Comments on: More Ways The Internet Makes You Insecure

More Ways The Internet Makes You Insecure

The Whelk — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:15:34 -0800

How Old Are You? Guess people's ages based on submitted photos. (via)

By: availablelight

availablelight — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:20:16 -0800

Many of these people seemed to be fishing for, "People always tell me I look 10-15 years younger than I really am!!!11!!" No, I clicked, "45" and was only 3 years off (you're actually 42).

By: thebigdeadwaltz

thebigdeadwaltz — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:20:25 -0800

Sheesh, I'm doing terribly.

By: Cookiebastard

Cookiebastard — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:25:26 -0800

For one dollar I'll guess you weight, your height, or your sex.

By: Caduceus

Caduceus — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:29:18 -0800

I did something like this once. People thought I was in my 40s when I'm in my 20s. Of course, I'm very not photogenic, but even so, I don't think I'll do it again.

By: wabashbdw

wabashbdw — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:34:12 -0800

Age-guessing Rule #1: Drug addicts are always the hardest.

By: DU

DU — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:36:10 -0800

Ah... It's a profit deal! Takes the pressure off. *throws away cuecards* Take a chance and win some crap!

By: Joe Beese

Joe Beese — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:37:10 -0800

Age-guessing Rule #2: To guess a woman's age, look at her hands. They always tell the real story.

By: Rhomboid

Rhomboid — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:37:30 -0800

Yeah, I think this has as much to do with the details of the photograph (e.g. the location and items in the background, the attire, the pose) as it has to do with the innate age of the person.

By: DU

DU — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:40:03 -0800

I was going to say the facial expression. Earnest and/or pensive = Under 20 Ironic = 20-28 "Look how much fun I'm still having!!!" = 28-40 Blurry = More than 40

By: Lacking Subtlety

Lacking Subtlety — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:40:27 -0800

Age-guessing Rule #2: To guess a woman's age, look at her hands. They always tell the real story. posted by Joe Beese at 9:37 AM on February 4 [+] [!] Not true in the slightest. While most women's hands are a certain way by later age, a surprisingly large percentage of young women have what you could consider "old" hands.

By: cranberrymonger

cranberrymonger — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:41:54 -0800

There should be a rule against low-quality webcam shots or dim, flattering lighting.

By: cranberrymonger

cranberrymonger — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:44:06 -0800

Ah! Don't be fooled by Nikki (a set of young-looking eyes in a highly contrasted black-and-white photo).

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:45:03 -0800

I just guess everyone is 11 or 80 to throw the averages way off.

By: orme

orme — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:47:13 -0800

Who cares how old they are? How do I hook up with these hot singles tonight?

By: starman

starman — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:53:14 -0800

Someone upload Dick Clark's photo and watch it implode.

By: stupidsexyFlanders

stupidsexyFlanders — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:55:43 -0800

oldornot.com

By: The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:56:02 -0800

I'm pretty good! The grainy pictures are almost impossible.

By: internet!Hannah

internet!Hannah — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:58:42 -0800

Haha, wow, I'm really good at this. I feel vindicated. The only ones I've been more than a year or two off on are those ones where you can only see maybe an inch of face.

By: quin

quin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:59:32 -0800

Weird, I would have guessed that I'd be way off on estimating peoples ages, but on the whole I'm almost always withing 2 years of correct. My most inaccurate was guessing that a guy was five years older than he actually was. I guess I can finally quite this damn soul crushing corporate job and finally live the fantasy that is taking IDs outside a local bar.

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:01:53 -0800

I could not be worse at this. Either they look 16, early 20s, or nebulously "older." Once you get past babyfaced youth, it's impossible for me to tell, or even guess.

By: Acey

Acey — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:02:43 -0800

Guessing ages is practically impossible, which makes it difficult when it's your job, i.e., selling age restricted products. Here in the UK, they recently started a "think 21" policy, meaning that whilst the drinking/smoking age was still 18, if you looked under 21, you'd get ID'd. It was supposed to make the task easier, but in reality, it makes little difference. And the real reality is that age restrictions are completely arbitrary - some people are mature enough to drink at 16, and a great many more will never be mature enough. I've sold alcohol to someone older than 18 and been threatened with a fine by the police before - because he drank the entire 4 pack one after another right outside the store and then proceeded to intimidate passersby. But yeah, fun game!

