Cynosure

I am 43. Nowadays, I find a lot of people who are 20-something years younger than me, to be relatively self-centered, idealistic, and, yes, naive. It's not that I've become "better" than them (though I do like to think I've become wiser than them, and I'm certainly more experienced than them). It's that I've already been where they've been and thought the way they think. I believe a romantic/sexual relationship is suposed to be emotionally/spiritually stimulating and challenging, as well as an intimate means for two people to continue their eternal growth, and I just don't think I'd get that kind of stimulation or challenge – and thus, growth – with a 20-something-year-old.

Furthermore, when I reflect back on the sexual relationships I had throughout my 20's and into my early 30's, I see them as inexperienced, unrealistically romantic, and lacking in the emotional/spiritual connection that I get now. (Albeit, intellectually I knew as much about sex then as I do now.) It wasn't until I reached my mid-30's that sex started becoming soulful and mind-blowing, as well as emotionally exciting and physically gratifying. As they say: the frequency of sex decreases as you get older but the quality increases. And that has proven true for me.

Thus, I would not want to date someone 20-something years younger than me. I'd even be hesitant to get involved with someone 10-15 years younger than me.

Even so, I enjoy hanging out with people in their 20's and 30's. Some of the activities I enjoy, i.e. board games, roleplaying games, and video games, are enjoyed by people in their 20's and 30's; more so, I find, than by people in their 40's.

Whatever, it's not that I find people who are 20-something years younger than me to be insufferable. (Teenagers, on the other hand... !)