Just FYI, this rule falls apart after a certain age (in the 60s or 70s).
Comment on Anon dates a 19 y/o
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 1 month ago
When did we as a society give up on the “½ X +7” minimum dating age formula?
Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 5 weeks ago
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
That’s not the only thing that falls apart in your seventies, eyyyy
malware@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
This reminder me for some reason of how my grandfather cheated on his wife a few years ago and had a heart attack during sex. He’s like 80 or so.
Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Gotta look after your ticker if you’re going to stay active at that age. Condolences and/or congrats to his wife though.
Sc00ter@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
When you have heart procedures/ surgery, they tell you, “no sex for 6 weeks with your spouse, 8 weeks with anyone else.” Theres science backing up the extra strain/excitement of having sex with someone else
Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 5 weeks ago
Sigh, ain’t that the truth.
Damage@feddit.it 5 weeks ago
I mean, once you’re both above 30 who fucking cares
jballs@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
Nah I think it holds up. Bill Belichick, 73, was in the news for dating a 24 year old and it’s not only as creepy and gross, but also like she’s taking advantage of him by inserting herself into his interviews.
If he were dating a 43 year old, I don’t think anyone would be nearly as concerned.
AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 5 weeks ago
After that age, the older party is essentially a lottery ticket
Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 weeks ago
laughs in Medicaid
WorldsDumbestMan@lemmy.today 5 weeks ago
Duh. Who cares how much older one grampa is from another
Nikls94@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Wow that actually makes sense.
But then again, I’m born 1994, there’s not so many I can actually date. I have like 1990 - 1998 available, and they must be an only child or have siblings within that age as well, otherwise the interests are not overlapping enough to spend time together: those younger are TikTok addicted, those older are Facebook-relicts. I’m in limbo where I know all of that but don’t like anything.
abysmalpoptart@lemmy.world 1 month ago
Just for a little context, the minimum age being ((your age / 2)+7) is meant to be “this is the minimum age of someone you can date without it being creepy” (i believe it originated from the TV show how i met your mother)
If you were born in 1994 you are either 30 or 31. Let’s call it 30 for easy math.
30/2 = 15 15+7=22
So anyone who is 22 or older fits the minimum age concept, which is anyone born in approx 2002/2003 or earlier. If you decided to include that, the extra 4-5 years does increase the dating pool quite a bit.
I’m not telling you who to date, just giving a little context to the math since that’s what was brought up in the original comment.
Denjin@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
No one knows the true origin of the idea but there’s a number of examples that predate how I met your mother by over a hundred years.
The first published example is Max O’Rell in Her Royal Highness, Woman: And His Majesty—Cupid from 1901
I heard the other day a very good piece of advice, which I should like to repeat here, as I endorse it thoroughly : A man should marry a woman half his age, plus seven. Try it at whatever age you like, and you will find it works very well, taking for granted all the while that, after all, a man as well as a woman is the age that he looks and feels.
rumschlumpel@feddit.org 5 weeks ago
Interesting, though this sounds like it’s not supposed to be the minimum age, but the ideal age.
abysmalpoptart@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Interesting stuff thanks for adding. I added an edit to address. Appreciate you chiming in
Waraugh@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 weeks ago
It had to be a thing before how I met your mother, I remember it being a thing during school in the 80-90’s
abysmalpoptart@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Totally fair, lots of folks have chimed in about it. Really interesting to see it’s over 100 years old (although more focused on ideal partner, not avoiding being creepy)
AlolanYoda@mander.xyz 5 weeks ago
Invert this rule to get the maximum age you can date (defined as the person whose minimum age is your current age):
min age = (your age / 2) + 7 max age = (your age * 2) - 14
If you’re 30, then you can reasonably date people between 22 and 46. So the other guy can add even more years before 1990.
zout@fedia.io 5 weeks ago
Also, for the maximum age they are the younger one. So assuming age is 30, substract 7 and multiply the outcome by 2, maximum date age is 46...
antonim@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 weeks ago
to those who downvoted, why?
Because of this part:
they must be an only child or have siblings within that age as well, otherwise the interests are not overlapping enough to spend time together
AtariDump@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
…those younger are TikTok addicted, those older are Facebook-relicts.
You’re being very assuming with people and that’s why the downvotes.
Not every person will be “TikTok addicted” or “Facebook-relicts”, you’re just assuming they are which is only affecting your own chances finding someone.
Try just getting to know someone first before you start assuming about their interests or what they do.
… and they must be an only child or have siblings within that age as well, otherwise the interests are not overlapping enough to spend time together…
Who says you have to spend time with your SO’s siblings for any great length of time? Parties and holidays you can get through, but it’s not like you’re going to go live with the family.
You and your SO should both have your own friends and hobbies (in addition to joint friends/hobbies). I’m not trying to crap on having a relationship with your SO’s family, just that it’s not mandatory.
I feel like removing these two arbitrary requirements would vastly increase your dating pool. I get that people are looking for traits in a potential partner (doesn’t smoke / drinks / poly / not-poly / uses Arch) but the ones you’ve picked are just self limiting
ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 weeks ago
The clumsy portmanteau of facebook and derelicts if I had to guess. That one is just dreadful. Go with Facebougoise or something, The Faceborg maybe (I actually like that one), something like that.
chunes@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Probably about the time that we decided that a certain age means you’re an adult and can, in fact, make decisions for yourself
FauxLiving@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
When we decided to mind our own business and stop moralizing other people’s relationships based on our personal feelings.
sleen@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
Exactly, this “rule” is really just equivalent to other forms of snake oil there is. It is baseless and completely made up.
GhostedIC@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
Found Leo’s account.
Seriously though why so hostile about this? Of course it’s made up, it’s a general rule of thumb, and it describes whether people are likely to look at a couple and say, “ew”.
yogsototh@programming.dev 5 weeks ago
One day I mentionned this rule while having a dinner with friends. One of them was a woman I met fir the first time.
It turned out his husband was way older than this rule allowed when they met. And now that the rule is fine, she didn’t felt bad about her husband.
Seriously, I felt so shitty. Let people loves who they love without discrimination as long as this is consensual between adults.
sleen@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
That’s because it’s all based on assumptions and projected morals. Commonly treated as a ultimate truth not as a “rule of thumb” as it is destined to be - hostility is built in this “rule”.
In general, this rule essentially dictates the ethics of independent people. Because of this there is no description, it’s a requirement to say “ew”.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
It matches experiences, if you read the other replies.
sleen@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
I don’t quite agree with the replies. The statement “it matches experiences” is baseless as stated in my other reply.
In general, experience ≠ age. This is because experience is influenced by various physical factors such as opportunities, learning environments, etc. Not exactly by age.
sleen@lemmy.zip 5 weeks ago
What’s interesting is this rule apparently originated from the early 1900s.
lemmy.zip/comment/21531881
FauxLiving@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Ah, so “half your age plus seven” wasn’t the low end, it was the target.
That certainly re-frames things.