Age doesn’t matter, or does it?

If someone asks your name with your age, how would you respond? Would you tell your real age? Or would you just tell your name, no age attached?

In today’s world of yuppies, high-tech gadgets, and online world, it’s often hard to tell what a person’s real age is, whether we are talking about health age, cognitive age, or just plain age. Different professionals have different ways of measuring a person’s age. But the calendar age, which all of us follow, is often the source of scrutiny to most people. Many don’t want to reveal their real age for fear of being called old.

It’s really funny ‘cause I myself don’t want to tell my real age when asked. There was a certain point in my life when I started answering age questions with a blank stare. Since then, all age-related inquiries were either answered with a stare, a smile, or a guffaw; a seemingly clever maneuver to avoid a seemingly simple question.

I’m not ashamed with my age or anything. But experience-wise, if people don’t know your real age, it keeps them interested. They treat you like a pal, minus the phony ‘elderly’ respect. But of course, there’s a downside to that. When people don’t know if you are older or younger than they are, they neglect to respect you altogether. Most of the time, they just snob you or give you the cold shoulder.

So, if they say that age doesn’t matter, then why do people still cower when asked of their age? Why do people act like they are answering a difficult Physics question when the age question arises? As my mother would often say, ‘people don’t usually think and act their age’, so why bother telling your age?