To ask if 35 really is middle aged

[Blameitonthenight67]

Colleague described a new worker who is around 35 as middle aged the other day. I was rather shocked I'm 45 and consider myself middle aged and 35 young.

Hell no. I'm only 32, I don't want to be considered middle aged in 3 years!

I think 45-50 is middle aged considering life expectancy is now, what, 75-80?

Oh dear this thread is so not helping me ease into turning 50 in a couple of weeks!
35 is young, for sure. I'm pretty sure I'm not middle aged in act or deed but apparently by age I inescapably am. Oh well.
The other day a colleague got my back up a bit by describing some women at a wedding she'd been to as women of a certain age. Now there's a phrase I really dislike (everyone in my office is 28-35). I think I am probably a bit over sensitive to potentially ageist comments at work 😂

Depends on the person.

Some 35 year olds are already very middle aged. Mumsy/daddy clothes, boring family car, Saturday nights in, gardening, caravan holidays, radio 2 etc.

Some 35 year olds are still very much young free & single. Out on the lash & out on the pull. Clubbing in Ibiza, etc.

I'm going to live to 500 so will be middle-aged when I'm 250.

"boring family car,"

Have you seen how many cans of Strongbow you get fit in the back of a Zafira?!

Yes Bonnie I remember those 35 year olds when I was 20 on a night out!

"maybe not 'young' but in no means old!"

If only we had a word for that, oh yes, middle age.

"55-70 is middle-aged" Almost 40% of people don't reach old age by this definition. Saga, Age Concern, etc need telling, as they have it very wrong.

Put simply: first third of life (0-30) is young, second third (30-60) is middle age and the final third (60-90) is old. Of course most people don't reach 90, but its a pretty good approximation (pitiless yank gives the traditional definition, but life expectancy is increasing).

If your self esteem is tied to not labelling yourself middle aged and imagining 30s is still youth, then the issue is with you, not the English language.

P.S. Yes, I'm middle aged.

I'm 41 and feel about 12 I don't know when middle age is but I don't think it's for a while yet. Maybe 50 ish

No. most people die 88-91 so middle aged late 40s early 50s

The average age of death in this country is 81 years so anything above 35 to 45 is classed as middle aged.

I know it's difficult to come to terms with. In insurance terms, as someone in my fifties, I'm classed as late middle aged. It would be difficult for me to get a mortgage or life insurance (not that I need either thank goodness). I can only look forward to funeral arrangements (I'm not going to live to a 'ripe old age' anyway, thank goodness.)

I think the ageism on this thread is awful. I accept I have been biologically middle aged since about 30. I'm fine with that.
All the comments about boringness and frumpiness are pissing me off. Such negative connotations about getting older, when , in reality, people stay basically the same most of their lives, and if you are a not very interesting 20 year old, you will probably become a not very interesting 45 year old.
Being in the middle years of your life doesn't mean you suddenly become tedious, quite the opposite usually.
Sorry for being PO, but honestly, there is already such a lot of prejudice in the workplace against middle aged women (trust me you are apparently incapable of having an original thought, being dynamic or understanding what social media is over 30...)and these sort of comments just add to it.

45 is middle-aged.

Most people I know who are older than me by a couple of generations, died in their mid 70s to mid 80s. There were and are exceptions.

I am 50 and do not consider myself middle-aged!

IfNotNowThenWhenever

I agree with everything you say. It's this OMG IM GETTING OLDER attitude to age that is simply foolhardy at best.

Technically I suppose 35 is but at 35 people are in their prime. At 54 maybe I am starting to feel middle aged but that is more in relation to my kids being adults and elderly parents. Also the fact that there are now few people older than me at work.

Oh, and I have no desire to go around the world. I've no desire to go on a cruise. My needs are simple. I like to visit my friends and see the sea twice a year.

The current POTUS is in his 70s. Age did not stop him his money talked

"No. most people die 88-91 so middle aged late 40s early 50s"

No. It isn't. Try google, it's about 84. Even if 90 were the average, middle age wouldn't then start in the late 40's- over halfway through life.

"I think the ageism on this thread is awful. I accept I have been biologically middle aged since about 30. I'm fine with that. All the comments about boringness and frumpiness are pissing me off"

Hear, hear. You can be vital, sexy,

"No. most people die 88-91 so middle aged late 40s early 50s"

No. It isn't. Try google, it's about 84. Even if 90 were the average, middle age wouldn't then start in the late 40's- over halfway through life.

"I think the ageism on this thread is awful. I accept I have been biologically middle aged since about 30. I'm fine with that. All the comments about boringness and frumpiness are pissing me off"

Hear, hear. You can be vital, sexy,

..... and young at heart and still be middle aged. (But apparently you lose the ability to type).

I'm 42, but no way am I middle aged. I have young kids, I'm fit and healthy, no medical issues at all, I'm not even close to being menopausal, I'm a full-time student and I can keep up wth the young 'uns on a night out. Heck, I still go to Glastonbury and party quite enthusiastically!

Middle aged is more like 50ish to me, and I don;t think I'll be middle aged even then. Maybe my kids being teens will send me middle-aged.

Men are even more middle aged as they die younger on average. I'm mid 50s with a teenager. Trust me. I feel it!

I'm 50 and I don't consider myself middle-aged at all, or even particularly close to being middle-aged. Maybe 60? But I've friends who are 60+ and I don't even consider them to be middle-aged.