This theory indicates how the way we interpret age becomes increasingly different over time. It happens in every single lifetime and is part of our core behavior and thoughts, just like the desire to take care of young ones. Allow me to explain this theory using a short story about two people.
A 10-year-old boy with blonde hair, let’s name him Tommy, enters a bar with his mother to go bowling. The clerk behind the counter collects the balls and Tommy gets his shoes measured, left before right. They tie the strings and walk towards lane 4 because it’s the only one with aids; which Tommy still requires getting the ball across.
In the same bar sits a girl of 18, whom listens to the name Jessica. Her hair flows like the wind in the Oder of beer (for European readers) or a Pepsi (Americans). She flashes a bright smile to her girlfriends and wishes them happy holidays.
You’d say that these two characters, that are totally fictional by the way, hold no similarities to each other and are hugely apart on both age and their vision of life. But what if I told you that Tommy will actually close the (age) gap over time and grow more towards Jessica naturally? Currently the age difference is 8 years, but imagine the following scenario.
Tommy is going for his first job interview at a company that sells paper pallets. He knocks at the door and starts out great explaining his experience and desire to sell paper for a living. Needless to say he has made a turn towards the boring… It happens sometimes. Tommy is now 24 years old.
Jessica is also in the paper industry because her family has been in paper ever since the early 50s. She quite enjoys her minutes but feels she should be doing something more meaningful at her age. Jessica turned 32 just a few weeks ago.
See what happened there? They are already more equal as individuals. Both work in the paper industry, though Tommy is just getting started while Jessica feels she needs a new blow of wind. What about the age? 24 and 32 is still the same gap, yet it feels smaller already. Next part of the tale:
Tommy becomes Tom as he now wears suits and sits in an exec chair at his company called Fire Place, which sells the world’s first digital paper in numbers. He is 40 and made it big, but his career has come at a price: his love life.
Jessica is now an aunt but forced to stay at the company until her younger brother finally offers to take the load. Again a free bird, she opts for an interview at Fire Place because she is praising the idea of having a video on a piece of paper.
The age difference is now 40 to 48, the difference is still 8 years and that will never change, but it doesn’t feel like a big gap anymore. Naturally we perceive an age gap as smaller in a later phase of life than we do in the earlier days. The reasons are diverse but mostly involve:
- The difference of 8 years is a smaller percentage of the total age. 40 (8: 20% difference ~ of total age) is smaller than when he was in his teens 16 (50% of total age).
- Background and impressions plays a bigger part in the way we perceive an adult individual.
- The way we take care of ourselves becomes an increasingly important factor in the way we look and act at later age.
This article explains that we perceive an age difference between two individuals as smaller at later age. Starting at 30 the place we work, food we eat and experience we’ve gained plays a bigger part in the evaluation. Use this knowledge to reflect age gaps that prevent you from getting what you want in job interviews, friendships or relationships. Oh and to close the story, Jessica is hired at Fire Place Inc. and becomes the VP of product design. The company becomes huge and she hits it off with Tom during one of their long nights of working late. They live happily ever after like a family of Disney hummingbirds.
