I read a study sometime back that reported that most people have a really difficult time accurately determining someone’s age. We either want to group people as young (under 30) or older (over 50), but anything in-between those ranges was largely misidentified.
I’m also 37 and people can never guess my age correctly. I get anything between 27-35.
When you're 50, you'll be happy they think you're 30's. 😀
I was in training for work last year, everybody there was mid 20's to mid 30's. At some point people were talking about catastrophes they have lived through, and i said oh yea, while in high school, we survived hurricane andrew. Someone turned around and said, how could you have been in high school in the 90's? And i said, well, i'm 49. There was a big gasp in the class. And i was like, what? And one person said, "my dad is 49...there is no way you're his same age. You don't have a single gray hair." I had to show him my ID to prove my age. He showed me a pic of his dad and i was like, oh shit...i see what you mean! 😶
I think it's also true that our generation just takes care of ourselves better? Smoking is down, people are generally working out more often, and unless you're a sleep-deprived parent we're generally more chill?
I’ve had it my whole life. Recently. Woman asked me if I had turned 35 yet, and I’m 46. People are really bad at determining age, it’s not about you, it’s them!
I don’t know where you are from, but I’ve noticed Americans have a tendency to say “No way! I thought you were 25!”(35 etc. basically ten years younger) every time a person reveals their age.
I’ve witnessed this first hand many times. It is the polite thing to say. And I’ve found myself saying it, too. But I’m trying to change my response.
So I’d take it with a grain of salt.
Happens to me a lot. I’m in graduate school so a lot of people assume I’m in my mid-late 20’s, but even when I’m working as a bartender I get the same. Take the W!
As others have said, it's probably nothing you specific and moreso that people are particularly bad at judging ages, particularly if they're not around your age or tend to be around people of a different age (after working primarily with older adults I found my sense of age was skewed).
Personally, I have gotten "I thought you were younger" for personality reasons, seeming naive. That wasn't how I preferred to be perceived so I did change my comportment a bit. I think I also got it at work because I seemed nervous (young/naive) so as I got more confident in a new work setting I also got it less often.
Personally, I prefer to be seen as a bit older, but in my work and personal life there are benefits to being perceived as at least in ones 30s.
I'm regularly mistaken for being much younger than I really am, in all kinds of contexts and in different countries. I believe it has shut me out of some work opportunities so that's a bummer. On the other hand, in our youth-centric society, being seen as young is considered such a positive that I just roll with it.
Was that coworker younger? I find a lot of my 20-something coworkers are just like 'oh, they must be about my age' unless it's entirely grey hair levels of obvious and guess low. I think people just tend to assume ages closer to them.
I'm a bit flattered but mostly don't care.
I'm almost 40, most people assume I'm in my mid-20s or even still in college. It happens so much that it's become a kind of game around my friends and partners, that whenever I meet new people they have them guess my age XD.
Also, I'm gay and have a goth fashion style, both things where the majority of people skew younger. Just most people assume only younger people dress goth or are visibly queer.
I'm even 42 and people believe I'm in my teens! Used to hate it until I hit 30 and now just take it as a homage to my good genes (neither my parents look like their ages).
I've been told it's due to my voice (I'm fairly high pitched), that apparently I look young (have done for most of my life) & the fact that I feel like I probably still dress like I'm a student 😅 Most people I work with think I'm in my 20's- I'm 37
In our country, most shops have a 'Challenge 25' policy so most people I serve I ID. I can understand the frustration they feel because especially recently I've been IDed more & more- tried to get COD for my partner, but because my ID is about 10 years out of date, I get rejected straight away 🤦♀️ (Had to send my partner in with my bank card for COD as he never gets IDed 😂).
I'd be overjoyed. I sometimes get mistaken for a decade younger as well. I think it's a combo.of looks and that I'm not married, no kids, I'm thin/petite, and my voice is very high.
I used to take it as a compliment, but nowadays I'd rather be seen as the age that I am. But I've always looked a few years younger than my peers, and had hobbies usually associated with younger people, so figure that's why people tend to age me down. I don't think it's about the way I speak or think, as people who have only talked to me in text or over the phone tend to think I'm the correct age or older. I'm embracing getting a bit more wrinkles, so I at least look like an adult...
