Do you think age matters in a relationship? For the most part, I think it doesn't, unless I was going out with someone 7 years older than me (at 7 years older, I draw the line. At 6, it's fine! =D) also seeing as my past 2 husbands and my current fiancee where all 19, 6 years older than me... I really don't care about age

Honestly? Not at all. Love is love and that is that. Real love isn't bounded by time and distance too well.

Most connections are made based on common maturity levels and life experiences, neither of which are truly dependant on age alone. I've met mature 11-year-olds and immature 40-year-olds. I know people who have gone through more at age 16 than most people do in their lifetimes.

It is, however, a bit of a force to be reckoned with, especially at younger ages. A 4-year-difference when you're talking about teenagers is a bigger issue than when dealing with 20-somethings, and it makes even less difference beyond that.

Age differences are definitely not insurmountable, though, and if you're with the right person, it won't matter hardly at all. At least, that's what I've found.

This is based on you actual base age, for the most part a friendship relationship is cool, acting out your infatuation/crush and fantasies on-line is pretty cool as long as you know what you're getting into.

At this point you and the other party are responsible for what you do here and or in real life and no one is at fault but yourselves.

So, before you start something that is really easy to undo online, be careful of what you may end up acting out in real life. It's not the same!

I made this one personal for me so I put yes, somewhat.

I personally have a trouble dating guys in their teens. I haven't dated a guy in his teens since I was 16 years old. I find it hard to find someone male that is that much younger than myself up to the level of "maturity" for lack of a better word, that I'm used to. Of course we all know my horrid taste in men so who knows.

I think it matters for other people too, just depends on what their own personal preference is. So if you would like to be with someone 20 years older or younger than you thats up to you, but like I said it's everyones personal preference.

It's more of a question of maturity. SOme chicks are mature dispite their young ages. I once dated a chick three years and four days younger than me and she was more mature than her sister who was my age. My friend Harmonie, who's 18, is dating a woman who's 25 and my friend Big Matt, who's 16, is dating a chick who's 24. They're both very mature people.

Nah... shouldn't be a biggie if laws aren't broken.

An RL bud of mine is 31, an he's with an 18y/o chick... I know some people may think that's a big gap, but she's pretty mature fer her age. An he stopped actin his age 15 years ago!!! Bit like me, really...

As long as love is involved, it shouldn't matter about age. Although I agree wi lolo that guys are generally less mature than chicks, at any age.

I'd say it depends on the ages in question within a relationship.
I think in some cases it has the potential to be a mind messer upper.

well, yeah, but i think i can date a guy up to 7 years my senior.
Beyond that, well... better luck next time.

all my boyfriends have been my age, but only because i don't know many people outside of school (or i didnt at the time)
but i have no real problem with age difference, i managed to cope when my 47 year old dad dated a 25 year old (she was only a month older than my sister) but when its a 40 year old and a 14 year old, i know love has no bounds but that kinda verges on paedophilia IMO

Ummm... i put yes somewhat cause as many peps say love has no boundaries. Peoples happiness is the main aim in life... an whateva makes them happy is best but i think that a 30 year old goin out with a 16 year old (for example) is kinda wrong... i just dont see it as bein right physically, mentally an morally. I hav no problem with small age gaps!! I duno personally i wouldnt like to go out with anyone yonks older than me it just wouldnt feel right...

It matters about as much as hair colour. And that's the long and short of it.

i put that it depends ... for the most part i think that age difference is alright (both my aunts are married to men at least 14yrs older than them and we dont even know my greek uncles real age)

but it depends on a lot of things ... the age the two are when the relationship begins (for example 14 and 34 is wrong in my books but 24 and 44 is ok), the mentality of both involved (which ok - can be hard to judge), the circumstances surrounding the relationship (yanno, how they met, why they got together etc ...)

i dunno - it just seems to me like if youre under 18 and in a serious relationship with someone much older there must be something dodgy ... if the person is so into you why not wait a while? at least until your childhood is over ...

I cut the line at 10 years...no older IMO..no younger...

I'd say from personal experience, it depends on the ages being discussed. a 13 year old will most likely not be mentally ready for a relationship with someone in their 20s. but if a 20something thinks they're okay with a nice person in their 30s then that's probably okay. even just a few years in difference in the teenage years can be a world of difference, imo. But of course, it's not for me to say/rule/dictate. My hubby is 5 years older than me and he's more nice and less serious than my ex who was 18 months older than me. age obviously isn't the be-all-end-all of what makes a person in that case...

