How old is old?

[JJW]

Sitting here watching a documentary series on disasters of engineering. The current episode covers a train wreck. A survivor was interviewed to say he saw all the dead, "people, children, and old persons."

I had a thought that I'd had long ago. The old people that died. My thought was, okay, not a good way to die, but at least they were old. They'd lived.

I was 19 when my father was killed in a car crash. He was 41. My thought, he was old and had lived.

I turned 66 this week. Between you and me, I have a lot of living left to do. I hold some irritation with myself for the ignorance I had at 19 and thinking my dad was through anyway.

So, now I struggle over the question, how old is old. When have we lived enough to where it is enough?

I know there is no answer to this question, but I'd like to hear some views. How old is old enough?

 

[Azariah]

If that kid inside you is still alive... you're never too old.

There are videos on YouTube about 60+ year old skateboarders and they look good.

People like my dad, unfortunately, thinks his time is up and he doesn't look forward much to anything. Not even walks by the beach.

 

[kaetic]

I think when you're 19 you have no idea what living is anyway, or what people mean by saying "at least they lived." 41 is way too young IMO (biased because I'm 41 maybe), but it depends on the person. Your dad had a child, that might be enough for a lot of people.

I don't think anyone is ever really "ready to go". Maybe terminally ill patients that are measuring out their quality of life. Maybe not. It's really just something we tell ourselves for comfort. Same reason we have funerals, memorials, etc. It's not really for the person who died, it's for those who are left behind. How we grieve and keep going.

 

[ardour]

It's always going to be a matter of perspective. I feel like my life is already over since everything I want is tied to experiences that were missed out on in my twenties.

Hopefully they'll be a safer form of TRT available soon to take some of the physical decline element out aging. Then we'll have 55 year olds acting like they're 25... Also, this guy

 

[Minus]

I recall when my older brother turned sixteen. One of my younger brothers told me that he was now "over the hill". So I have always used sixteen as the age when you are 'old'.

 

[Just Games]

I'd say 50's is old.I was down the gym really early on Sunday and was surrounded by people between 50 and 60 and I thought wow I'm surrounded by old people on the treadmills today.My kids and wife started calling me the old man when I hit 51. This started also when my hair turned fully grey around the same time.I don't really feel old most of the time because I'm just a big kid at heart..then I look in the mirror.I also get names wrong ,trip over things ,fall down steps and that makes me feel really old.

Now I have worked for a couple of ladies that lived to 100,one getting to 107...now that's really old.But to not sugar coat I think old is 50 ..the half century, but I'm ok with it most of the time.

 

[kaetic]

It's always going to be a matter of perspective. I feel like my life is already over since everything I want is tied to experiences that were missed out on in my twenties.

Hopefully they'll be a safer form of TRT available soon to take some of the physical decline element out aging. Then we'll have 55 year olds acting like they're 25... Also, this guy

They also have amazing plastic surgery over there. Or maybe I'm thinking of Korea not Singapore... Is that Thailand? Or China? Maybe he just got really lucky with his genes.

 

[JJW]

I look in the mirror and see a stranger looking back. It's been only over the past few years, I think.

I use a gmail image I set up when the snapshot was new. That was 2006. It's still there. I think I was 52. I was still me then. I wonder where that guy went. I wonder when he left.

 

[ardour]

They also have amazing plastic surgery over there. Or maybe I'm thinking of Korea not Singapore... Is that Thailand? Or China? Maybe he just got really lucky with his genes.

Korea is most known for it. There's a good chance it's a hoax to garner instagram followers though.

 

[Abstamyous]

I read the question and thought, "Century eggs."

 

[Forgottendanfan]

Age is all relative. A young child might say a 25 year old is practically ancient, whereas to someone in their 80s, a 50 year old would be considered young. I'm in my mid 30s and some days I feel like a 60 year old and others I feel no different to the way I felt at 14.

 

[Sunless Sky]

I think 70s is when you are officially old.

 

[Forgottendanfan]

I think 70s is when you are officially old.

That's very generous.

 

[Finished]

I have always thought 40 is old. I still do. I'm way past 40 now and I consider myself old. But, then sometimes I look in the mirror and think I'm really not that old. I can still do a lot of stuff that many youngsters can't physically do.

But, I also can't do a lot of things I used to be able to easily do physically. I simply cannot climb any more. My fingers, toes, and ankles have lots of arthritist in them now.

I look at others my age and think holly **** they really are old. So, I'm going to stick with 40.

 

[PeggyLee]

I'll be 72 this year. Before the pandemic, 70 was the new 50. After Covid, 70 became the new 90. When you check the last box of the age group on a form, you're old. I'm in the next to last age group, so not old yet!

 

[TropicalStarfish]

I think some people never grow old. I think, "Betty White died young," is an honest statement. To me, old, is when: you long for everything of the past, hate everything that is new, become bitter, stop having fun, are in pain all the time, complain a lot, and are generally pessimistic, and far less than a joy for nearly anyone to be around.

Sadly for me, a lot of that is true, (not all of it), and I'm only in my 30's. I was old in my teens and twenties too.

The simple definition, I think, however, is when some one looks at you and thinks, 'old person.' lol.

"We don't quit playing because we grow old; we grow old because we quit playing." -Some person I forget...

So, to me, old is when you quit playin'... Whether the game is a hoot, or a real tough grind, or a losing battle, I'd like to maybe think, you can die young at any age...

 

[ardour]

I think it's down to how you lived your life. Those who miss out on youth will fear aging, while those who didn't can accept the process more gracefully with an emphasis on the positive. I was beginning to feel old by 24 but that was only because I'd spent those crucial 18-24 years isolated.

40 seems to be the point where most people notice differences in their physical dexterity, energy levels.

 

[ardour]

Actor Ray Liotta, only 67, just died in his sleep of a suspected aneurysm.

 

[user 188522]

I believe that the old can falls into three life-stage subgroups: the young-old 65-74, the middle-old 75-84, and the old-old over age 85

 

[Finished]

Actor Ray Liotta, only 67, just died in his sleep of a suspected aneurysm.

IMO, if you get into your 60s you're doing okay. I've been looking at alot of online lifetime estimates and getting to 70 is kind of tough to do.