What is the average age in SL?

[Luxmai]

Hello,

I like how this might be one of the few comnuities in the interent where is the age average is somewhat high.
Is there any study or some estiamtion about the age average in SL? if there is non what do you think it is from your experince?

[MissTeriMahn]

From what I have seen so far, about 23.

Teri

((I just realised, I should have made my avatar surname Bull))

[Kelli May]

http://planet-postmoderna.com/2014/08/22/second-life-resident-survey-results-part-1/

 

One of the better surveys of SL by a resident, which isn't saying much. He did, at least, publish his results and methodology. Only 119 surveys, many of them captured from Forum regulars, which I think skews the results towards long-term, relatively committed residents.

Anyway, about half the people who responded claimed to be at least 40 years old. That matches up with my experience in-world, but comparing two small sample sizes is hardly scientific.

 

[Derek Torvalar]

---

Kelli May wrote:

http://planet-postmoderna.com/2014/08/22/second-life-resident-survey-results-part-1/

 

One of the better surveys of SL by a resident, which isn't saying much. He did, at least, publish his results and methodology. Only 119 surveys, many of them captured from Forum regulars, which I think skews the results towards long-term, relatively committed residents.

Anyway, about half the people who responded claimed to be at least 40 years old.

That matches up with my experience in-world, but comparing two small sample sizes is hardly scientific.

 

---

And of those, a significant number have the emotional age of a 7 year old.

A spoiled one at that.

[Nova Convair]

What age?

- The age the residents tell you when you ask them?

- The age of the RL operator of the avatar? (the highest)

- The age that reflects the mental development status? (the lowest)

The only one you can find out is the 1st one. (ok the 3rd one too but that will be too exhausting) Go out and ask. Many will not answer, mute you or kick your ass off their land though. So you need to keep nagging and make multiple alts.

So next year at the same time you can come back to this forum and tell us your results. Have fun. :smileyvery-happy:

[Zsigmond Alcott]

I don't know the avg age but as a side note in my 8.5yrs in SL I can tell you one of the first questions quys ask me is how old I am. Over the years I have said everything from 18-50 and 90% of the time the other persons replies and their age is within 5 yrs of mine...interesting huh? *rolls eyes* 

[MissTeriMahn]

---

Zsigmond Alcott wrote:

I don't know the avg age but as a side note in my 8.5yrs in SL I can tell you one of the first questions quys ask me is how old I am. Over the years I have said everything from 18-50 and 90% of the time the other persons replies and their age is within 5 yrs of mine...interesting huh? *rolls eyes* 

---

---

Zsigmond Alcott wrote: one of the first questions quys ask me

---

I suppose another one is "why did you choose that name I can't read, spell or pronounce"?

Teri

((Is the "g" silent, like in paradigm?))

(((If the "d" is silent too, you are effectively Simon, I guess.)

[Jake Mysterious]

It is the question that is asked but very rarely answered honestly. The question should be. What's you're attitude type? That would be easier then pulling some fake number off a net zombie.

[irihapeti]

84

[Spinwilly Saiman]

---

Derek Torvalar wrote:

---

Kelli May wrote:

http://planet-postmoderna.com/2014/08/22/second-life-resident-survey-results-part-1/

 

One of the better surveys of SL by a resident, which isn't saying much. He did, at least, publish his results and methodology. Only 119 surveys, many of them captured from Forum regulars, which I think skews the results towards long-term, relatively committed residents.

Anyway, about half the people who responded claimed to be at least 40 years old.

That matches up with my experience in-world, but comparing two small sample sizes is hardly scientific.

 

---

And of those, a significant number have the emotional age of a 7 year old.

A spoiled one at that.

---

[Venus Petrov]

---

Luxmai wrote:

Hello,

I like how this might be one of the few comnuities in the interent where is the age average is somewhat high.

Is there any study or some estiamtion about the age average in SL? if there is non what do you think it is from your experince?

---

I haven't visited many other like 'communities'.  There are residents who are over 40 and act like they are 12. There are some residents who are under 16 and act like they are 35 (most can be found in adult communities luring unsuspecting RL adults into pixel relationships with minors).

