To wonder why up to 35 is now considered young

[thedaywewillremeber]

I’ve just seen an article where young people are referred to as being up to 35. Aibu to wonder why this is when it used to be 25 maximum that was viewed as a young person.

Is it also in part that your perception has changed as you’ve got older? As someone pointed out teenagers still think over 35 is ancient!

Millennials are considered as not-quite-adults to older generations

My main point is that I don't think your life is half finished at that age and you still have a long life ahead of you.

Anyway, the term geriatric pregnancy is outdated, and I did show plenty of resources debunking the common ideas of pregnancy at that age.

I should point out that you did say you shouldn't consider exactly 40 middle age, but then said that anything before 35 could still be considered young, but exactly 35 was middle age in your view. It be different if nearly every census didn't define middle age as being in the 40s but it does. Just seems like you want to believe it's in the middle. And that's fine. But despite saying people could think they're young at 35 if they want, you've been pushing the opposite idea really, really hard.

I think 25 was once considered a key market because doesn’t your skin/body gradually start aging from that point on? It’s minuscule and gradual, but isn't there a biological change?

That could be complete bunkum so I’ll let a medical person correct me- but I thought I read it somewhere.

Anyway, I’m quite happy to be a middle-aged 46. My 40’s are great so don’t be afeared of them.😄

• marker not market

I’m not sure that is exactly what I said? The evidence you’ve linked doesn’t appear to be of particularly high quality. Obstetrics journals, national guidelines, meta-analysis? It remains that the NHS classify all women having first babies of 35 or over as high risk, and use age to predict success and thus availability of IVF. I don’t think we’re persuading each other so let’s just agree to have a different opinion, it’s all very arbitrary anyway.

@AmICrazyorWhat2

I think 25 was once considered a key market because doesn’t your skin/body gradually start aging from that point on? It’s minuscule and gradual, but isn't there a biological change?

That could be complete bunkum so I’ll let a medical person correct me- but I thought I read it somewhere.

Anyway, I’m quite happy to be a middle-aged 46. My 40’s are great so don’t be afeared of them.😄

I don’t know about skin but muscle mass and bone density start decreasing after 30, although not by huge amounts until you’re older

I'm 43 and l'm sure l'm not middle aged.

Perhaps l object to some random telling me half my life is over. I've only just begun as far as l'm concerned!

@BungleandGeorge Thanks!

I'm 35. I feel pretty young.

Don't take this away from me OP!!!

I guess that when three score and ten was a good innings, 35 was middle age but life expectancy has raced ahead for people who have lived moderate lives, so now life expectancy is up to 82 for men and a little older for women, the onset of middle age has probably moved up to 41- 44 for men and women respectively.

This is not to suggest that it's necessarily a gradual decline from those ages. From my experience, clever type A high achievers are still building their careers between their mid-40s and about 60, but most of the rest of us are approaching peak earnings by 45, and anyone who has done a very physical job is likely to begin their decline at that mid-life point too. Profuse apologies to all those people who are bucking the graph, but you are something of an outlier and a statistical aberration.

They are reliable sources from actual medical experts and ob/gyns, noting that previous ideas on pregnancy at 35 were wrong. It comes from outdated historical birth records, not actual data. It doesn't seem you've looked very closely at the evidence.

I'll just leave it with some final evidence, and it comes from reliable sources. Noted developmental psychologist Erik Erikson considers middle adulthood begins at 40 and ends at 60. www.verywellmind.com/erik-eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development-2795740

The peer reviewed medical journal The Lancet, published a piece this year defining middle-age as between 45 and 65. www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30367-6/fulltext

A medically reviewed article by a psychotherapist says it begins mid-forties: www.verywellmind.com/what-are-the-signs-of-a-midlife-crisis-4175827

Science Daily published an article from McGill University defines early midlife as the 40s: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160712110724.htm

Lumen Learning psychology courses also define middle adulthood as 40 to 60: courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/early-and-middle-adulthood/

And so does this site :): middleadulthood.weebly.com/psychological-factors.html

The medical and psychological profession largely agrees that middle adulthood begins in the 40s, not 30s.

I’m 34 and still feel 19! Don’t take my youth away from me OP!!

@VestaTilley, you have a decade to go. Make it count!

35 is a bit over halfway to menopause (in terms of perioding years)

Just a third to retirement (in terms of of working years)

It's around 40% average life expectancy, or more like 35% if you're the queen

In these days you'd have young children or maybe still TTC

You are still in the 18-35 demographic segment in the eyes of most marketers. Probably on the cusp of changing music tastes and political views (more conservative as you start a family, have more stability etc)

Oh and you can still (just about) be cast, if you were an actor/actress, as a 21 year old

I wonder if the 18-30 holidays will change to 18-35? Perhaps they already have.🤣

"Just a third to retirement (in terms of of working years)"

I guess that depends on what kind of work you do and what the average retirement age is. If you do something like writing, many writers are still going in their 80s.

Retirement age can depend on what country you're in too.

bringing menopause in to it makes me a bit {arghghghgh smell the patriarchy] because you would never say to a 35 year old man, a woman your age could be in peri menopause in about 8 -10 years so therefore you're old. No, but women are warned as they approach not just menopause but peri menopause not to have any illusions that they're still young. Even though they still out live men. It's stupid.

35 is not a teenager. It's not 25, but it is a relatively young adult so if you waste it feeling old, then that's sad.

"bringing menopause in to it makes me a bit {arghghghgh smell the patriarchy] because you would never say to a 35 year old man, a woman your age could be in peri menopause in about 8 -10 years so therefore you're old."

True. I've noticed a subtle, misogynistic vibe from arguments about these discussions arounf making middle-age younger than it is, because they very, very often leave out men. The implication is a woman's age is defined by her womb, not her lifespan. And then you consider that the majority of pshycologists and developmental theorists focus on 40s as the milestone for middle age because they focus on the mind first and foremost. That only strengthens the impression...

@Lex01
As a woman in her 40’s, I can assure you that the patriarchy can’t deny the onset of middle age in men, So many men I know seem v . “middle-aged,” often more so then their partners/wives!

It doesn't deny it, it just puts it later than women. 40s is middle-aged for both men and women.