"I'm old" - I bet you aren't

[AndreaMarvell]

So many times I see people write this, and I bet that they are no more than 65.

So?
Old compared to who? My kids think I'm old.
I'm 42, I feel old. I have health issues impacting the quality of my life and tbh if someone said I could sit in an armchair covered with a blanket and watch Midsomer Murders all day I would be thrilled!
On the opposite end of the scale there will be women who have just had their first baby at my age, I assume they will feel more youthful than me or they wouldn't have committed the next 20 years of their lives to raising that baby 🤷‍♀️

I say that and I’m in my early 30s. It’s more a mind set when I say it. I go to bed at 7.30pm, enjoy a quiet life etc etc.

I sometimes put showing my age if I'm writing about when I was young. I'm 75 so no spring chicken, but I don't feel much different to when I was 50.

Huh? What is your point? You sound annoyed.

Isn't this a fundamental fact of life - 'old' is about 15-20 years older than you yourself are?

I’ve been on MN for fifteen years and I have never noticed anyone saying that they are old.

Crikey Lordy Lawks - you need to stop saying it. Or get in a different mind set.

When you were 50, did you feel like you were 20? 😉

Old as the opposite of young = 50+ or maybe even 45+.

Old in the context of child, young adult, adult, middle aged, mature, older, elderly = 60-80

It's subjective isn't it. My 26yo was the other day referring to a 67yo as an old woman. As I'm almost 62 I wasn't amused, as I certainly don't feel old. I think of old being late-70s onwards. To a 10yo though, yes I probably am an 'old woman'.

I didn’t feel old until my forties when menopause kicked in plus I have chronic pain that leaves me stiff . So yes I do feel old regardless of how many potential years I have left.

Yeah it really irritates me when people say “I’m old”. Usually they are 29 and moaning about being too old or to find a man or some such nonsense.

It comes across a rather preachy. They are saying it to have a go a lot of the time. I am old , you aren't therefore the next sentences mean you are inferior.

Age is relative. I am old compared to children, but young compared to the elderly. I am also older than I once was.

I’ve said it. I’m 57. It’s normally if I’m responding to a much younger poster. It’s never said patronisingly.

Old is subjective so you could argue all day about it

I don't get why people say I'm X years old but feel like I'm Y years old.

I'm in my 40s and every year so far I just feel exactly what I am, whether that's 18, 25, 35 or 45.

I am actually old! 70 and still moderately fucked up, only now with health problems as well.

Three REALLY great things about being old:

1. I almost certainly have seen it before, so am capable of coming over as wise to you lot (if I can be bothered).
2. I can't be bothered. And I don't care.
3. I've lived this long and am not dead yet!!!

Slightly arthritic wave to @BadgernTheGarden from the oldies bench. We have gin, scampi in a basket, Black Forest gateau, an extensive vinyl collection and our weed is the original stuff that makes you gently happy then gives you the munchies. Pass the Arctic Roll, would you?

Im 62 so I guess I'm old but wouldn't refer to myself as such because it's such a pejorative word in our society.

I don't feel 18, 25, 40 - I just feel like me and hope I always do.

I'm the oldest I've ever been, right now.

If I want to say I'm old, that's my prerogative!

Yeah I’m 57 but it comes out when I know I’m posting something my mother would have posted (in the incredibly unlikely event of her ever posting on MN, at any age). It’s just pointing out that I know I sound disapproving and they can take it with a pinch of salt.

I say it, I work with (mainly) 20 odd year olds and my kids are that age. I am old compared to them and it’s a light hearted acknowledgement of that which at work breaks the ice and makes people laugh.

The kids just tease me, because that’s how we all are with eachother, it’s very tongue in cheek.

Half of the people in the world are aged 25 or under; so if you're 26 or over, you are in the 'old' half of the population!

I hate the way that being 'old' is automaticaly considered such a negative thing, when it comes to humans. MN is especially weird with this, insisting that you're just approaching the very beginning of middle age at 65.

'Old' doesn't only mean that you're biologically nearer the grave than the cradle, but It also carries a natural understanding of having acquired experience, wisdom, knowledge, maturity etc. in a great many cultures. The idea of a 'village elder' is a really positive one; not pejorative or dismissive at all.

I agree that it's partly a mindset and partly individual circumstances. It's also not a competiton or a hierarchy. Saying that you are/feel old - often in a jokey manner - isn't the same as claiming to be the oldest person who ever lived. Most people wouldn't quibble for a second that an 80yo is 'old' - yet there are people out there who are 25+ years older than they are!

As PP said, if you're a parent - especially to little children - it really does set the scene that you are/feel 'old' in comparison. When you see them starting to grasp and deal with the most basic things that you grasped or left behind decades ago, I think it does put things into perspective more.

Surely it's being used in a relative sense? If everyone else in the conversation is 30 years your junior and (say) they are talking about their school experiences, it's perfectly natural to say "I'm old and I remember corporal punishment in schools' or whatever might be relevant.

I'm in my 50s, so old in a group of twenty-to-30 year olds, but young in a group of 65+ people - outside this context I describe myself as middle-aged.

Sometimes one feels old.

sometimes one feels young.

I always feel young amongst my mum friends - I was 10 years younger than everyone when I had my DD and they forever remind me about how much time I have.

I’ve taken on a morning course and everyone is in their 20s - fresh out of uni. I definitely feel old in that environment.

I’m in my mid 30s so I’m not old. But there are moments in life that remind you that you are getting older.

I've written "I'm old" in posts and I'm 75, so I definitely am. I find Mumsnet much more useful for advice than Gransnet, if you think that's where I should be! I'm lucky enough to be, active, and engaged in stuff.

I agree that it’s said in a relative sense. I’m 56 and don’t feel old. However, I feel that I’m too old to do certain things. If I express feeling “too old” in conversation to my sprightly and independent 95 year old mother, she gives me short shrift.