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Well, sorry. I happen to know I look good for my age. my boyfriend is 20 years younger than me. I dont smoke, dont drink, stay out of sun and take amazing care of my skin, work out and get enough sleep. If you look you r age then Im sorry for you. Here in SoCal....thats a crime
All the men I know who looked old early on stopped aging, so take heart. They look the same at 45 as they did at 25. now they may even look younger than the men who only started aging at 35.
Exactly, my best friend back in high school and college easily looked 30 at 18.
Now he looks about ten years younger than his age!
I think when people say they look younger than their age, it's because they are comparing themselves to past generations, maybe their dad, grandpa, etc. when they were the same age. It is true that people these days look much younger than past generations, especially the people that were young adults during the Depression and World Wars. The young people in those days aged rapidly due to the stress of the times, not saying that it is not stressful these days, but I heard that the men that came back from World War II always looked years older than their true age. Even in old movies, the actors looked much older than their real age. A while ago I watched Rebel Without A Cause and the actor, Jim Backus, played James Dean's dad and he was only 42 and the actress playing the mom was 44. Tom Cruise now is older than Jim Backus ten years, but you can't see Tom playing James Dean's dad.
I seem to be aging better than my mom (I remember when she was the age I am now), but my lifestyle is totally different...I don't smoke, I don't have four kids. I don't have a lot of the stresses that have aged her.
Why do so many middle aged people think they look young for their age. Nearly everyone I know goes on and on about how young they feel and look and are so proud that they think they look 10 years younger than their real age.
Trouble is most of them really do look their age or even older and are in denial.
Agreed, and also there's a difference between looking good for your age and looking a lot younger than you are. A middle-aged person can look good for their age and even be wrinkle-free, but it's usually still obvious that they are in middle age. Being wrinkle-free does not mean you can pass for a 20-something or a 30-something. In fact, it's actually rare to see middle-aged people who can actually pass for a much younger person.
Also, I've noticed that people who look a lot younger then they are have ALWAYS looked younger.
Hi! Have been lurking for awhile and now that I'm going to be on summer vacation, and will have more time to post, I thought I'd chime in, especially because this topic is something I've been thinking about a lot lately!
I do look younger than 50...everyone is always surprised when I tell them my age! I attribute this to the following: I have very oily skin, so no wrinkles; I wear my hair longish (past my shoulders) and curly/wavy; I dress youngish (I work at an elementary school where the majority of staff are in their 30s; those that are my age tend to "dress older"); and I follow the "trends" of the students (their shows, movies, reading interests in order to stay relevant)! I also have only an occasional grey/silver hair. Most of my much younger friends have to dye theirs to cover it up.
BTW this wasn't always the case...when I was younger I was always mistaken for older...at 12 people thought I was 16-20; it was around my late 20s that this began to change.
However, as I tell people I make look younger, but I sure don't feel it... lately I've been having so many different kinds of aches and pains!
Why do so many middle aged people think they look young for their age. Nearly everyone I know goes on and on about how young they feel and look and are so proud that they think they look 10 years younger than their real age.
Trouble is most of them really do look their age or even older and are in denial.
Will anyone here actually admit they look like someone their age or even look older than their age?
I will, I look every day of my 62 years of age, and more!
I know what you mean. It seems every one in their 40s think they look like their in their 20s. I never seen a 40 year old carry the youth of a 20 year old. But I do understand when people say they look good for their age. I know a man 80 years old and he does possess strength of a 50-60 year old. He doesn't have wrinkles either and have a head full of thick black hair. He's upright, walk with strength and prowess, and his wife is 42. I know plenty of women in their 50s, 60s, and 70s with absolutely no wrinkles. Though they look good and aged well they don't look 30.
I think I look older than my age. Probably because I have a lot of grey and my skin is pretty sun damaged. I was taking a class a couple of months ago at a local university and one of my classmates thought I was his age at 20. Then later when I guess he had a closer look at my skin, he commented to his friend I looked like I aged at least a decade within a few weeks.
