Poll: How much older is too old?

[Raven's Nest]

I'm guessing "I've met 16 year olds..." is code for either "I am a 16 year old" or "I'm dating a 16 year old." Yes, obviously, individuals are different, and some 16 year olds are very mature for their age, but physiologically speaking, your brain isn't done growing until 23. Your personality isn't even in its final form yet. People change a lot between high school, college, and graduating college, (or high school and several years of employment, depending on socioeconomic factors), and pretending that someone who makes good decisions and has gone through all that is somehow equivalent to a 16 year old who makes good decisions is kind of silly.

Actually I'm nearly 25 and went back to college a few years ago and was therfore surrounded by 16 - year olds....

I'm not suggesting all of them were mature but dismissing all of them as child's is just plain patronising and incorrect. Experiences shape personality and everybody ages and develops at different paces, especially girls. Its not silly at all. A

 

[Starik20X6]

The 'acceptable' age gap increases as you get older, and is more a guideline than an actual rule. At the end of the day, as long as both parties are of consenting legal age it's none of my business (as much as I might think their weird for it). As for myself, I stick around my age bracket.

 

[shogunblade]

I find myself in this for a few minutes, but then I kind of gloss over it.

There is this librarian who is 11 years old than me (I'm 22) who has a five year old little boy (He's quite spritely, to say the least), so all the signs point to "Too young to date", and she herself thought that dating someone younger constituted being a "Cougar".

Cougar rules dictate that you have to be old enough to be my mom in order to be a cougar (so if she were say, seventeen or 18, maybe, there would be an issue), so there are no problems there.

However if you go by X Divided by 2 Plus Seven (For Reference [xkcd.com/314]), I just measure a year and a half under what she can date without being creepy.

But if there is something there, Why should it bother other people? If two people are happy, don't make a big fuss out of it. If it bothers you, you'd have to be pretty insecure, it's the only thing that makes sense.

 

[muckinscavitch]

We all know the rule of going down in age is Half your age + 7. So working backwards, the highest you can go is your age, less seven, times two. So a twenty one year old - 7 = 14 * 2 = 28 year old is the max.

As a male, I would personally choose 2 years older maximum, though this may change when I get older.

 

[TheCrapMaster]

Well as long as its not something like a 20year old hanging out with a 14-15 year old its just nasty. 20-30 years of age i reckon 5-10years is accetebel over your age. Over 30, who cares?

Tho personaly i dont realy care about age, and not all girls i think are together with older men because they are gold diggers. My friend for exampel, she is 22 and she prefers 40 year olds. Tho she is wierd but still.

 

[Rayne870]

Well...I don't think I would personally go for anyone outside of the 20-30 range I'm currently in myself at 25. And I would like to think that I would stay in the bracket of + or - 10 years of my current age. There has however been one exception, as I did have a crush on my mom's friend when i was 16-18 and she was in her early 30s, and I would probably seriously pursue her if I was not currently with the love of my life.

As for everyone else...just do what makes you and your partner happy.

 

[Goofguy]

We all know the rule of going down in age is Half your age + 7. So working backwards, the highest you can go is your age, less seven, times two. So a twenty one year old - 7 = 14 * 2 = 28 year old is the max.

As a male, I would personally choose 2 years older maximum, though this may change when I get older.

This rule thing is kind of getting annoying in this thread. I'm well aware of the rule and how legitimate it surprisingly is. However, I was asking for how much older is too old for you. If you agree with the rule for yourself, fine. It just seems to me that too many people are using it as a reference tool as opposed to just stating their preference.

I'm 26 and the oldest I'd go for is 35. This has nothing to do with the rule, just personal taste.

On an other note, I am quite happy to see the bacon option at a solid 14% of the poll.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

"Too old" is likely an invention of prosperity. In past centuries, it was not uncommon for a fifty year old man to marry a 18-20 year old woman, as marriage was not only about love but a pooling of mutual interests in order to solve dilemmas.

Canada is a free country, and besides, at 69 what's he gonna do?

 

[mitchell271]

-snip-

Here's the Standard Creepiness Rule.
(your age/2) + 7 = minimum age
2(your age - 7) = maximum age
e.g. A 30-year-old could date in the 22-46 range.
(30/2) + 7 = 22
2(30 - 7) = 46

 

[AngryMongoose]

Older than me? Jeeze, I don't know... maybe a few months? I mean, it'd be pretty hypocritical and sexist of me to not accept anyone my own age; but a whole year older? Screw that.

 

[GameMaNiAC]

My girlfriend is two years younger than me. So I guess my choice would be up to about 5 years of difference. I just want us to have a similar mindset and an equal amount of experience in life.

I don't really want to be with someone who has experienced too much (aka much older than me) or something like that. I don't mind age that much, but I prefer it when it's not far away from mine. That can cause some complications. Either many people will confuse the pair to be siblings, a parent and child, or relatives, or the sexual experience would be a little... odd (a 20-something making love with a 15-year-old. Imagine that.)

 

[Goofguy]

-snip-

Here's the Standard Creepiness Rule.
(your age/2) + 7 = minimum age
2(your age - 7) = maximum age
e.g. A 30-year-old could date in the 22-46 range.
(30/2) + 7 = 22
2(30 - 7) = 46

I sincerely hope you are just fucking with me. As I have made amply clear several times already, I am fully aware of the rule and am fully capable of doing the math on my own.

I was asking respondents to this thread about their personal taste. As in, putting the rule aside for one minute, how much older is too old for you?

I don't know if I can be any clearer than this. Holy fuck.

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

Depends on you're age really. I'd say no more than 8 years difference.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I am a consenting adult. My girlfriend is a consenting adult. The 5 year age gap is nothing to us. If I didn't have my girlfriend I wouldn't care for an age gap unless it was one of extremes. Age doesn't really apply when it comes to love and if it's a matter of marrying someone who is old because that person doesn't have anybody else and doesn't want to die alone, I would be perfectly down with that. People who base relationships around sex would be disappointed with me though...I could probably date older people far more easily than teenagers or 20-somethings because libido.

 

[Rose and Thorn]

Age has never been a point of concern for me.

If love is involved I will test the waters.

I am reminded of an episode from family guy where Brain the dog looks after an old lady, whom is actually a famous opera singer and falls in love. Err, see if a 7 year old dog and a 70 year old woman can fall in love...wait, it is only a cartoon? eh.

 

[kumush]

I think more than five ages is hard to maintain the relationship. It will be hard because their perspectives are different. They are at different life stages.

Btw, Can someone tell me what does the option "Maple flavoured bacon" mean? Thanks!