I think that it does matter in some cases. If somebody is 34 and dates a 23 year old, no biggie... but when somebody in their 30s, or something, gets real flirty with and wants to date somebody who is 15, 14, 13, etc.... (ya get the point), that bothers me... big time.

I myself think if two people love each other and truly do then it does not necessarily matter. I myself would not go out with a person more than 2 years older or younger than me.

I think that it doesn't really matter...to an extent. I think for teenagers it is a bigger issue, but I think after high school the issue sort of fizzles out.

My best friend (17) was dating a guy (21) and the age difference is what pretty much broke them up because their priorities in life were very different. My best friend wanted to have some fun and her boyfriend was at the point where he wanted some serious things and he also had to do some things (job, house, etc.) that my friend didn't want to deal with, seeing as she is just going to be a junior and she said she felt married!

So differences like that may not be wise...within two years maybe while you're a young'n...but after that it's all fair game.

Love is a tricky game to play, innit? Too many rules and exceptions to the rules and blah blah blah...

exactly!

it makes falling in love a risky thing when something as simple as being intimate can land one of the two in jail because of their age.... i mean, within a couple of years, that problem goes away, but still...

thats cool coming from jailbait......lol

I don't really think it does. I myself have been drawn more closely towards people that range from 2-8 years older than me, and I don't really see a problem with it. If someone is 50 years older than someone else, then fine, so long as they're both in actual love and getting along well.

the legal age is 16 in England. so he aint jail bait. lol.

in Norway or somewhere like that there is no age. EWWWWWWW

Could any of the people who voted that they had no problem with age really imagine bringing home a boyfriend/girlfriend home to their parents if he/she was a lot of years older than you?
I know I couldn't, no matter how in love with that person I was. That probably makes me sound shallow but I wouldn't be happy in that kind of situation, but thats just me.

if they were like only 9-10 years older than me then yeah i could.

i wouldnt see anyone if they were more than 10 years older than me,

and as im 16 i wouldnt see anyone younger.

My boyfriend and I were born within a week of each other.
I think being around about the same age gives you more in common. Someone who grew up in different generation from you if not likely to have the same interests as you. but thats generalising a bit I think.

Yeah i kinda agree having a common past is a good basis for a relationship, but i dunno i've never really been in love with somebody a different age to me so i can't really comment.

I guess it's ok as long as it is all legal.

Yes but you see where he and I live in the US of A, legalality is reached at age 18. So (this is completely hypothetical) if he and I were to have sexual relations, I could very well get put in jail.

but if you both came over to england you wouldnt!!! HAZZA!!!

not that i am promoting you do, tho cheese could come over..... hmm......

Well Jonathan and I are a year and five months apart (He's older) and I think that's pretty darn close I have to say. We have many things in common even for the year difference.

All in all, age only matters if love is not involved. If love is involved then let it ride out

Thats one year though. I think we're talking about a mch bigger age difference than that...
I'm not saying that two people of very differnet ages can't love each other...I'm just a cynical old hag really and I have my doubts about the whole issue.

i was just wondering at what age are people legally considered adults in America? 18 or 21? because its 18 in England, and at that age you have the same rights as anyone else to alcohol, work and so on.

scotland is stoopid ... we can leave home and have babies and get married at 16 but cant drive til 17 or drink til 18

gah - suckingness

i dont even know the laws in england ...

Well, you're legally an adult at 18. The only thing you can't do is drink, which is what being 21 allows you.

Why is it set up like that? Damned if I know...

Hm. Well i think that if they're going to legally call you an adult, they shouldn't restrict your rights according to age anymore, you're an adult you can drink if you want to.
It is a really stupid system.
Its the same in England as in Scotland Porce- i think its retarded that you can join the army, have babies, get married, be taxed, get a job, leave home and so on at 16, but you can't drink or vote or be considered an adult until 18.
Ah well, It makes slightly more sence than the American 21 thing.

Back to age differences, basically it all comes down to maturity doesn't it?

This is kinda a loaded question. You gotta look at several things. If they actually care for each other then its fine but you gotta look at things. I mean if shes 16, 17 and hes 22,23 thats fine but if hes like 26,27 then there could be a problem and you gotta ask is this guy just after a piece of ass? Like most things its a situational matter. You got these right wing fundamentalists here in the states yelling about saving children from all these evil people taking advantage of them. You think they're talking about kids 8 or 9 but no. They're talking about 15-17 year olds. Nature makes people evolve at a certain time in peoples life and to say thats wrong and you shouldn't act on your feelings of lust and whatnot... I think thats a bit... Un-natural.

