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Are you older or younger than you appear?


Mezzo Forte

Are you older or younger than you appear?  

199 members have voted

  1. 1. Do people usually mistake you for older or younger than you actually are?

    • Younger
      114
    • Older
      38
    • Roughly the correct age
      19
    • Inconsistent/Varies wildly
      28

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When people guess/assume your age, do they tend to think you're older or younger than you actually are?

 

I constantly get mistaken for significantly younger than I actually am. I'm 24 at the moment, but most people assume me somewhere around 14-19 years old. Someone actually mistook me for 11 years old when I was buying my car last May. I go out of my way to dress extra formal when I teach, and even then, some of my students even admitted that they initially thought I was just another student taking the course. The only people who assume me older than I actually am are those who based their assumptions on my demeanor or professional pursuits, and it's very rare that these traits can offset my physical appearance. (Ironically, when I was a freshman in college, people typically assumed I was a graduate student, but every year after that, people usually assumed me a freshman. Even at the grocery store this week, the clerk thought I was a college freshman.)

 

The mix of a young face, slender build, and sort stature definitely make me look young. One thing that may someday help me look older (aside from simply aging) is a beard, but my facial hair just hasn't reached the point of looking professional yet, so growing out a beard doesn't do me many favors at the moment. The only thing that really bothers me about looking young is the ageism that comes with it, especially because that's the kind of bias that can directly impact things like classroom management or organizing interviews/ethnographic field research. I will admit though, There's something amusing about seeing the ways people's facial expressions change when they assume me a child and then hear me say "I'm a professor." :lol:

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EmotionalAndroid

It is very rare that people guess my age correctly, or even ballpark it. Many people say I look 10+ years younger than I actually am, which annoys me because I am treated like a child constantly. This confusion is likely due to my young-looking face, slender build, flat chest, shyness/social awkwardness, and the fact that I am AFAB and present as female out of convenience, but don't wear makeup. The funny thing is that I am very tall for a female, yet people still think I am young.

 

It is amusing telling people my actual age, education, and occupation, though. It really throws them for a loop.

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Ruru+Saphhy=Garnet

I look young for my age.

I'm a damn adult... Yet people think I'm 12 :blink:

When people find out my actual age, they are shocked.

 

 

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My freshman year in high school, people thought I was a sophomore. My sophomore year, people thought I was a junior. But my junior year, people thought I was a freshman? But nowadays, people have actually seemed to be spot on when guessing my age "19". Though, I have just turned 20 a few months ago. Apparently I have a baby face, so I've been told.

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1 hour ago, Mezzo Forte said:

When people guess/assume your age, do they tend to think you're older or younger than you actually are?...

Younger. The only time an adult thought I was older was when I was 16, after he'd seen me figure skate for months and we'd chatted, along with another adult woman who also skated. He finally mentioned an adult dance skating competition he wanted to enter, and said he was looking for a figure skating partner; he asked me how old I was, then said, "Oh. I thought you were 24." He didn't speak to me, again, after that, I'm guessing, because I was underage.

 

So, yeah; it really hurt to be disrespected off-ice in the real world just because adults weren't able to see my skating skills and assumed I looked like a teenager. I've always thought it's ridiculous and insulting that adults are only respectful to other younger adults if they see that the younger adult or teen has skills the older adult doesn't have; some also experienced abuse, which not all older adults have, so I wish older adults weren't condescending to younger people, assuming that young people haven't experienced anything in their lives.

 

I guess I could tell you that it gets better, because, nowadays, not all adults immediately ask me how old I am (because they're already looking at my ID with my birthdate on it.) But it's taken so long for adults to finally stop asking all the time! One time, a DMV desk attendant entered the wrong birth year on my ID, as me be being born a decade later, even though I'd written it correctly; then, when I pointed out her mistake, she said I looked young.

 

I have a feeling they still do think I'm a teen, though, even if they don't ask or say it, sometimes, because I've had people recently stop their car while I'm walking/exercising and ask whether I need a ride; and when I've tried being polite to other adults, saying, "Hello," like they do to other adults, they've looked at me strangely and not replied or spoke to me reluctantly, as though they were surprised.

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It's not a significant difference from what I can tell and I don't think I look younger but I sometimes seem like I am. If I dress nicely people can't really tell but if I'm wearing leisure wear or woodwork clothes then they think I'm younger.

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Definitely inconsistent.  There's a bit of dichotomy between my appearance (youthful) and personality (old).  Lately I've realized my face is starting to age...makes me sad.

 

I'm terrible at guessing people's ages, btw.  I try to treat people the same regardless of age.

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I am often assumed to be twenty something, when I m already over 30.

 

I don't know why, but something in my appearance/behavior seems to suggest that.

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I think I look old. Please around my own age and older usually say I look younger. 

 

I've had younger people think I'm older, but I'm not sure if that's because of how I look or the way that I talk. 

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arekathevampyre

people say I look younger than my age . Somehow I resemble a high schooler though I have left school for a couple of years now . lol

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girlwiththelongskirt

People used to say I looked way older, but it is starting to get a bit better now. People are still very surprised when I say I'm 18, but they expect me to be 21/22 so they are not that far off. But when I was younger people though I was 18 when I was 12 years old. I always liked the fact that people though I was older because I felt older than my age.

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NerotheReaper

I look younger than I am. Yet I act way older than I am. 

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Yes I do it’s mostly dressing style lack of makeup and behavior. I’m really open and easily made happy and I don’t see that as a trait in a lot of senior girls so that is probably seen as a marker that I am “young”.

