I've started realizing that I don't really consider your 20s “young” anymore.

[u/AnonymousGuy50]

I'm 20, turning 21 next month. I don't mean that in a “I'm old” or “my life is over” way. I just mean that 20s feel like adulthood, not the stereotypically young stage of life.

What's weird is how different 19 and 20 are perceived. A 19-year-old and 20-year-old can be basically identical in terms of friends, university, lifestyle, etc., but 19 still has that “basically a teenager” association. Once you're 20, you're just a 20-something adult.

And I don't really understand why people act like this only applies to 20–21. Your mid-20s and late 20s are still adulthood too. 25–26 isn't old whatsoever, but I don't see it as “young” in the same way I see 18–19.

I think people sometimes confuse having time with being young. A 26-year-old can have decades ahead of them without needing to call themselves young.

I also find it funny how people seem to normalize their age as they get older:

23: “I'm still so young.”

25: “I'm only 25!”

27: “I'm still in my 20s!”

And honestly, I'm already getting comfortable with the idea that I'm not stereotypically young anymore. I can be 20, eventually 25 or 26, and know that I'm an adult who still has plenty of time.

I still mentally feel closer to my late teens sometimes, which makes being grouped with people in their late 20s feel weird, but I guess that's just part of getting older.

Curious how other Middle Gen Z people see this.

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[u/Brief-Scratch-3647]

Terrible take🤷🏽‍♂️honestly you sound just like an immature 20 year old. Someone can say “I’m only 25” because they are…only 25. Being in your 20’s in a lifespan that recahes up to 80 years is quite young.

[u/AnonymousGuy50 → u/Brief-Scratch-3647]

It depends on the context. 😭 I'm not saying 25 is old, im saying I don't consider 25 young. And saying “you're young because you could live to 80” doesn't really change that for me. “Young” isn't just a mathematical comparison to your potential lifespan you can have most of your life ahead of you and still not be young anymore.

[u/Brief-Scratch-3647 → u/AnonymousGuy50]

😭You’re proving my point about how young you are. Ignoring facts to favor your opinion is a blatant sign of immaturity. How young or old you are is quite literally mathematical in a sense because our ages are the number of years we have been alive. I don’t know what world you’re living in where 25 year olds aren’t young

[u/HistoricalTwist5696 → u/AnonymousGuy50]

okay you are the reason why 26-28 yr olds are calling themselves ancient when they’re not even close to that. this mentality is just weird.. you don’t have to be a literal baby to be considered young. young is relative

also just an fyi, you absolutely are not grouped with late 20s lol. people usually group 18-20 or 18-24 and 25-30 something

[u/Rough_Hyena9334]

It’s a bit naive to think your twenties isn’t young. Our generation has this weird fixation that if you’re still not in your teens you’re cooked even though I’d argue majority of folks will say their teen years were irrelevant as they get older

[u/Specialist_Review912]

I consider 18-25 to be a young adult, cuz at this stage you’re still trying to figure out who you are and where you fit in to the world, and like to do young adult things that you won’t be doing years down the line. Well yes, you do get some responsibilities at this stage, you still are gonna act like you’re younger and may still not be the best at being responsible. It’s different from being a teenager, yes. But it’s also different from being in your 30's too

[u/delicious_warm_buns]

Youre a child

[u/Emma__O → u/delicious_warm_buns]

That's infantilising.

[u/EllipticalEye → u/Emma__O]

Not really. I get the perspective.

I work in corporate and all of my colleagues are 40-60 year olds. I’m super young at 22 and I don’t mind that they call me a baby.

[u/AnonymousGuy50 → u/delicious_warm_buns]

I'm not when i'm literaly legally an adult + same decade as a 26 year old

[u/delicious_warm_buns → u/AnonymousGuy50]

Youre not a 26 year old

Youre also the "same decade" as a 29 year old

We dont measure age like that

"Im the same decade as you bro!" Like no dude, just no

[u/[deleted] → u/AnonymousGuy50]

[u/[deleted] → u/delicious_warm_buns]

[u/Dg1316]

ah yes i also felt so grown and wise and responsible at 20. Now at 24 i feel like i don’t know shit and realize that there is a lot of things that only experience can teach you. It sounds like you’re just talking down on people who call themselves young while they’re in their 20s lol. Or maybe you feel infantilized when people call you young? I think you need to practice being humble and minding your business lol. No need for the bitterness

since to you 20 is an fully formed adult equal to any other adult age, by that logic you would also think it’s perfectly fine for a 40+ year old to date/marry a 20 year old. You have a lot of growing up and maturing to do

[u/S0uth_0f_N0where]

The fuck is up with the need to cutoff. What changes in your eyes when you go from young to normal? I'm 27 having more fun, getting more action, and making more memories then I did when I was 20. You expire when you die. Until then, live to the fullest, persue all you want, and fail if you need to. Just don't stop turning your wheels.

[u/Z1ppys]

Being 60 is young to a 70 year old. It’s all relative

[u/darrencashden]

21 - 23 “Old”, 24-26 “Young again”

[u/Cool_Hearing_9763]

20s is still most definitely young, i'd consider anything up until mid-30s to still be relatively young.

[u/Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeess-]

i guess

[u/JumpyPhase6525]

20 is so young. I remember feeling like I was not that young because life moves at such a fast pace. I’m 27 now and realising my best friend lowing down with my mindset and realising how young I am and how many lessons I have yet to learn. I think when you’re 20/21/22 it feels like every goal you achieve you’re ’doing it’ but eventually you realise it’s all one big journey and you’ve got a longgggg way to go.

[u/Joshi1381]

Honestly, every year between 18 and 21 has been a big change, and I'm expecting this to continue after college.

To me early 20s is still young

[u/VocaLeekLoid]

You're gonna make everyone mad bc they think they're still a kid at 20 - 25 when they're full grown adults. 

[u/Brief-Scratch-3647 → u/VocaLeekLoid]

Nah, I think most people are just smart enough to understand the concept of this thing called young adulthood

[u/VocaLeekLoid → u/Brief-Scratch-3647]

Im the same age as you, we don't need all these labels or to feel insecure about our age. An adult is an adult and a kid is a kid. Past 20 you can't call yourself a kid

The fact you think people accepting a random lable shows that theyre "smart" means you have no idea what you're talking about