The telltale signs you are getting old... how many do YOU do?

UK Daily Mail ^ | 2/18/2026 | Ed Holt

[fruser1]

Sitting down to put your socks on, seeing previous clothes come back into fashion and asking 'who?' when watching the Brit Awards are all signs you are getting on.

The study was by American Pistachio Growers, which has partnered with actor John Thomson, 56, to urge mid-life adults to age positively.

1. Talking about aches and pains with friends

2. Groaning when bending down

3. Preferring quiet venues to noisy ones

4. Preferring a quiet drink over a night out

5. Enjoying an early night

6. Not caring about the latest fashion trends

7. Thinking that new music isn't as good as it used to be

8. A recurring ache that doesn't disappear

9. Using phrases like 'back in my day' or 'remember when*?'

10. Sitting down to put socks on

11. Caring less about how you look

12. Taking shoes off as soon as you get inside - slippers have become a necessity!

13. Noticing something you wore in your youth is now back in fashion

14. Starting conversations with 'Do you remember when*?'

15. Reading menus at arm's length

16. Talking to yourself

17. Moaning about politics

18. Feeling more confident/self-assured

19. Getting up at 6am naturally

20. First 'Who?' when watching the Brit Awards

21. Looking forward to gardening

22. Feeling confounded by AI

23. Listening to the radio or podcasts instead of club music

24. Getting excited about new home appliances

25. Checking the weather forecast hourly

---

TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: aging

[spokeshave]

26.....Make appointment at Oncology department.

Spokeshave who feels nauseous, stomach aches...and minor wounds that don't heal.

[spokeshave]

I turn 63 in a couple weeks. I guess that’s old.

A youngster says Spokeshave at 84.

[dakine]

26. Post on FR.

[Scrambler Bob]

Carrying a flashlight to illuminate small print, like menus and labels in stores.

[Scrambler Bob]

Club music is not whistling while harvesting baby seals?

[copaliscrossing]

7. Thinking that new music isn't as good as it used to be

Any teenager who knows anything at all is on board with this thinking.

Lately, I have been watching some very interesting videos on Youtube. They are younger people usually between 18 years old and mid-30's and they do "First reactions" to music from the 70's and early 80's (they do other stuff too but these are the ones I watch). These young people claim to have never heard these VERY popular songs from the 70's and 80's and they give a commentary on what they think of the song. Each and every time they are blown away at the quality, creativitya, and diversity of the music from that era. They very quickly ascertain these singers do not have auto-tune yet sound fantastic (Freddie Mercury, Dennis DeYoung, Steve Perry, etc...). Some of these commenters are vocal coaches/experts and muscians of different disciplines in their own right. Most (not all) of them talk very intelligently about the quality of the music and why it is much better quality than today's music.

[Scrambler Bob]

and be turned away for trying to wear shorts and sandals inside.
= = =

Try wearing your shorts inside out.

[Scrambler Bob]

Lay on your back in bed to put socks on.

[ansel12]

I like yours much better.

Killing the Baby Seals (Military Cadence) | Official Video w/ Lyrics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0G3s3PYiYs

[Scrambler Bob]

Nothing is louder than a group of 4 or 5 women out for lunch. They fall somewhere between a vacuum cleaner and a jet engine at 100 feet.
= = =

Oh, you were comparing them using sound.

[xp38]

Looking at the world today I say some things are worse but other things are better. Not sure if it’s a tradeoff or how things split down that divide but for better or worse it’s what we have and we have to deal with it. There are a number of things I don’t like but having freedom one can avoid most of them. Thankful for what we have each and every day by the grace of God and that includes this forum. We didn’t have FR when I was young.

[JimRed]

One of the songs played was “Blue Sky” by the Allman Brothers. That’s one of the most “seventiesist” songs out there.

I tend more towards Blue Skies (Irving Berlin, 1940s I think).

[dfwgator]

“You know when you’re really old? When your family talks about you in front of ya. You ever see those families? The guy’s sitting right there. ‘WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH POP? POP CAN’T STAY HERE!’ And Pop just sits there dribbling all over himself: ‘Aaaaaaaaa ‘ ‘HARRY, PUT POP IN THE GARAGE. WE GOT COMPANY COMING. OKAY?’

- Rodney Dangerfield

[rlmorel]

I read a book a while back: The Year 1000. It described what life was like in the Year 1000, and the thing that stuck with me was the author's assertion that there would be, comparatively speaking, a total lack of noise.

No jets or planes going overhead. No cars driving down your street to five miles away. No fans. No air conditioners. No music. No Radio. No TV.

The author thought that people of our day would find the silence nearly disorienting.

The only things you might hear were a water wheel, someone chopping wood, the occasional sound of an animal, that kind of thing.

It definitely made me consider it.

My wife and I went out to buy a new car the other day, and they had music playing in the dealership that just bounced around the big, open space, no baffling materials anywhere,

When we were about to drive away with the new car, the manager came over to thank us for buying a car, and asked if there were any issues we had that we wanted to tell him about. He said next time we came in, he would guarantee the sound level would be lower.

I also mentioned my six year old car that I had bought from the same dealership had internal trim defects in the seat and center console that were not natural wear and tear, but had spontaneously developed.

Without hesitation, he gave me his card, asked me to take pictures of the defects, and email them to him and describing them. He said they would do what they could to remedy them...on a six year old car with 90,000 miles on it.

That seemed like pretty good customer service to me. I was impressed.

[rlmorel]

"...Try wearing your shorts inside out...."

Heh, I know the jest you were making, but I suspect you would still be able to obtain entry and order a meal were your clothes actually being worn inside out!

[rlmorel]

It is awesome...:)

I am discovering that Pride is likely going to my biggest obstacle...but I have a lot of people encouraging me and giving me direction...both on this forum and in real life, and it is a wonderful thing.

It is already helping me in ways that I am wondering how I got through much of my life without this.

[Fireone]

Most of those are signs of growing “up”, not “old”.

[Disambiguator]

In songs of the past males were often drifters, moving on, just passing through your (female) life, hard to hold onto, averse to stopping or settling down.

Like "Ramblin' Man" (also by the Allman Brothers)?

[FrozenAssets]

We do that because I hand fitted, nailed, sanded stained and varnished the oak t&g floors in the house.

[one guy in new jersey]

Well then...no thanks.