While aging is something we can’t really stop—no matter what some ads for face creams say—with some people, age does seem to be just a number; take 70-year-olds going crazy on the dance floor when they hear their favorite tunes, for instance, or a person 80-something years of age going on another trip to see the world.
But there are also people on the other side of the scale, for whom age is just a number, too, as despite being just over 20, they might feel three times older. A netizen on X (formerly Twitter) got curious about the “old person things” people of all ages do, so he started a thread on the platform and quite a few netizens shared their thoughts. Scroll down to find their answers below and see if you do any of these “old people things” yourself.
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Wake up round 9am or so, eat breakfast and rime for theme after breakfast nap. Wake up round noon and continue the cycle.
I don’t understand why this is so confusing. You’re reducing sensory input from one source to concentrate. I’ve been driving since I was 16 and I’ve always done this when I need to focus more intently (looking for an address, driving in heavy traffic, etc.)
Even though every person is different, no matter their age, some things are more typical of a certain group, hence, what we consider to be “old person things”. But while waking up at the break of dawn with no alarm or spending hours knitting are often linked to an elderly age, usually the link between the things people do and their age is more of a belief rather than a rule.
This is clear by looking at this list, where young netizens reveal that they, too, already have an inner alarm clock waking them up at sunrise or back problems that are often related to aging.
The things people consider to be “old person things” might be difficult to determine, as individuals don’t seem to see eye to eye regarding what “old” means exactly. According to Pew Research Center’s survey, the majority of people—nearly four-in-five of them—consider someone old when they reach their 85th birthday; others think a person is old when they can no longer live independently or drive a car.
Based on the survey, other markers include turning 75, frequently forgetting familiar names, having health-related problems or finding it difficult to walk up the stairs, and having bladder control problems, respectively.
Pew Research Center also found that there are quite significant differences between the way young and middle-aged adults view life as an elderly person and the way it actually is.
For example, certain negative benchmarks often linked with aging, such as illness, memory loss, and the inability to drive, just to name a few, are experienced by older people at lower levels than the young adults are expecting to encounter at an elderly age.
Unfortunately, not a far pivot from serene to angry porch horse shouting, "Get off my lawn!"
Then my sciatica nerve pain kicks in; then I'm not comfy standing, sitting or laying down.
OMG yes. My daughter told me I shouldn't be surprised 90s clothes are back in fashion because everything comes around in 30 or 40 years and I almost swallowed my tongue.
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I heard myself say, "That's not how we did it 50 years ago," and then had to go lie down for a bit. How can I possibly be old enough to say that?
Cue the Dana Carvey sketch... https://youtu.be/tf4tYo-ssQs?si=oTjwCYeP5hbfClCQ
Another interesting thing Pew Research Center’s survey uncovered was the fact that the older a person is, the younger they feel. Data found that roughly half of surveyed 50-year-olds said they feel at least 10 years younger than they actually are, while those between 65 and 74 years of age say they feel 10-19 years younger, which, again, shows that age can be just a number.
Or when they don’t buckle in the kid in the grocery store shopping cart.
We have the time to look out the window for no reason since we're not busy with young children or work, etc. I like watching what's going on in the world. Birds, squirrels, people walking or on their bikes, a storm rolling in - those kinds of things. I believe I'm more observant than many of my friends. I was lucky enough to watch a pair of robins build a nest on the fence in my backyard. Eggs were laid and I got to watch mama and papa robin raise four babies. The miracle of Mother Nature.
While in some netizens’ minds, taking naps is a rather “old person thing” to do, in reality elderly people seem to prefer doing things that are way more active. Research suggests that the top three activities people of age seem to favor the most are walking or jogging, outdoor maintenance (such as gardening or yardwork) and playing sports respectively. The top three is followed by reading, which seems to be the most favored sedentary activity for older people.
How about when you walk into another room and forget what for? I hate that.
Unsurprisingly, having hobbies—active or sedentary—can have a positive effect on a person, and elderly people are in no way an exception. A research on hobby engagement and mental well-being among people aged 65 years and older in 16 different countries found that engaging in a favored activity was linked to fewer depressive symptoms, more happiness, better self-reported health, and higher life satisfaction.
I don't care if people read on kindle or phone, it's still reading, and these are my people
While a person of any age can take part in whatever activity or hobby they find interesting, some do tend to be more popular among older adults. In the UK, for instance, solving puzzles, gardening, and reading newspapers seem to be noticeably more favored by those 65 and older than their younger counterparts, Statista reports.
The things that seem to be the least like their cup of tea, compared to other age groups, are playing a musical instrument or engaging in all things astronomy.
As a fellow jigsaw puzzle lover myself, who doesn’t fall within the 65+ age category, I can only repeat myself saying that when it comes to activities, a person’s actual age is just a number. If you don’t want to take my word for it, look again at this list of young people doing “old person things”.
I still call/refer to my children as kids and they're all over 60.
Again it's like the nap thing is bad. Naps are the best!
Discussing grocery store prices has become a bigger topic of my routine conversations than I would have ever wanted to admit. As a kid, I couldn't fathom why my grandparents would wanna sit around and list off which supermarket chain had the best prices on bananas and peanut butter. And yet, here we are.
I guess I'm not old yet. I say "what's wrong with this POS?!" when it doesn't work exactly the way I expect even though I've never used it in my life. It's the inanimate object's fault that I don't know how to use it!
My pill organizer is how i figure out what day of the week it is!
I constantly took antiacids until I had my gaul bladder removed...haven't needed one since, it's been four years.
I have always loved when it rains. When i was a baby i slept straight through a cat 3 hurricane with thunder going off like gunfire.
I want to kick myself every time I hear those words come out of my mouth
That's not an old person thing. An old person thing is forcing yourself to get dressed before the store shuts.
1/4 cup of sugar in a gallon of brewed tea..perfect. Just enough to knock the fuzz off the tea.
I used to this when I was little. I got some of the humor back then but a lot of the social importance was waaaaay over my head.
I got tired while watching Judge Judy last night…around 9pm…and so I pressed record so I would know how the case turned out 👵🏻
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Just wait until you're sound asleep and it'll pop into your head, waking you up.
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i cant even remember my younger siblings ages, and sometimes i dont know how old i am. i feel so much older then i am. im a teen.
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Work and give my 100% effort to whatever I am doing. Even now that I am retired, I treat my volunteer work as if it was a paid career. Whatever happened to the great American work ethic?
My back was so stiff the other day at work that a regular went home and brought me back an ice patch. Thing worked pretty well after a few hours, but then I smelled like my grandpa.
Reminiscing about having a thick full head of hair. Laugh-at-t...dd084c.jpg 
I sing in the grocery store because they stopped playing old songs, all of a sudden, they're playing my jam.
I heard AC/DC in Denny's last weekend and Ozzy in Walmart. Kinda trips me out.
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Just wait until you're sound asleep and it'll pop into your head, waking you up.
Load More Replies... i cant even remember my younger siblings ages, and sometimes i dont know how old i am. i feel so much older then i am. im a teen.
Load More Replies... Work and give my 100% effort to whatever I am doing. Even now that I am retired, I treat my volunteer work as if it was a paid career. Whatever happened to the great American work ethic?
My back was so stiff the other day at work that a regular went home and brought me back an ice patch. Thing worked pretty well after a few hours, but then I smelled like my grandpa.
Reminiscing about having a thick full head of hair. Laugh-at-t...dd084c.jpg
I sing in the grocery store because they stopped playing old songs, all of a sudden, they're playing my jam.
I heard AC/DC in Denny's last weekend and Ozzy in Walmart. Kinda trips me out.
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