Mature or Immature?

[Eve]

[COLOR=indigo]We all know, that sometimes 20 year olds can be
really immature and childlike..when 13 year olds can
be so mature, you have to wonder if they even had a
childhood once. So really, what about yourself? Do you
think you act older then your age, or younger?[/COLOR]:therock:

[Guest Randleman]

I think I am pretty mature. I haven't really gotten in trouble as a kid. Never got a detention or sent down to the principles office. Gotten good grades in school, been able to keep a girlfriend since freshman year (now going into senior year), get along with my sister, parents and relatives. Never did drugs or anything. Unlike my dad's brothers, who are party animals. They are all going on 45-50 and they party like they are in college. It's pretty funny to watch, but sad at the same time.

[Vicky]

I do act older...but not here. On OB, I just play around a bit and all. Life is something you don't have to take fully. I bet you don't have a clue what I meant...but, all the same, I'm childish here and reallllllllllllllllllllllllly mature ever were else.

[Bandit Joeykuba]

It depends. If I'm with my little nieces and nephews, I'm immature and act like their age(3-6). If I'm with my friends, I act my age (14) and if I'm with adults I act very maturely and carry on adult-like conversations with them(In other words, I act like I'm 18-20).

[wrist cutter]

I act like I'm still 10, so I'm immature.

[KittyLynn]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=dodgerblue]I always act immature. ^^;; I act like a kid in even the most serious situations. Which can be a good or bad thing...>.>;;

-Kitty[/COLOR] [/SIZE]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Wait- Wrist Cutter isn't ten?
---

I'm actually only 14, turning 15 this August. I guess I act more mature- but more often than not I seem to be immature in a mature way, or some such oddity as that.

o_O[/color]

[Dragonballzman]

Well, I often get mistaken to be alot older on the internet, so I guess I'm mature. It feels a little weird though, seeing other people my age on the 'net acting like complete asses.

In real life though, I'm pretty immature, a simple fart joke will have me in hysterics.

[future girl]

i'm quiet, ppl confuse that with maturity. i wouldn't say i'm immature though, i'm a bit grown up in what i find funny and the way i deal with problems and ppl. alos, i'm not too friendly in real life so you know how that goes.

[Vertigo]

People say I'm way more mature than my average age group(14), so I guess so.

[Patronus]

I act older in RL, and I act my age in NL...so...Yeah, I'm pretty mature

[Raiha]

[COLOr=royalblue]I act as I please, and nobody tells me to do otherwise.

Somebody once thought I was 24 and in college. Another thought I was a boy. So make your own judgements. Currently, over 15 different people have thought me to be either 20 or above. And that's not even when I'm with my baby sister. Then they just think I'm her mother. Which is deplorable.[/cOLOr]

[Mei]

[color=green]Truly it depends on my mood.Oo I usually appear to be rather immature, or just plain insane.-- If I'm in either a bad, just...wise mood, I suppose I might act more mature than usual.^^() I've been mistaken for the maximum of...17, and the minimum of, well, usually one year younger than I actually am.^^()[/color]

[Whiteblaze]

[COLOR=darkblue] I don't really know.
I guess it sort of depends on who I'm with(I suppose).
If I'm with someone who has kind of playfulness/sillyness to them then I'll tend to act more like that. If with someone who is more serious then I'll tend to act more so but, not comepletely like that though.
I'm more of a happy kind of person so I'm really not the dead serious type.

You could say that others are a tad influental on me, well just a little.

But if I'm by myself, well, it sort of depends on what I'm doing, I guess. I really don't know. No ones ever said that I'm mature or immature for my age and no ones said that I particularly act my age either.
I'm so complicated! Although, a friend did say something about me being "carefree" but, I didn't agree with that too much & I called them very mature.[/COLOR]

[Corey]

It depens on what mood you catch me in.

If you catch me in the morning or late night when I'm tired, you can usually expect me to be quite mature because I lack the goof-off energy.
The same if you catch me right after a nap or something.

When I'm sugar-stoned or extremely hyper you can guess that I'll probably be immature. I say some funny stuff.

And people usually mistake me for far older than 16.

[Dragonballzman]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Chou Long Kai [/i]
[B]Then when they find out I'm 12,I lose alot of respect!T.T [/B][/QUOTE]

Join the club. I don't have a very high opinion of most people today, because I know that most of them are too immature to realise that just because the person they're talking to is still just a kid, that kid does actually understand how things work. Though I suppose they have a good reason to be so dense. Most 12 year olds these days are assholes, with no respect and no visible intelligence. I guess I'm one of them, I can be a little dickhead sometimes, especially around friends, but when I take a closer look at everyone around me, I realise how immature we all are. Bleh. I feel so different. >_>

[Heaven's Cloud]

[color=indigo]I guess it just depends how you measure maturity...If you have a lower basis of measuring I probably have the maturity of a six year old; if you have a higher level of measuring I more then likely act like a four year old...[i]but a very [b]mature[/b] four year old[/i][/color]

[OtakuSennen]

Depends on who I'm talking to...

