I'm ony 10 years old.

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

eh it depends on the debate/subject, if it's games/gaming, or some other random hobby, i don't see why a mature 10 year olds comment isn't as viable as a 20 or 30 year olds

but when it comes to very adult based things, ex: marriage then it will probably slip under the radar as not as informed or not as understanding.


jesus it's amazing how many people will simply disregard someone based on age. You must have some of the derpiest kids where you live because i know quite a few smart younger kids, common sense wise and book smarts wise, so their maturity applies to alot of situations.

 

[GeorgW]

First off, you have to be 13 to sign up to the Escapist.
I'd say that any opinion is valuable, and children sometimes has insight into things that are lost in adulthood. That said, I always take anything children say with a huge grain of salt.
Besides, I could hold my own in an argument when I was 10, so why not others?

 

[Jacynduhh]

in my opinion, it depends, not about the person's age, but the person in general, like how mature they are, stuff like that. and even if they aren't mature or whatever, depending on what the topic is, they may have some very good points. i don't care how old someone is, i will still listen to them and give them respect and time to explain themselves before responding, it's only fair, and that is how i would like to be treated if i were in their shoes.

 

[PixelKing]

Oh yes, I can read through this and see no hate towards 10-13 year old children which includes me so therefore you are hating me. None at all.

I have my opinions, and my age does not reflect that.

You know that since you have to be 13 to open an account and yours is about 2 years old admitting you are in the 10-13 year old age bracket is basically admitting to breaking the TOS of the site and is consequently bannable offence?

O.T. you are allowed your opinions, but since I have anywhere up to double your life experience (depending on where in the 10-13 you fall) my knowledge base is by definition more likely to include information on any given subject and subsequently I am more likely to be right on any given subject than you.

Now I?m not claiming that I DO know more about everything than you do, just that I Probably do. A notable difference.

You know that, at least I'm being honest about it.
So if anyone wants to report me for it, go ahead.

 

[Kakashi on crack]

Or let's say, hypothetically, that I was. Does that lessen the value of my opinion? Does that make my part in a discussion less worthwhile?

rest of post irrelevant

I suppose after reading a few comments that I'm going to be in the minority here in saying that yes, being 10 lessens the value of an opinion. It doesn't necesarily make the discussion less worthwhile, but it wholeheartedly lessens the value of an opinion.

Despite what you consider to be a "mature" 10-year old, such a case is extremely rare, and to top such off, most of us form egotistical relations in our heads to support our claims and make us seem more "special." Now, not trying to be an ass here, but if you think about it for a bit, you'll realize that it quite ltteraly is a sub-conscious egotistical relation formed to make you feel more supportive of your view.

To be blunt, a 10-year-old lacks the maturity to comprehend the adult-like ways of this world, they lack the experience to form a cohesive analysis of a subject they decide to debate on, and typically are extremely unlikely to hold something till the end, especially if it is in their disfavor (such as an arguement)

A 10-year-old typically lacks the grammar and logic skills formed with age, and is prone to letting emotion get in the way of any and all arguements no matter how intellectual they may seem, and when they do leave out their emotions in an arguement, they typically become assinine, using smart-ass comments and pushing specific wording and phrasing to seem like they are right even when they know they are wrong. To top this off they are extremely prone to guilt trips and many other things.


In conclusion, a ten-yeard old can be worthwhile in a discussion, but ultimately, there are only a handful of ten-year-olds who shouldn't have a lessened value of opinion in said discussions.

P.S. the joking logic you use proves you are 10, and that you lied about your age to join up, thank you and have a nice day.

 

[Sordin]

To me it doesn't lessen it but some people would disregard it.

 

[Sgt. Dante]

You know that, at least I'm being honest about it.
So if anyone wants to report me for it, go ahead.

I never said I was gonna report you, Just making sure you're aware that someone might... Same way that advocating piracy in anyway, one word posts and using an ad blocker are bannable offences.

 

[PixelKing]

You know that, at least I'm being honest about it.
So if anyone wants to report me for it, go ahead.

I never said I was gonna report you, Just making sure you're aware that someone might... Same way that advocating piracy in anyway, one word posts and using an ad blocker are bannable offences.

Of course I am aware, but thanks for putting it anyway. And also that means most of the users here, a fair few use ad-blocker.

