Is it rude to ask someone's age

[BK_Adores_Chase]

We have a new girl at work and I was going to ask her just to make conversation and then it came to me that I have heard asking such a thing is rude...but I don't get it...it's just a number.  It's not like I'm going to go home and say, "OH.MY.GOD. HONEY you will never guess what happened to me today.  I met a 34 year old, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!???"

[lywb2168]

I agree with you, i have never mind telling my age, but I am proud of being above 40 chick, there is people out there that feel age sensitive and don't like to ba ask.  I think the best thing is for age to stay out of the quetionaire, unless it is volunteered. 

[dreamyxo]

I can think of lots of other things to make conversation other than asking one's age.  Some people are more sensitive to age than others.  This is a youth oriented society.  Of course young people have no problem volunteering their age when not asked but once you reach a certain age you may not be so eager to volunteer that information. 

[kay7]

Of course then, if you're lucky, you reach an age where it's better if people ask than guess because they always guess older than you are 

[gaylasue]

No, I don't think it would have been rude if you were asking just a general question for conversation.  I don't think people take too much offense in the age any more, unless you guess them to be older than they are!  I had a friend who would tell people she was older than she was so that they would tell her how good she looked for her age!

[ghunter]

Yes, and no, Men do not mind, but most women do not like to tell their age, why?  I do not know, but I thank God everyday every year I live to see another one and I hope everyone does too.

[sommap]

I think it is rude.  I would never ask somebody their age or what they weigh.  Some things are personal.  It seems the very young or the old are not as age sensitive.  

[kapeh12]

I tend to agree that through our culture of "youth" aspirations, people (particularly in the US) are more "age sensitive".  I don't know when that trend started, but I do encounter it with friends/relatives/co-workers.  I am noticing, though, that the group that doesn't care about divulging their age is tending to grow compared to when I was younger.  Growing up it was always extremely taboo, but now, with this whole push for fitness and people being active and adventurous - more people are becoming proud to state their age vs hide it.  I think a lot has to do with people who surround you and how you view yourself - for me, my parents (more so my dad) didn't care if people knew his age - it was just a number (partly), but also his dad died relatively young (in his 50's), so his goal was to out live his dad...so getting older was a proud accomplishment.

I also had an opportunity to see a fantastic documentary called "Mary and Bill" - about Mary, a 92-year old triathalon participant, and Bill, an 86-year old high jumper (national champion in the senior division).  Their stories were just inspiring, and Mary actually sees my chiropractor - just the other day I saw her in there, and she's now in her mid-90's and still going strong.  Earlier this year, one of my grandmothers celebrated her 100th birthday, and the other one went kayaking for the first time on her 98th birthday.  I'm thinking if more people had inspiration like this to look up to, growing older would feel more like an adventure to aspire to, vs something to dread and hide from.

As for me, I'm 41 and counting baby!     My plan is to outlive whichever grandmother lives the longest, and can't wait to see what the human race discovers or invents along the way!

[mjdoug03]

No it's not rude.  People are so sensitive about things like that, but it's not a rude question.

[articx]

I think it is not rude to ask someone for their age.

[kilophkadamas]

It's only rude in the sense that you're going to use it for something evil. If someone asked for my age, with the intention of selling this information for personal gain, then yes, it's rude. If someone is just curious, no big deal.

[mrisha]

My question:  Why do you want to know someone else's age?  Unless they offer to tell me their age, then its none of anyone else's business.  Some people do not have any boundary lines.

[noirlupe]

I have 5 kids and 6 grandkids.  I dont mind letting people know if am 47 I was 38 when my first grandchild was born.

[cloudsoup]

i think asking the question outright, "how old are you?"
might be a little blunt (or i guess i should say that
i would feel blunt asking this)... but you could
easily mix the question in a conversation so you're
not putting the other person on the spot.

if the conversation is about what you do for fun,
where you grew up, or relationships, the age thing
might come up on it's own.

"i'm too old for online dating!" someone might say.
you could reply with, "you're not old at all! do you
mind if i ask how old you are?"

something like that! 

[BK_Adores_Chase]

I think it is rude.  I would never ask somebody their age or what they weigh.  Some things are personal.  It seems the very young or the old are not as age sensitive.  

Don't you think age and weight are two very different things?  I would NEVER ask someone how much they weigh, that's a weird thing to ask about...