 

 

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Between when I was 21-25, a lot of people thought I was either 17 or 19. I've probably caught up a bit on a bit closer to my actual age by now though.

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I have always looked much older than I am, I went grey by the time I was 14, even my beard was grey, I'm now going to the stage of being white more than grey.

 

I recall, I was 28 at the time, I got pulled over by the police whilst in my car, I produced my licence and details, the police officer asked my date of birth, I told them, I was hauled out of the car, arrested for lying and taken to the cells, there were no mobile phones back then, so I used my one call to phone my best mates' parents, they came over and identified me as my parents wouldn't have bothered to come, my friends' father had more colour in his hair as I was totally grey, they thought I was older than him!!! :)

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I'm 21 and everyone thinks I'm in high school, sometimes even younger. It doesn't bother me much so I don't really care. It'll be a problem when I'll try to get a job, but I graduate in a few months so I don't worry about it now. 

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50 minutes ago, banoffeepie said:

I look in mirrors and see my father.. I don't look in mirrors much.

That would be my worst nightmare!!! My father is/was a genuinely evil person, I hope I don't resemble him in any way, shape or form

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I look much younger than I actually am. I'm in my late twenties and very often people think that I am seventeen or sixteen. 

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I've been told I look younger than I am, but mostly by people who don't really know me. Part of it may be people reading me as male or at least masculine (I'm AFAB). If I tell them my age, they often tell me that they guessed a few years younger, but not a ton.

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From the ages of about 9-13 I was told I looked older for my age, which was a nice thing! However from 14 onward, that all changed. As I hardly wear makeup, so somehow makes me look younger than I actually am. I was refused to buy a 12 rated DVD in a shop a couple of weeks ago, I was actually shocked, as I'm 20. Do girls that age actually look older then me now? I'm not even "small", I'm 5 foot 4 inches, so pretty much the average height of a women in Wales.

I'm not complaining really, however it can be a bit annoying as you've got to carry around ID where ever you go (I've only got my passport at the moment), so it's a bit of a faff getting that out and showing them I am actually not a 12 years old, but 20. 

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I look like a forever 16 despite being quite older. I confuse people a lot and I was once mistaken for a high schooler at my own faculty. Mailmen often ask for someone adult to come over and I'm 24 this year.

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I age like a yo-yo. As a teenager, I got mistaken for nearly 30. Now I’m 25 and get mistaken for a preteen but I dress and act older so people often assume I’m older than I am anyway. Shrug.

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I never developed much facial hair and I have a bit of a baby face I suppose. People always assume I'm younger than I am and it varies by how much. A few years ago some old man asked if I was still going to school. Lol, I was late twenties and it annoys me really because I don't want people viewing me like that. It doesn't help when finding a job or a relationship to appear younger.

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Prufrock, but like, worse

I look dead, but am not yet dead. I suppose that counts as older.

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I'm 23, and people usually guess that I'm in high school.  I'd like to think that I act fairly mature, but my looks always throw people off.  I'm very short, have a bit of a baby face, and haven't changed my clothes too much since late high school/ early college.  

 

I can never do anything age-restricted without being carded, and my friends (who all actually look like they're in their 20's) comment that they get carded a lot more where I'm around.  Just a few weeks ago, my younger brother turned 21, and we took a trip to a casino to celebrate since the gambling age here is 21.  A lot of people were asking me for ID while ignoring my brother, or only asking for my brother's ID as an after thought, which was pretty funny.

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everywhere and nowhere

It depends on how well they can see me. My face and neck (ouch, I can't even think about its condition at the moment) look absolutely older than my age, my skin's condition is very bad from all this allergy and extreme dryness, I have deep wrinkles and I think I definitely look well over 40 (I'm 36). On the other hand, I don't dress in a way seen as "appropriate" for my age. I love hippie and ethnic clothes, as a freelancer I'm not subject to any formal dress code expectations, so if people see me from a distance which prevents them from seeing my face well, they may assume I'm younger.

I don't mind being perceived as older, but don't like being assumed to be 30-. I really never identified with the category of "youth". Even at the age of 20 I perceived myself as "not old" rather than "young".

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5 minutes ago, Princess Merida said:

I never developed much facial hair and I have a bit of a baby face I suppose. People always assume I'm younger than I am and it varies by how much. A few years ago some old man asked if I was still going to school. Lol, I was late twenties and it annoys me really because I don't want people viewing me like that. It doesn't help when finding a job or a relationship to appear younger.

I feel you on the job searching aspect. My boss is a dancer who looks much younger than she actually is, so that at least made her less judge mental about my own youthful appearance. She warned me in my interview that students may try to "take advantage of my youth" because of my appearance and advised that I start each semester stricter with the classroom policies than I otherwise would have.

 

As an aromantic, the impact on finding a relationship is almost a perk. Still, I do find myself quite flattered when women hit on me from time to time :P 

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2 minutes ago, Mezzo Forte said:

I feel you on the job searching aspect. My boss is a dancer who looks much younger than she actually is, so that at least made her less judge mental about my own youthful appearance. She warned me in my interview that students may try to "take advantage of my youth" because of my appearance and advised that I start each semester stricter with the classroom policies than I otherwise would have.

 

As an aromantic, the impact on finding a relationship is almost a perk. Still, I do find myself quite flattered when women hit on me from time to time :P 

The times I've been hit on (the few times) have been really creepy so maybe looking younger hasn't helped me there either.

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