many people over 25 messaged me (I’m 14) and that *is* creepy. solution? just block them. that’s what I did, and I chat only with people my age.
long story short, there many creepy people out there but you can avoid the creepiness easily (:
¡Bienvenido! Penpal-Gate conecta a gente de todo el mundo. inicia sesión o crea un perfil.
Do you find older people messaging you creepy? Anything and everything
Age doesn't bother me. A message can be creepy coming from anyone of any age, just depends on the content of the message. I have friends of all ages. I think it would be creepy for someone in their 30s or 40s to contact someone who is like...14 or so, though.
If you are a teenager - block them. Adults have no interest in dm’ing teenagers they don’t know. I have cousins much younger than me and I love them, they are smart, interesting people. I love having family time with them, even 1:1 like with a friend, but there is a huge imbalance in experience and brain development. I will take their problems on me but I will not burden them with my problems. That’s why I’m not friends with teenagers that are not my family. It’s easy to cross boundaries and you need to be careful. You can be mature for your age but this power imbalance is just creepy. Public chat, forums etc - that’s fine. But adult dm’ing teenager without a very good reason is a red flag. Run. It changes with age. Older you get the bigger age gap is ok. And you can have lovely conversations with adults. Both sides have a unique perspective. That’s alright. But dm’s are just alarmingly. And general advice, as someone who has been taken advantage by older person as a teenager: if someone creeps you out - trust your gut. No matter what age they are. Not all people are creeps, not all have bad intentions, but better be safe than sorry. And if anyone takes this personally and be mad - that is just a confirmation that you made the right choice.
And I have been “friends” with 40yo woman as a 18yo girl. We’ve met on dance camp for adults, had lot of common interests and we’ve met for a coffee couple of times. There were a lot of older sister/aunt vibes and I have felt very safe. So obviously not all of those situations are creepy. But 30yo dming 14yo on penpal-gate: that’s creepy. It’s all about context, be safe 🙂
Well, I agree that anyone could send a creepy message. I've had to block even someone my age. And when men over 40 write to me, I end up blocking them. If they were acting normal, I still wouldn't feel comfortable talking to someone who is old enough to be my father or grandfather lol. I don't trust their intentions.