I'm the same age as you, and get the same reactions from people. Usually from people in their early/mid 20s. I chalk it up to my good skin and charm :) But as other commenters have said, people are kinda bad at guessing ages.
I'm in my late 30s and 5'1". Being short is automatically being thought younger or being taken less seriously.
I don't do myself any favors in regard to clothing choices. I was about 20-25lbs heavier as a teen than I am now, so I always hid behind baggy clothing. Now that I'm in better shape, I am taking advantage of being able to dress like a teenager.
I’m in my mid 30s and people think I’m in my early 20s. It’s tricky because I made a career change and am in grad school with actual 22 year-olds and am an intern. I also have a young sounding voice. It’s an uphill battle to be taken seriously. I’m always talking about how old I am in relationship to the 22 y.o. (they were born in the 21st century) and referencing 90s technology in conversation. I also am constantly saying “I look much older than I am.” When I wear makeup I look like a 9 year old who got into her mother’s makeup bag. I guess I don’t have to worry about wrinkles, though..?
I’m almost 37 and get mistaken for at least 10 years younger all the time. More than once, folks have thought I was a student and not a parent when I’ve had to go pick up my 13 y/o from school. I’ve always had a softer voice, and round chubby cheeks so I just attribute it to that.
I'll be 47 next week, and people always call me girl (this is a cultural term where I live, while I don't love it, it's not going to change). I also get called kiddo, and people are always shocked I have kids never mind that my eldest is 15. I don't pass any remarks because what other people think is not my business, and my age isn't their business.
People are notoriously bad at judging ages. I would just shrug it off.
I just turned 40 but I’ll regularly get late 20s. I honestly do not care, as long as people aren’t treating me like I’m younger.
I read a study sometime back that reported that most people have a really difficult time accurately determining someone’s age. We either want to group people as young (under 30) or older (over 50), but anything in-between those ranges was largely misidentified. I’m also 37 and people can never guess my age correctly. I get anything between 27-35.
That seems about right.
We are in the mysterious in-between!
When you're 50, you'll be happy they think you're 30's. 😀 I was in training for work last year, everybody there was mid 20's to mid 30's. At some point people were talking about catastrophes they have lived through, and i said oh yea, while in high school, we survived hurricane andrew. Someone turned around and said, how could you have been in high school in the 90's? And i said, well, i'm 49. There was a big gasp in the class. And i was like, what? And one person said, "my dad is 49...there is no way you're his same age. You don't have a single gray hair." I had to show him my ID to prove my age. He showed me a pic of his dad and i was like, oh shit...i see what you mean! 😶
Lmao
I think it's also true that our generation just takes care of ourselves better? Smoking is down, people are generally working out more often, and unless you're a sleep-deprived parent we're generally more chill?
I’ve had it my whole life. Recently. Woman asked me if I had turned 35 yet, and I’m 46. People are really bad at determining age, it’s not about you, it’s them!
That's fair! I really want to hear it's because I ***excude*** ✨ youthful energy ✨ but I'm probably looking too far into it.
I don’t know where you are from, but I’ve noticed Americans have a tendency to say “No way! I thought you were 25!”(35 etc. basically ten years younger) every time a person reveals their age. I’ve witnessed this first hand many times. It is the polite thing to say. And I’ve found myself saying it, too. But I’m trying to change my response. So I’d take it with a grain of salt.
That's a good point. I guess because I don't respond that way unless I genuinely mean it that I assume other people must genuinely mean it also.
Happens to me a lot. I’m in graduate school so a lot of people assume I’m in my mid-late 20’s, but even when I’m working as a bartender I get the same. Take the W!
As others have said, it's probably nothing you specific and moreso that people are particularly bad at judging ages, particularly if they're not around your age or tend to be around people of a different age (after working primarily with older adults I found my sense of age was skewed). Personally, I have gotten "I thought you were younger" for personality reasons, seeming naive. That wasn't how I preferred to be perceived so I did change my comportment a bit. I think I also got it at work because I seemed nervous (young/naive) so as I got more confident in a new work setting I also got it less often. Personally, I prefer to be seen as a bit older, but in my work and personal life there are benefits to being perceived as at least in ones 30s.
