+ is deemed ‘elderly’

My dad is 55 so I consider that elderly (just to wind him and his wife up)

This!!
im not 55 yet but not far off!

Hahaha.. I'm 55 and still lead a very full active work and social life. I still feel like I'm in my 30s, I certainly don't feel old.

I’m 58, I don’t reckon I’ll be elderly until around 86-90.

My dad is 76 and he’s certainly not elderly!

55 old ??? What is wrong with you? That's when the fun starts again.

I’m not going to say what my age is, as frankly, the World seems to have gone mad labelling folks. It’s almost as if you cannot exist without someone trying to shove you into one box or another. Since when did conforming to a label suddenly come back into fashion? I grew up in an era when the brave, the mavericks, the want to be different, carved their own path. And it’s been and still is bloody lovely. 😎

I'm in my 30s and definitely don't think 60s is elderly! Most people are still working well into their 60s. I would say 75+.

I think posters like to be a bit controversial on these kind of threads. I once read that 35 is middle aged on here... nobody in real life actually thinks this.

When I was 40 I went to the doctor about joint pain, he was in his possible late 20s and did a lot of ‘at your age’, when I said it another time to my doctor (late 40s), he laughed and said that was ridiculous 😅 I’d personally call 70s elderly. I hate ‘middle aged’ because to me it’s not a realistic term when you look at upper age ranges which I don’t want to do😅

I’m not old is what I’m saying.

So you expect to live to 120?

I’m 63. I’m late middle aged.

Your definition of "elderly" tends to get pushed back as you draw closer to it. Its always going to be subjective. Mumsnet is pretty ageist. You will be considered a dotard once you are over 60 on here.

Really lovely post, thank you x

I agree with your list

The problem with mumnet is that they think "being old" or "being called old" is an insult. It's not.

Medically, 65 is classed as elderly. My GP told me that. I'm 65 and don't give a toss about being described elderly

@Helfs You can't count the 20 years that you are growing up. Early adulthood starts around 20, so if life expectancy is 80 then middle age is 40 to 60, but it has been extended to 45 to 65 due to many people now living to 90 and the increased potential and life expectancy.

Oh? So when you wrote this, you were not making a "comment on your posting style nor your individual use of a word"...

To clarify, I didn’t correct you nor comment on your posting style nor your individual use of a word. I disagreed with the sentiment of what you said. I felt the comparison ruined your point which I had agreed with. Anyway, I apologise. It clearly landed far worse than I intended. I’m sorry it came across that way and it was not my intention.
I genuinely didn’t realise and there was no intention to tell you how to post! I definitely overuse the 😂 emoji and it was out of context. Apologies again, I will leave it there as it was not intentional and this is an interesting thread, so I don’t want to derail.

I am pointing out that your need to offer me a grade on my comment and correct a word and my usage of it in a phrase - and announce it is silly (complete with a passive-aggressive 😂- is unnecessary and offensive to me.

Go correct someone else's posting style.

But don't you think that a part of that is that styles have changed. Older women often used to go for those unflattering perms, although I guess they were more popular at the time. Likewise they might wear something like elasticated slacks. Where now we wear joggers or leggings. You need to really study the faces to decide if people genuinely look younger now or if it's more style based. Plus things like botox are more popular now which also somewhat skews perception.

I think 'older' people don't appear to be anywhere near as old as they were maybe 50 or so years ago. I can remember my grandmother,who was 65 when I was 5, looking positively ancient. This was in 1970. I know that when you're a young child,anyone over the age of 20 seems ancient! But my memory of her is backed up by photos of her. She looks more like an 85 year old today might look. By comparison,I know people who are in their mid 60s - mid 70s who still seem remarkably youthful.

Old age is a privilege, people should be buzzing they reach it.

Definition of middle aged from the Oxford dictionary:

middle-aged

adjective

(of a person) aged about 45 to 65

Some countries have an average life expectancy of 50s eg Lesotho in Africa

Some countries have a higher life expectancy like Japan

Therefore it depends where you live

Until recently UK women state retirement age was 60, now 66 jointly with men

Not everyone reaches old age

Sorry to pick on this poster in particular, but I knew as soon as I opened this thread it would be filled with old people adamant that they are not old! And yes 3 or 4 posts in, there it was. I didn't read any more of the thread as it's so predictable. Lots of "I'm fitter at 60 than most 30yr olds" etc etc. Yes sure you are.

I'm sorry but late 60's is old. You may feel younger in mind and body. But your age is late 60's which is old. I say that as someone in my mid 50's and yes I am firmly middled aged. Yes, I still travel and go to gigs, all sorts. That doesn't change my actual age.

The issue for me is, all these people are saying what they're saying because they are attributing stereotypes to various ages. Oh I'm not old because I'm doing all these things that "old people" don't do.

Your age is your age. You can't change it. So why even bother worrying whether you're classed as middle aged, old or elderly? Just do what you enjoy doing and be happy you're alive! Stop trying to insist "oh but I'm not old", it doesn't matter.