If it's one of my friends, I'm about as mature as a 10-year-old..

But with most people... Probably 16. (I'm 12 BTW)

But to be scientific.. If you do the equation.. My true mental age is 26. ^_^

[Sui Generis]

[COLOR=indigo]I go either way, just ask some of the people here. o.O

I'm kinda like Ken yet kinda not, scary huh?

When I'm giddy or happy (Yes those rare occasions) I can be rather immature and act like oh a 12-10 year old.

When I'm depressesed, quiet, thoughtful or something along those lines I act pretty mature. I've been mistaken for a 20+ year old countless times on the net.

When I'm in my normal mood I'm usually mistaken for a 18 year old.

I'm 15 so I guess that makes me mature?

[/COLOR]

[Sara]

[size=1]I've had folks online think I was 40 some years old..that was funny, and I cleared it up rather quickly. Good times, that...

I s'pose it depends what exactly you mean by mature. I don't really classify people by ages--"Oh, he acts like a fourteen year old"--because I've never been able to figure out what, exactly, a fourteen-year-old is supposed to act like. If I need an example, I usually say that people are acting "like fifth graders."

I don't really qualify goofing off as immature, either. It's just a part of who you are. There's a time and a place for it. If you're lucky, the time and place is easy to stumble across.[/size]

[pbfrontmanvdp]

I dont think there really is an answer to what defines someone as being mature or inmature. Its really just a perception from a bunch of people on ones certain type of [U]action/actions[/U] ; some may think its inmature and other may not.

What im kinda trying to say is what qualifies someone as being inmature or mature is your reaction to someones elses action. Whether you laugh or think its sad what the person is doing truly decides on if you are mature or inmature, not the one actually doing the action. However this isnt always the case since at different times you may have a different perception, and instead of laughing at what someone is doing you may think its completely dumbfounded instead and vise versa.

So as for me i consider myself as both, i laugh at what some people do and think lowly on what others do.

BTW im 19 if anyone wanted to know.

[Semjaza]

I think someone that's mature basically knows when they can goof off and when they shouldn't. There's a time and a place for both... and I think truly immature people do not know the difference between those situations. It never seems like immature people remotely realize how they are acting.

Even though I just said that... I don't really equate goofing off with immaturity. There are a lot of aspects that make that up... Saying things at the wrong time, selfishness, and so on.

I don't know that I fit into either... I think I'm mature, but who really knows. I know when I can get away with things and when I can't. I try to stand up for things when I should and take other things other than my needs into consideration.

[PiroMunkie]

[size=1]Personally, I do not really care whether or not people see me as mature or immature. I would say a majority of the time I am rather 'mature'. Though, I can and do get away from that. Usually it is intentional because I know it pisses people off and they do not want to be around it. So if they upset me and I have reason enough to snap back, I shall act a bit more immature because I know they will break easier.

So I rarely act immature without reason... which is kind of ironic. Usually people do not care to see the reasoning behind it and take this whole "holier than thou" attitude, but that is their own problem.[/size]

[Shy]

[size=1]I think that I act pretty mature. In random OB chats people are always surprised to find out that I'm 18, but that's just the way I am. I know people my age who act very immaturely, some are even here on the boards...

-Shy[/size]

[Charles]

I personally find it a bit tricky to answer this question because I'm on the fence. On one hand, I'm fairly mature when the situation calls for it, but on the other I'm relatively goofy and childish on almost any other occasion. So, in a sense, I suppose you could say that I'm mature if you judge me by Semjaza's reasoning. Perhaps maturity can be put to use on a broader scale than in regard to a certain sort of behavior though.

Overall, I'd like to think that maturity is a state of mind. It's when you know when to draw the line and be a standup kind of person. I wouldn't necessarily call someone mature because they use lofty language or put on a serious demeanor on around others. One's life attitudes, manners, tolerance, the way they treat others, and the degree of compassion they demonstrate are but a few proof positive ways of measuring maturity.

In that way, I think that many people are mature. It doesn't necessarily matter if you act like a twelve year old or not. Who's to say how a twelve year old should act anyway? lol

Maturity shouldn't be tacked onto a number of years. That's not an efficient measuring stick in my book. For instance, one might assume that experienced politicians are mature because age implies wisdom. But when you hear these guys say ridiculous things--like when they compare homosexuality to incest, you have to wonder if they're really as mature as kids who start tolerance clubs in school. Or you can look at racist adults, or adults who refuse to be upstanding parents--even if they are upstanding [i]citizens[/i] who pay their taxes and eat with their elbows off the table--and ask yourself if they're really more mature than a younger person who acts silly around their friends.

My point is that it's the ability to be understanding, righteous and demonstrate the qualities that I've listed above that makes an individual mature--even if they act silly instead of "proper" more often than not.

The fact that most members here can be understanding at times and silly on other occasions is a great trait and the reason that many of you are mistaken as older people. It's a common stereotype that younger people are harsh and not accepting of diversity. But, I don't see a lot of that kind of attitude here. It's more of the positive attributes I've described.

:finally stops rambling: