"OMG you look so young!" - Compliment or Insult?

I got accused of having a fake ID when I was 21 because I still had my old driver's license picture from years before. At the age I got my license I could've passed for 13. I realized of course I should've updated the picture sooner, but wasn't fun being accused of breaking the law when I wasn't.

A lot of blond-haired people I know don't have much in the way of facial hair nor do many East Asians, but other patterns I'm not so sure of. Most white guys I know have decent facial hair. I'm Hispanic and I have barely any, but some of my relatives are quite hairy, so it just varies.

 

When people tell me I look younger than my 15 year old sister I take it as an insult. Sometimes I pass as a 13 year old boy and honestly I'll take that any day.

 

I don't think that's the case. A lot of women are into what I call "bishonen" guys; twinky, cutesy, borderline-androgynous men that look like they are stuck mid-puberty. I mean, that's one of the main reasons behind the exploding popularity of guys like Justin Bieber, One Direction, and the likes. And a lot of gay men also share this preference while we are at it...

 

It obviously doesn't apply to all women, but that's what I've noticed - and I do believe in general that women tend to place less emphasis on physical appearance than men. I think Justin Bieber is most popular with teenage girls.

 

I find it annoying, but I guess it'll be nice later on it life.

 

This is true.

I used to think that, but I've come to realize the tweens are just more outspoken about it. Older women care more about their reputation, but they still have their guilty pleasures lol.

 

complement at 17

 

I'm pretty confident that *nobody* says that as an insult...it is either stated as a truth or as a compliment.

Each person, on the other hand, will *take* it as they take it.

So if it's a problem, it is the recipient's problem.

 

Story of my life

 

I am still rather young (19), but I take it as a complement because I think I look like some old mummy who belongs in a pyramid. :lol:

 

Most customers at work tell me I look twelve and question how I'm allowed to work there It's kind of annoying, but it's not meant as a compliment or an insult. People just say what they notice.

My dad was still getting carded in his early forties, and once an old lady mistook him as my brother. So, maybe he's got some fountain-of-youth-gene that he's passed down.

 

I have some friends that often complain about being mistaken for younger. These are just humblebrags. A remark on someone's youthful appearance is almost always meant as a compliment and taken as a compliment. When people complain about this compliment, it's a just a means by which they can indirectly brag about their youthful appearance to others.

 

Not really. If someone is 22 but looks 16, it might be hard for other people to take them seriously. Looking younger than your age is beneficial as you get older, but when you're young, it's understandable that looking younger than your age isn't seen as a good thing. My mother is 50 and I have no doubt she'd be flattered (if a little suspicious) if someone thought she looked 30, but if someone told me that I looked 12, I don't think I'd be happy.

 

It's interesting because always been a good thing to me; I have a friend who also looks younger and we were both sharing stories about being mistaken for younger and we ended up high-fiving over it--it was a point of pride almost. Certainly I can understand the negatives to it (always get carded, sometimes accused of being underage at a party), but the benefits outweigh the negatives to me. I wouldn't say anyone complaining about it is indirectly bragging, but there are a lot of people who would really like to look younger and don't. (Although the reverse can be true; I had a friend who used to brag about looking older. He was 20 but could pass for 28. He actually could avoid being carded at some places).

 

For me it's an insult considering I'm pretty young in the first place and I'm insecure about the fact that I have a baby face

 

They always say "wow you look so old" because of my height .-.

 

I would take it as a compliment. Better than people thinking I look older than my age. At the same time, I don't want people think I'm a minor whenever I go out to a bar and such.

 

I wouldn't take is as either, unless they tried to treat me like a baby/argued that I'm lying about my age.

I don't like when people think I'm younger than what I am, considering that I'm already young, but I can't blame them. It's the trans male curse, after all. I will probably always look younger than I actually am.