I disagree with most of this. People today aren't necessarily healthier than that of yesteryear.
People ate more processed foods, but there was less obesity in general. They ate out in moderation (fast food was a "treat;" and servings were smaller). People may not have worked out as much, but they were more likely to be active in other ways—more walking, jogging, etc. Kids engaged in more outdoor activities (bikes, sports, etc). The average woman today couldn't fit into a dress of the average woman of yesteryear.
Today, there's an emphasis on natural and organic foods; but fast food and eating out/takeout are a bigger part of the average person's overall diet. There's a desire for great abs and building muscle tone, as opposed to just being a thinner woman or a guy that's just in good shape. (Think of actors of the 50s and 60s such as Burt Lancaster, Monty Clift, etc.); yet clothing sizes extend beyond extra and extra large (—think 5XL). People boast about going to gyms, but will drive to opposite ends of the same parking lot (instead of walking) and will pick up mail from the comfort of their cars (instead of walking down their own driveway). Kids that aren't otherwise into sports or arts, music, are more likely to sit in front computers/tablets/TVs/video games than spend as much time outside as in the past. And there are plenty of those who still tan.
Granted these are generalities, but I'd say it evens out except for smoking not being as socially acceptable as it was before, and people dressing more youthful today.
People wanted to look older (especially teens), and elder didn't to concern themselves with dressing to look younger. It wasn't as much of a stigma. Today, the majority of people would rather look younger (unless they're teens that want to treated as adults or kids that want the privileges of teens).
Wow. This really depends on 2 things: what era we're talking about (jogging was popular in the 90's, and maybe the 80's, but I was talking about even earlier eras, like the 40's - 60's and maybe 70's), and one's social environment. In me experience, and my older relatives' experience, fast food was NEVER considered a "treat"! It was always considered trash. Women in my family from a generation and two gen's back, did not exercise. There were exercise shows on TV for housewives, but I never heard of anyone actually doing the exercises. Walking was the main exercise, and maybe swimming. Maybe tennis once a week.
I don't know about fast food being a bigger part of the "average" person's diet today. I don't know anyone who eats fast food, except for a couple of cashiers at my grocery store, and a few other minimum-wage workers. I guess I don't know many "average" people? Who are those people? I thought it was mostly people with not much education who ate junk food, because they didn't know any better, or didn't have the money to eat healthfully. (Per many TV documentaries on malnutrition and obesity in the US, and occasional personal observation.)
Sometimes it's hard to have a conversation on C-D, because there's so much geographic variation, age diversity, social diversity, members have trouble finding common ground. I guess if you're talking about the "new obesity" (as I'll call it, for the sake of the discussion), then you'd be right, people are becoming unhealthy again. But I've never lived where obesity is a big issue, nor have I ever lived among people prone to obesity. The one exception is Hispanics here in the SW where I currently live. But non-Hispanics here aren't overweight or obese. They're healthy and eat healthfully, as does everyone I know on the West Coast.
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My question to all of you folks is how does it impact and improve your life in any tangible, useful way if you look younger than your age? If I see a woman who I think is age appropriate for me (late 20s to early 30s) but she is actually 41, my reaction will be - she could be useful to me short-term but not what I'm looking for long term. Besides some sort of ego-boost for her, is she gaining anything in particular? So what's the point of all this? Embrace your age, act your age and keep looking ahead. If more middle aged folks dressed like dignified adults rather than their teenage kids, then maybe I can stop laughing so much in public and slow the onset of laugh lines .... Then I can keep getting attention from college-age females .... I still get carded often enough, and it is annoying to say the least. I am a MAN not some boy.
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now they may even look younger than the men who only started aging at 35.
Then I can keep getting attention from college-age females .... I still get carded often enough, and it is annoying to say the least. I am a MAN not some boy.