As a side note, I wish the spell check here would not highlight all the misspellings in the quoted text.

[MissTeriMahn]

I am astonished that nobody has yet offered the obvious, and accurate solution: 42.

Teri

((And now you know what the question at the end of the universe was.))

[GiddeonYork]

I know this is old, but I thought this interesting. https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/demographics/

[Drayke Newall]

Edited June 27, 2020 by Drayke Newall

[Pixie Kobichenko]

[Amanda Crisp]

Lacking “objective” statistics, I can offer an opinion :-)

I think SL has a huge population of people (like me); fifty-somethings presenting as 20-somethings......

I base that on several factors;

(a) - I can go anywhere in SL and find people who “get” my “sometimes obscure” 70’s & 80’s pop culture references.

(b) - I continually run into people who dress and behave in a manner that indicates how younger people are portrayed in Media and not so much hw they dress and act in RL

(c) - I keep running into people whose approach to contemporary social issues is from a very non-contemporary direction

 

Having said that; I have no problem with it whatsoever.

 

I think its actually GOOD for people to mix and mingle intergenerationally, recapture their youth where possible, and be happy with their virtual selves.

In RL, I deal with a brain injury that hampers me slightly. Speaking is sometimes chancy, I have days where walking is an adventure (mostly its not).

Here in SL, I can communicate as well as I want (given my typing skills) and can not only WALK but I can Fly and/or Teleport.

 

I don’t begrudge anyone “pixel youth”; I enjoy mine.

[Sylvia Tamalyn]

[Drakonadrgora Darkfold]

this topic is fairly hard to really answer without a poll of every user in world and from the forums minus alts. which will never happen. so its pretty much a moot point to ask.

[FairreLilette]

On 6/7/2015 at 5:31 PM, irihapeti said:

84

Maybe that's the oldest one.   Perhaps a more interesting question might have been what is the oldest age of a person behind the avatar said they were.  For me, that was 75.  The person behind the avatar asked me to dance and asked if I would be uncomfortable dancing with a 75-year-old person.  I said not at all.  We danced and talked for about an hour.  He talked of old time stories.  So, I really believe he was 75.  

As far as average age, I have no idea.  Some say it might be around 40-ish.  Could be a SL myth for all I know.  

[BelindaN]

5 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

Maybe that's the oldest one.   Perhaps a more interesting question might have been what is the oldest age of a person behind the avatar said they were.  For me, that was 75.  The person behind the avatar asked me to dance and asked if I would be uncomfortable dancing with a 75-year-old person.  I said not at all.  We danced and talked for about an hour.  He talked of old time stories.  So, I really believe he was 75.  

As far as average age, I have no idea.  Some say it might be around 40-ish.  Could be a SL myth for all I know.  

I got a similar approach once from a guy who was 66 and asked me if I would dance with him, as he was "so old" . Older guys tend to have more rounded conversations, but by that measure there are not many around. In SL it makes no difference how old you are. The young stand out for different reasons......just the way they present in IMs.

Edited June 27, 2020 by BelindaN

[Rolig Loon]

IIRC, Linden Lab stopped publishing demographic statistics in about 2008.  Up till then, you could find out the distribution of ages, gender, and nationalities in SL easily.  I have no idea why they were discontinued, although I'm sure there are conspiracy theorists who could tell you.  My guess is that those data were self-reported.  In the days before they started simply asking whether you are over 18,  Linden Lab used to ask you to enter your birthdate when you joined, for example.  From my own dim memory, I recall that the average age at that time was just slightly south of 40.  It wouldn't surprise me to find that it still is.  Most of the people I know personally in SL are well above 40 -- yes, a self-selected population, but it's the only current statistic I can offer -- and a very high number have been in SL for a long time.  

[Ceka Cianci]

I remember when I first came to SL..That first year it seemed like everyone I met was mostly in their mid 30's.. I did meet some that were a lot older, like in their 60's..

I did a lot of listening and asking question the first few years and really only spoke on what I knew.. Anytime I didn't I got caught on it..hehehehehe

[RiffRegan]

67