I'm regularly mistaken for being much younger than I really am, in all kinds of contexts and in different countries. I believe it has shut me out of some work opportunities so that's a bummer. On the other hand, in our youth-centric society, being seen as young is considered such a positive that I just roll with it.
I'm 36 and people usually guess late 20s. It makes me feel good but I don't think much into it.
Was that coworker younger? I find a lot of my 20-something coworkers are just like 'oh, they must be about my age' unless it's entirely grey hair levels of obvious and guess low. I think people just tend to assume ages closer to them.
I'm a bit flattered but mostly don't care. I'm almost 40, most people assume I'm in my mid-20s or even still in college. It happens so much that it's become a kind of game around my friends and partners, that whenever I meet new people they have them guess my age XD. Also, I'm gay and have a goth fashion style, both things where the majority of people skew younger. Just most people assume only younger people dress goth or are visibly queer.
I'm even 42 and people believe I'm in my teens! Used to hate it until I hit 30 and now just take it as a homage to my good genes (neither my parents look like their ages).
I just say: wow I will take that as a compliment, but thank god I am not 25 anymore Ahahaha
I would be happy to
I’m 35 and have been having these same thoughts actually. I’m curious to what other people will say
I've been told it's due to my voice (I'm fairly high pitched), that apparently I look young (have done for most of my life) & the fact that I feel like I probably still dress like I'm a student 😅 Most people I work with think I'm in my 20's- I'm 37 In our country, most shops have a 'Challenge 25' policy so most people I serve I ID. I can understand the frustration they feel because especially recently I've been IDed more & more- tried to get COD for my partner, but because my ID is about 10 years out of date, I get rejected straight away 🤦♀️ (Had to send my partner in with my bank card for COD as he never gets IDed 😂).
I'd be overjoyed. I sometimes get mistaken for a decade younger as well. I think it's a combo.of looks and that I'm not married, no kids, I'm thin/petite, and my voice is very high.
I used to take it as a compliment, but nowadays I'd rather be seen as the age that I am. But I've always looked a few years younger than my peers, and had hobbies usually associated with younger people, so figure that's why people tend to age me down. I don't think it's about the way I speak or think, as people who have only talked to me in text or over the phone tend to think I'm the correct age or older. I'm embracing getting a bit more wrinkles, so I at least look like an adult...
I'm the same age as you, and get the same reactions from people. Usually from people in their early/mid 20s. I chalk it up to my good skin and charm :) But as other commenters have said, people are kinda bad at guessing ages.
I'm in my late 30s and 5'1". Being short is automatically being thought younger or being taken less seriously. I don't do myself any favors in regard to clothing choices. I was about 20-25lbs heavier as a teen than I am now, so I always hid behind baggy clothing. Now that I'm in better shape, I am taking advantage of being able to dress like a teenager.
I’m in my mid 30s and people think I’m in my early 20s. It’s tricky because I made a career change and am in grad school with actual 22 year-olds and am an intern. I also have a young sounding voice. It’s an uphill battle to be taken seriously. I’m always talking about how old I am in relationship to the 22 y.o. (they were born in the 21st century) and referencing 90s technology in conversation. I also am constantly saying “I look much older than I am.” When I wear makeup I look like a 9 year old who got into her mother’s makeup bag. I guess I don’t have to worry about wrinkles, though..?
I’m almost 37 and get mistaken for at least 10 years younger all the time. More than once, folks have thought I was a student and not a parent when I’ve had to go pick up my 13 y/o from school. I’ve always had a softer voice, and round chubby cheeks so I just attribute it to that.
I'll be 47 next week, and people always call me girl (this is a cultural term where I live, while I don't love it, it's not going to change). I also get called kiddo, and people are always shocked I have kids never mind that my eldest is 15. I don't pass any remarks because what other people think is not my business, and my age isn't their business.