Is age really that important?

I suppose, but there’s a lot to learn in life. At 15, you can’t experience everything someone who’s 65 has experienced. So age and experience are naturally related.

I wrestle a lot with this question myself. I do believe that age is not important. . Just as you remarked that maturity is not age driven. There are tons of immature people at 50 for example. Or, people that are aged and have only lived in one town, one street and had one job. I am not sure what that does for their own personal growth and diversity. I also wonder about how much life experience they have had due to this.

I know though that I can be guilty of grouping together certain ages as being a certain way.

Feeling something to me, like you say you don’t feel fifteen is more about what is going on at any given time. For the most part I feel 35. When I am down I feel more like 65, yet I am neither of those ages. Life experience does bring wisdom but it does not bring about insight always. Conversely it can bring about neither of these. (I bet that was really unhelpful!).

For maturity your right age doesn’t matter, for life experience yes it does.

When I was growing up I remember that at each age, from my own perspective, that I didn’t, or couldn’t, fathom that I was only 8 or 10 or 12, etc. To me it was just normal. I hadn’t experienced older ages so I didn’t know any better.

Now though, looking back at life and seeing younger people and children, I realize how much of a difference age makes.

At fifteen, your physical body and brain are not finished growing. So, yes, age does matter. Part of it is life experience. You will change enormously the first five years or so after you finish high school.

Being mature at 15 is a great head start.

Most learning is probably by experience, so yes, it matters.

But how it matters is what flies over most ageists’ heads. Think of it like racial differences or gender or sexual differences. Do the differences exist? Sure. Do certain groups even have advantages in certain ways? Absolutely, even if they’re trite. Is it an excuse to discriminate against and belittle people? Never. Do the differences translate into a 15-year-old not being able to be a contributing member of society? No.

@marinelife: your physical body is still maturing into your 20s and your brain is maturing into your 30s.

Age becomes important when your body starts giving out. Otherwise, no.

It depends. Here on fluther you will get the same respect as long as your answers are written well and well thought out. (Which I believe yours are.)
Knowing your age would change the advice I might give you regarding relationships.

With age comes wisdom. So, yes. Age matters.

If wisdom came with age, people would not become more conservative as they age.

Remember how you were aged 3 or 4.

Now imagine how much more you’ll discover and learn by the time you’re 30.

You could well be bright and knowledgeable for your age.

You could well be more astute and wiser than most people older than yourself.

And when you’re 30, you’ll be saying and thinking: “I wish I knew what I know now when I was 15.”

Important for what?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir To clarify, I meant “Is age a good judgement of maturity?” or “Is age really just a number?” Something like that…

Thank you for all of your answers. I understand that with age comes experience. What about empathy and understanding? Not many people “grown” or otherwise are capable of truly understanding another person, no matter how much experience they have.
I don’t think it’s important how much experience a person has, but what kind of experiences they have had in their lives. The things a person has experienced truly shapes their perspective on life.
I think that is why a 60 year old man is able to have the mindset of a small child whereas a 20 year old can be as wise as the old monk on the mountain top.

@BBawlight It may be a good judgment of maturity but certainly not in all people. And sometimes it is just a number, more often than not, in my opinion.

My 13 year old nephew is much more mature than many of the adults making comments on youtube or yahoo, and he can spell better.

Yes. Age matters.