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.

I’m in my 40s and think I’d feel a lot older if I’d been able to complete some of the milestones that I thought would have happened by now. I still feel young because I haven’t had those opportunities yet. For example I’ve never had love, which is usually presented as something people find in their 20s. I’ve never had a proper career which is also something you’re supposed to get in your 20s. I was in my 30s before I could afford my first car and nearly 40 before I could afford a house. Maybe I’d feel more mature if I’d been able to afford a car, house and baby 20 years ago instead of 2 years ago.

I was surprised when the press and Royal Family kept referring to Harry and Meghan as a "young couple." She's 38 and he's mid thirties, not young. Diana was young when she married, as was the Queen. Perhaps it's because in the SE it takes that long now to get enough of an established career and money to get on the property ladder.

My old friends where I grew up and lived in London have noticed a trend for blokes in their 40's with a younger partner (mid 30's) buying in the area when they are about to have their first baby.

If average life expectancy is 81, half way through is 40 then 35 is definitely middle aged. It’s a bitter pill to swallow when you realise you’re not ‘young’ anymore as most of us feel no different!

"Biologically we're not young at 35."

That's been exaggerated by the media a lot. natural-fertility-info.com/natural-conception-pregnancy-over-35.html

You still have so much to live for and achieve at 35. I don't know why anyone would want to make out your halfway to the grave at that point. I know many people living active, fulfilling lives into their 70s. The average life expectancy is in the 80s nowadays.

I am 76 and ‘old’ has now moved to 80+. It used to be 75!

Aibu to wonder why this is when it used to be 25 maximum that was viewed as a young person

When was that and who says? Load of bollocks. 26 was never an old person, was it? Or middle aged, or elderly.

"If average life expectancy is 81, half way through is 40 then 35 is definitely middle aged."

Um... that would mean people were dying at 70. Half of 70 is 35. It might be getting towards it, but it's certainly not there yet.

I don’t consider DD to be ‘young’ at 30 with a child and an established career.
I do consider my 23 year old Nephew who still lives at home (under SiL’s total control) to be ‘young’. DD was a qualified Teacher by 23, living away from home since she was 19.

Men have been viewed as still young at 35 for a very long time indeed. Men can still get lead action roles in Hollywood blockbusters in their fucking 70s, playing opposite women half their age and less, and no one has ever batted an eyelid.

An in the case of royals, it goes further. The term ‘young royals’ even stretches as far as Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, it would seem.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170913-is-this-the-age-we-lose-our-youthh_

"At what age are you officially old and boring? A few recent surveys reckon it’s your mid-thirties.

What’s the perfect age? For some it’s the carefree teenage years or time at university. But 35 may in fact be the pivotal turning point, both personally and professionally.

Not only is 35 the age when we’re perceived to no longer be "young", according to a studyy from the University of Kent, but also when men reach "peak loneliness"" and women hit "peak boringg." And if that wasn’t bad enough, 35 is also the age at which we start hating our jobs, according to a surveyy of more than 2,000 UK employees by human resources company Robert Half.

Under pressure
Job security also becomes more of an issue. In the first quarter of 2017, UK workers aged 35-49 were twice as likely to be made redundant as those aged 25-34, according to dataa* from the Office for National Statistics."

www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2012/apr/18/is-35-best-age

Hasn't it always been considered quite young? I'm seventy and when I was 35 was considered fairly young (though I didn't particularly feel so).

"Hasn't it always been considered quite young? I'm seventy and when I was 35 was considered fairly young (though I didn't particularly feel so)."

That's what I always thought. Everyone I know treats your 20s and 30s as young.

@Lex01

"If average life expectancy is 81, half way through is 40 then 35 is definitely middle aged."

Um... that would mean people were dying at 70. Half of 70 is 35. It might be getting towards it, but it's certainly not there yet.

Middle age is the bit before and after the half way point. You’re not only middle aged when you’re 40 exactly!

[quote Lex01]www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2012/apr/18/is-35-best-age[/quote]

1. 35 was only the average age after a survey.
2. Everyone chose an age younger than they were, except the 18-24 year olds who only went as far as 27!
3. The people who picked 35 were 45-54 so naturally wanted to be younger, as did those over 65 who said 44.

Consensus - nobody wanted to be older than they were but much younger. This averaged to 35.

The article cites financial security and career milestones as a factor. You'd need to be up there in age (35 plus) to have achieved most of those.

I am sure almost everyone would be happy to have the money and career AND still have their youth though.

I intend to live till 120 so I'm not middle aged till I'm 60 and that is that.

@Lex01

"Biologically we're not young at 35."

That's been exaggerated by the media a lot. natural-fertility-info.com/natural-conception-pregnancy-over-35.html

You still have so much to live for and achieve at 35. I don't know why anyone would want to make out your halfway to the grave at that point. I know many people living active, fulfilling lives into their 70s. The average life expectancy is in the 80s nowadays.

http://migungindonesia.com/2018/11/28/traditional-vagina-steam-for-healthy-fertility//_

I've never heard of this woman before, but it seems she's of the Gwyneth Paltrow school of Steaming your Vag, so I don't know...

"Middle age is the bit before and after the half way point. You’re not only middle aged when you’re 40 exactly!"

That's not how it works mathematically. You can argue you're getting towards it, but you're not there yet. Most official definitions agree that middle age is more around 40-45, even medical publications. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24293379/

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/middle%20age

www.definitions.net/definition/middle-aged

www.verywellfit.com/tips-for-running-in-your-50s-and-beyond-2911208

"Physical fitness typically peaks in your 20s and 30s. Even the most elite athletes begin to experience declines in performance once they hit their 40s."

Midlife definitely doesn't start until your 40s.

"I've never heard of this woman before, but it seems she's of the Gwyneth Paltrow school of Steaming your Vag, so I don't know..."

I didn't know that, but this particular article does have the backing of a medical professional whose an ob/gyn so it is valid.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC188498//_

"A strong association exists between subfertility and increasing female age. The reduction in fertility is greatest in women in their late 30s and early 40s. For women aged 35-39 years the chance of conceiving spontaneously is about half that of women aged 19-26 years."

There's also this article on the over 35 myth by experts: www.romper.com/pregnancy/fertility-myths-millennials-believe-experts

"A strong association exists between subfertility and increasing female age. The reduction in fertility is greatest in women in their late 30s and early 40s. For women aged 35-39 years the chance of conceiving spontaneously is about half that of women aged 19-26 years."

That article is from 2003 and based on outdated information.