By: Sova

Sova — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:07:30 -0800

I like that after the guessing you get to see their actual age, plus the average age of the guesses. Perhaps it would make an interesting sociological study if the guesses were broken down by gender? So that we could see if men and women consistly overage or underage the same or different gender. Might be useful in court, at least... Actually, also with that the guesser could give their own age, and rate the person for perceived attractiveness. Like maybe when men find women attractive, do they always judge their age to be less than their own? You know, to assure themselves that they fit into the young = attractive equation. There are so many possibilities to turn this into something incredibly enlightening. But still, a fun game.

By: daniel_charms

daniel_charms — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:37:50 -0800

Not as easy as I thought... I must've clicked 13 at least fifty times in a row until I got a correct answer.

By: Locative

Locative — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:39:15 -0800

It looks like MySpace angles transcend age limits.

By: VicNebulous

VicNebulous — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:39:59 -0800

Damn -- I'm pretty good at guessing these. Go figure. Usually within a year or two on most. But for one dude, I was 13 years off. Ah...the magic of black and white. I'm afraid to upload my own mug, because I'm the guy who used to get sent out to buy beer in high school. The ensuing years have taken their toll (although I'm arguably in better shape at 47 than I was at 27).

By: krautland

krautland — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:41:53 -0800

this is gonna be the next hot or not.

By: jrochest

jrochest — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:43:24 -0800

The first photo I got had *two* people in it: which one am I supposed to focus on?

By: amuseDetachment

amuseDetachment — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:58:23 -0800

jrochest: The unfortunate rule on social networking sites: it's the uglier one.

By: cashman

cashman — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:00:12 -0800

I always thought I was just exceptionally bad at figuring out ages. Nice to have company.

By: Julnyes

Julnyes — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:03:40 -0800

this confirmed something I have always known about myself - I suck at guessing people's ages - I was adding 10+ years to multiple people.

By: Aversion Therapy

Aversion Therapy — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:04:59 -0800

I seem to keep guessing teenagers are in their 40's. This could get me in trouble in the long run...

By: Skot

Skot — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:06:54 -0800

I had to quit after I guessed a 22-year-old girl as being 35. I really felt so terrible, and entertained weird fantasies of seeking her out and apologizing to her. God knows how I get out of bed every morning.

By: filthy light thief

filthy light thief — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:07:52 -0800

How do I factor in babies? Is it a prop, to make him look younger (like his rebellious leather jacket)? Is the baby the real subject of the photo? Or are you supposed to average their ages? I closed the page, so I will never know.

By: paradoxflow

paradoxflow — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:23:15 -0800

FaceStat is a much better site for doing the same thing, in my opinion. Except as well as asking people to guess your age, there is a list of other characteristics to choose from when you submit your picture including: intelligence, political affiliation, weight, ethnicity, attractiveness, trustworthiness, relationship status, best/worst feature, level of intoxication, and even whether you would win in a fight with a mid-sized dog. Something everyone wants to know, of course. There is also a field where people have to describe you in one word. Which is how I learned that sliskig is Swedish for insipid. Thanks, random Swedish guy!

By: peggynature

peggynature — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:50:47 -0800

Too much boobs.

By: Dr-Baa

Dr-Baa — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:51:39 -0800

I'm surprisingly pretty good at this. I wonder if there's a way I could profit from this?

By: padraigin

padraigin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:53:21 -0800

Takeaway: I look GOOD for my age.

By: Locative

Locative — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:07:35 -0800

I had to quit after I guessed a 22-year-old girl as being 35. I really felt so terrible, and entertained weird fantasies of seeking her out and apologizing to her. I cried aloud "Sorry! Sorry!" after marking an 18 year old as 35.

By: shadytrees

shadytrees — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:18:52 -0800

I say we add a picture of Earth and let democracy sort out the whole business.

By: salishsea

salishsea — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:23:35 -0800

I think your ability to be able to do this depends on how old you are. As a 40 year old, I know exactly what everyone younger than me is thinking. I know what the smirk means, and you have to have been 27 to know too. Everyone older than me? Might as well be 100.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:39:02 -0800

I keep guessing people are 10 years younger than they really are, which I imagine is a residual social-lubricant reflex. "38? No, you're kissing me!" I look 35. I have looked 35 since I was 16. My father is 54. He looks 35. I can only hope for the best.

