Blogpost 4: Does Age Really Matter?

Academically speaking, there are a lot of things that concerns number. As I have said in my previous posts, numbers surrounds us. It is everywhere. Numbers are always present, never absent, in all aspects of our lives. I have also said that numbers are already with us since the time we were born. You know what I mean by that? I’m talking about age.

If you are to enter in a relationship, what would you look for at first? You may look for their physical attractiveness initially. Consequently, his/her financial stability, and it may also be their personality. That is how you look for a potential life partner, is it not? But one more important thing must be considered, and that is—Age.

Age is very vital in a relationship more over if the one you’re eyeing to be your potential partner is not within your age bracket; either younger or older than you are. Just imagine if you two are having date and people will look at you with strange stare, that’s annoying right? That is why age should be put as a priority in looking for a life mate. But why are there people who chose to be with people, older or younger than they are, as their spouse and yet it seems fine with them? Does age really matter? 

There is an article entitled, “What Should Your “Dating Age Range” Be? This Formula Will Tell You! ”by Chiara Atik. According to that article, there is a formula that can be use to determine the age bracket of the people you wish to date, or the dating age range. If you don’t have any idea of what’s the ideal age range of your potential partner should be, this formula perfectly suits you. It’ll help you a lot. Though, it isn’t highly suggested to be used as a basis of everyone.

In the article, it is stated like this, “To find out what the youngest age you should date is, take your current age, divide it by 2, and add 7 and to find out what the oldest age you should date is, take your current age, subtract 7, and multiply it by two.”

If we are to follow this formula, then it is obviously known that we can date people whose age is approximately two years older or younger than we are. But in Atik’s another article I’ve seen, which is “New Survey Says the Ideal Age Gap in a Relationship Is…”, she stated there that the perfect age gap falls in four years and four months (the man should be older than the woman).

In a couple, it is an ideal that the man must be older than the woman is.  Though according to Atik, “This could be sadly tied to the fact that an astonishing 55% of women say they need a partner to help them pay their rent or mortgage, which, supposedly, a man who is 4 years more advanced in his career would be able to do.”

Women tend to look for an older partner for a specific reason, partially because of love attachment but more of the financial stability, and we can actually see this scenario nowadays. Well, indeed, men are naturally the providers. Even during the pre-historic period, the alpha male is the one who provides food for his family, not the woman. On the other hand, even if, let’s say the man and the woman have equal amount of income or they both financially stable, still being a man will always make the man dominant and depended on.

Chiara Atik added, “Of course, biologically, men have it easier when it comes to dating younger women. A 38 year-old man can have no qualms about starting a relationship with a 26 year-old woman and possibly having a baby in 4 years — when she’s ready. A 38 year-old woman who wants to have kids doesn’t have that same luxury of time. If she gets with a guy her age, they’re on a time crunch. If she gets with a younger guy, the time crunch is still on — providing he’s even ready or interested in having kids at all.” 

On the women’s side, it will be a problem if she’ll choose to be with a younger man whose earnings is lesser than she could produce. Yes, a woman will surely enjoy having a younger life partner because younger men tend to be optimistic in things and adventurous at the same time. However, women, having older partner is more advantageous. And that she will surely have a good future unlike with older man than that of the younger man who is not yet stable, maybe financially and emotionally. Since older men, definitely, are ready of becoming stable whoever his partner is.

Nevertheless, the true compatibility of two persons as a potential life partner is never an issue of biological or social structure. Thus, being a factor which makes up a relationship, really age is nothing but numerical figures. It won’t determine the feeling you have for a person. 

 I do say that despite of whatever desires we have, whatever qualities and quantities we are looking for in a potential life partner, we should consider age. But remember that age is just a number. It cannot be used as a tool in measuring how much love and affection we have for our partner. If you are with someone not within your age bracket, the people around you may feel uneasy about that, but as time passes, they’ll get used to it. Let them know who your partner is and just ignore what other people will say with the relationship you have. As long as you are happy, satisfied, and steadfast with the person you chose, then age really is not a matter.