 

[Susan Arendt]

It depends on the subject matter. A 10 year old lacks the kind of experience necessary to form an informed opinion on most subjects. That said, if the topic is within their sphere of influence, there's no reason their opinion should immediately be discounted. Working against them, however, will also be their likely inability to express their thoughts in a particularly sophisticated way. Even the most intelligent 10 year old is still a 10 year old, after all. They might feel something or intuit it, but not really know enough about how they think yet to know why they feel something.

 

[RatRace123]

It all depends on how the individual person acts, outside of any preconceived notions. If someone would choose to label themselves as this or that, then our notions of how they will behave may be colored differently.

In general the internet sees 10 year olds as loud, annoying, racist, homophobic idiots, and someone who made a point to say they were 10 years old would be seen in that same light.
Whether or not it's deserved is an entirely different matter.

 

[Dott]

I'm a pessimist who tends to have general opinions and impressions about things, often based on previous experiences with this and that.
For example, my experience with 10-year-olds is that they are not very smart. Their general knowledge is not very broad due to their short life spans, and most of them spend their time playing with friends and whatnot rather than playing Trivial Pursuit and getting every card drawn right, and that's how it should be.
I don't come to a 10-year-old for enlightenment, in fact I usually stay away from children due to the firm belief that they are indeed the future, but in the sense that they represent the scourge of the earth that is the coming generation.

 

[Hazzaslagga]

A ten year old is less likely to make sense or have a good understanding of a situation compared to an adult. However this doesn't mean that this is always the case. A ten year old can still speak sense or give positive input into a discussion.

 

[ZRendZ]

It really depends on the 10 year old and the argument being made.
-If it's about politics or sex etc. then i would think his argument would be less valid just because of the potential lack of experience and understanding of the topic
-If it's about something like religion and the person puts up a decent argument then the age is out of the discussion.

 

[Kadoodle]

It would influence your credibility...in a bad way.

It's why, even though I'm probably old enough that this won't happen to me, I never disclose my age online.

 

[Baby Tea]

Or let's say, hypothetically, that I was. Does that lessen the value of my opinion? Does that make my part in a discussion less worthwhile?

Yes and no.

No, because you are a person, and if you say something worthwhile, then your age is irrelevant.

Yes, however, because your age does matter in terms of life experience. The average 10 year old has extremely little life experience, and, depending on the topic of conversation, has very little reference or education in what's usually being talked about. Age doesn't automatically make you smarter or more wise, but there is absolutely something to be said about life experience. And 10 year olds don't have it.

My grandfather had fantastic advice, having lived through 2 world wars, immigrating to a new country with just the clothes on their back, raising 6 kids when barely having enough to make ends meet, being a cop, working in a troubled youth shelter, and living to a ripe old age. He saw so very much, and was able to teach me plenty. My dad has taught me so much as well, for similar reasons.

A 10 year old can't do that. And that isn't a slight against their age.
They're just inexperienced at life.

 

[Denamic]

If course it matters.
If you're a pre-pubescent child, you are inexperienced and immature.
Your mental capacity is not yet fully developed, and you have not had the time to be well informed on anything really.
Sure, you might stumble on a sound conclusion, but you're likely to have done so prematurely and/or for the wrong reasons.

 

[Manji187]

No, but the likelyhood of your opinion being valid on its own merit is far lower than if you were, say, 20.

Not due to age, but due to -

* More life experience
* Having had more time to accumulate knowledge
* Having had more time to develop your critical thinking skills

Those three points are connected to "lifetime" and thus to age. A 10 year old does not have a lot of life experience, hasn't accumulated a lot of knowledge (so far) and hasn't yet developed critical thinking skills....because he or she is just 10 years old.

 

[zama174]

Hmm. I'd have to say yes and no.. While if you are ten and you can present a point well enough it SHOULDN'T matter how old you are, but unfortunately it does. What it all really boils down to is adults don't want to be beaten in a debate by a child. It reflects rather poorly on them, makes them look unintelligent, and so they will dismiss the opinions of a child simply out of hand of not wanting to appear dumb. Such arguments like "I'm the adult, what I say goes." or "you're just a kid, you don't understand." And while I suppose the later can be very true, it shouldn't be used against a kid that does understand..

 

[Wintermoot]

10 yo tend to be egocentrically dipshits (99/10 times) that haven,t experienced anything yet.