By: EmpressCallipygos

EmpressCallipygos — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:52:25 -0800

I recently had an embarassing real-life confirmation that I am VERY, VERY BAD at guessing ages. I'm not going anywhere NEAR that site.

By: ricochet biscuit

ricochet biscuit — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:41:00 -0800

Working at the front desk of a hotel for years made me pretty good at eyeballing people's age before seeing their passport (I guessed at about a dozen pictures here, and was never once off by more than two years). I found that guessing my own age for anyone who looks five to ten years older than the guy in the mirror really paid off on this site. By the end of my hotel days, I was continually astonished that these wrinkled, greying people checking in could possibly be my Gen X contemporaries.

By: drpynchon

drpynchon — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:42:16 -0800

1. Repeatedly mark 80 on all subjects. 2. Watch mean scores go up, and chuckle at poor choice of descriptive statistic for central tendency and failure to account for outliers in cheap algorithm. 3. Imagine insecure subjects' dismay at rising average ages. 4. Schadenfreude!!!?1? Ah, I miss my teenage dweeb self sometimes...

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:17:04 -0800

Kidding me! Kidding! Damn Freudian typos.

By: liza

liza — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:06:55 -0800

i've gotten right every single person over the age of 45. weird.

By: Catch

Catch — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:47:45 -0800

"Look how much fun I'm still having!!!" = 28-40 /me checks own facebook profile shot, weeps.

By: Chuffy

Chuffy — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:52:27 -0800

I'm averaging +-2, with some really off answers...but mostly I can tell. Some of the pictures are deceiving, but I guess that's the point. We judge more than just an image when guessing ages...

By: Catch

Catch — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:53:12 -0800

Oh, I started clicking through an hour ago! (have done some other stuff since then). How you tell the age is nothing to do with lines on faces ... the sweet-and-nasty addictive kick to this is the JUDGING .... hmm, look at her, wearing her black eyeliner all the way 'round ... has to be at least as old as my 13yr old self's 18yr old sister we used to copy ... oh, but look at the heavy-metal hair she's still clinging to *snicker* .... 38! This is evil and very bad for me.

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:59:37 -0800

How is this supposed to make me feel insecure again?

By: Lesser Shrew

Lesser Shrew — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:29:38 -0800

And the ages are verified how?

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:43:10 -0800

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:59:21 -0800

How is this supposed to make me feel insecure again? You have a stronger ego than I sir.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:33:35 -0800

It would be better if it told you the average number of years wrong your guesses have been, rather than the average age. Assuming the distribution of ages is more or less random, the latter is a pretty useless statistic. Erm, no. It's not the average age you've guessed for all the photos, it's the average age everyone has guessed for that photo.

By: ethnomethodologist

ethnomethodologist — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:17:47 -0800

If I'm 45 but uploaded a pic of myself at 44, am I being dishonest? Because that's what I just did.

By: auntbunny

auntbunny — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:41:52 -0800

The facestat link contains at least one photo that is very much NSFW. wow wish someone had warned me.

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 08:59:18 -0800

A personal story of AGE GUESSING FAIL and why I will never submit my picture to such a site, and will never be a candidate for TLC's "10 Years Younger": I really do look 10 years younger than I am. And I'm 27. It's embarrassing. I have to wear jeans/tshirts/hoodies to work because I'm nannying for a potty-training two year old and indeed, not five minutes after this conversation took place I was up to my elbows cleaning up an "accident." So, most people assume I'm Schmoopette's mom - we're both white, blue eyes, freckles. It's certainly a reasonable assumption. I'm definitely the right age where I could feasibly have a 2 1/2 year old of my own. We were playing in the library after storytime and mid-small talk, a librarian asked me if I'm her mom or her nanny. I said that I'm her nanny, to which she replied "Oh, I thought so, you look much too young to be her mom." I'M TWENTY SEVEN. I'M NOT EIGHTEEN. THNX. GEEZ. People tell me I'll be grateful someday, but in the meantime, I'm wicked annoyed.