No it does not at all. It all depends on the personality and maturity/immaturity of the people involved, and how much they connect. There has to be honesty in every relationship, and especially if there is a considerable age gap. I was 18 when I went out with a 26 year old. It was a log distance realtionship, but that bothered neither of us. The reason why we split up was because she was not honest. 2 months into the relationship, she told me she was divorced with 2 kids. I hadn't seen them when I'd been to see her because she'd shipped them off to a friend of hers because she didn't know how I'd react to her having children. If she had been honest in the first place, I could've maybe dealt with it. Needless to say, it all went down hill from there.

age doesnt matter if the person is mature and respects your boreders

I think that might be the case sometimes... but what when it's not? I mean, me RL bud started seein this 17 y/o chick an he was 30. She's way more mature than he is - in fact, she's more mature than all of us!! But they're really happy together an she's been really good fer him... She's helped him through all manner o crap, an consider she did this when she coulda just walked, given how young she is...

Another thing that bugs is that I'm guessin that people are lookin at late 20s/30s blokes hittin on teenage girls as wrong. But what if it was the other way round? Funny, then, that it's suddenly more acceptable...

Mebbe it's cos I'm 30-ish meself that I find this all a wee bit distressin. I find I get dismissed as bein too old, jus cos I'm over a "certain age". Fer me, this is no better than bein singled out fer bein fat, or black, or a muslim. Okay, so mebbe I should stick to women me own age group, fair enough - but it's still a free country, an as long as laws dun get broken an people dun get hurt, who has the right to say it's wrong??

Sorry... I'll quit feelin persecuted now...

People, just because a governing body says your mature or when you "may" have sex or love , doesn't mean we were built this way...come on , as ooglie as it may sound in present society ...

back then kids as young as 13 or so were engaged and or having relations, of course back then it was looked upon as cool because we needed more people to work on the food and work in industry and other things , there were no meachanical or electronics means or mass producing stuff... remember some even married more than one woman???... yeah

just because our "social needs" change doesn't mean our "nature" does...

so If i wanna date a 13/16/41/19/25 year old, it should be my and the other persons business, not governments or the church...or yours ...

the main problem today is that the parents of the 13/16/19 y/o's get stuck with the bill and the extra needs and its inconvenient to them and government to have to pay for it...thats why the population controling laws were made...

not because "it's wrong" of course several religious types will have you repenting in a minute over this ...

It all depends on the AGE GAP. If you're 25 and your BF/GF is 90...Just...Ew, man. EW!!!!!

The legal age in Newark, New Jersey is 16... For any type of relationship; gay, straight, whatever.

I think age doesn't matter really.. but then I'm a hypocrite about it... Since there is that law where if you are younger then 18 and the person you are with is 18 or over.. then it's wrong according to the state and whatever...Personally I'd never do it, nor do I care for others... Though I just think it's wrong for a 15 year old to be doing out with a 23 year old and claim they are in love.... Anyway.... I suppose it all depends, but it's the person's choice to be with whoever they want.... Even if others thinks its wrong ^-^;;

OH OH OH **raises hand** I know this one! Or at least it's the bs my teachers have been feeding me since I was a kid.

The 21 thing with drinking is this: Men seem to continue to grow until approximatly the age of 21. Making it illegal to drink until that age was the governments hope to keep people from stunting their growth by drinking. Silly isn't it? I know this guy who's 6'5" and has been drinking since he was 13.

Sorry bout my lil off the topic rant.

Depends. I mean, if you're 18 and you have a "so" that is 25, to me that doesnt matter. But if you are 12 and they are 18, there is a break point there. To me, I think that Relationships under 18, should stay under 18, because what if one day you and your so are underaged drinking and have sex. What if he is 18, and you're 14. Then poof, he is up for rape. 4 years isnt that big of a difference I know, but its those legal terms that get in the way. If there was no legal system like that, then sure go ahead, age does not matter at all.

But if you're like..30 and you're going out with someone 60, or 20 and 50, I think thats just wrong. That would be like dating your mother/father!

As long as you two get along, and there is love, thats all that matters, not age.

Pregnancy is a big issue, though. What if a 14-year-old bangs a 20-year-old and has a baby? I live in the South, so I've seen it happen. Some states say that if that happens, the guy doesn't get arrested so he can provide for the girl. That's a major deal in my book. My friend Harm once joked, "You put a baby in 'er belly. Now you gots ta marry 'er." That's the attitude a lot of Southerners have I guess.

I was born in the south...I know what you mean lol..