How Old is TOO Old?

It's reassuring and refreshing to hear of how many older people still enjoy this hobby.
I'd perused this thread before and felt that my feelings were more than adequately expressed.
A new point, however, that I think was missed is that of growing into the hobby.

I've read the majority of the posts here (especially the longer ones which go in depth and justify opinions etc) and I've noticed a pattern - many of the younger people took about 3 years from the start of their collecting to become slightly more at peace with the perceived "oddness" of their hobby. The older people were already more at peace with their image of themselves and with how others saw them.
I think that the 3 years are usually formative ones for the 16-30 year-olds who are newly initiated into the hobby. In the space of 3 years, a 16yo will be 19, and will have a growing sense of self-confidence and/or knowledge of the world and her people. From 22-23, and similarly from 27-30, there are new thresholds to cross as a human being, and always new people and jobs to do. In all of these ages, we are settling in to our surroundings. I think this is what causes us stress and allows us to feel at peace with our hobby after a certain amount of time.
Naturally, it's different from person to person, and maybe someone will feel uncomfortable with the(ir) hobby again at a certain point in their life, but it's perfectly normal to feel that way.

Play should come naturally to us, but we gradually abstain - it's by reintroducing ourselves to ourselves at play that we can feel more free and happy.

 

The advantage to become old (I am 41 years old, that begins a little ^^ ") it is that we laugh at the other people's opinion because in any case, in front of many young people we become too old for everything: the fashion, the beauty, the love etc. then, if we take care in the opinion of the others, we make nothing more!

The hobby of dolls, it is as all the rest, we makes it because that pleases us and if that pleases us up to the end of the life and well so much the better ^^

We are never too old in our head to take advantage of things which we like!

 

I don't think someone is ever too old to enjoy a hobby, dolls or otherwise. I'm 26, my sister is 23 and my mother is 56 and all three of us have dolls. As long as you enjoy them, it doesn't matter what age you are!

 

I don't believe there is a age restriction on dolls!, if you love them collect them, if people dislike that, they can shove it. but i think young gets and grandma's don't get judged as much as 15-40 year old's. And guys in the hobby have a even harder time.

 

It's funny how some moments in time resonate with us and turn into memories, and others are forgotten a few minutes later.

The day I turned 13, my mom bought me a doll I'd been asking for. I will never forget my aunt telling me at the party, with perfect certainty, that this would be the last year I'd want or receive dolls for my birthday. The immediate feeling of absolute incredulity was something that struck me hard. Me? Not wanting dolls? Maybe this is what adults meant when they said, "you'll understand when you're older," because right then the notion was completely absurd. Would I be smiling fondly at the memory of my aunt's prophetic words in a few years' time? Shelving - or worse, selling - my collection in favor of more mature pursuits? Could I, in fact, grow out of dolls?

I am happy to say Aunt Beth clearly underestimated my dedication, which has only been proven worse the older I've got. Once I became an adult and joined the workforce, my doll collection multiplied somehow. As I still have many of the dolls I did when I was 13, I can only imagine the amount of dolls I'll have when I'm 40...or 60...or 80!

 

Oh...this is a good thread! There are no age limits, I think, for being an ABJD collector as there are other hobbies that require collecting that have no age limits to them as well. It's funny because people collect stamps and people are not bothered seeing an elderly person walk in and ask for stamps for their stamp collections. People also collect vintage cars and don't blink an eye when someone drops well over a million dollars for a rare car. Heck! There are Star Trek and Star Wars collectors that pass on their fandom down to the next generation and it's generally accepted even if quite appropriately fanatic. Although collecting Asian Ball Jointed Dolls is a more recent hobby compared to stamp collecting or car collecting, doll collecting in itself has been around a long time primarily reserved for those of a higher social status in the early days or at least for someone with an income that could support such a hobby when acquiring dolls (bisque, porcelain, early plastic, etc) were harder than they are now. Unless someone breaches into legit hoarder status, has developed an unhealthy psychological and emotional attachment to their dolls, and/or needs a psychological intervention for whatever reason, doll collecting (or any collecting hobby of any kind) should not be considered "pathetic, suspect, or even sinister" unless it is harmful for the collector whether young or old.

But! A lot can be said about how society, community, social status, educational level, culture, religion, ethnicity, and a whole gamut of other factors could affect how appropriate or inappropriate a hobby is for one of a certain age. For example, in my culture, to receive a porcelain doll is still a mark of wealth or higher social status even if one is middle or lower class or is young or old because porcelain dolls are still considered a luxury item. Upgrade porcelain doll to ABJD and boom! Doesn't matter if you are young or old, you have just acquired an item of value that should always be kept within the family and passed on to future generations with pride. However, I have encountered individuals (friends, family) where even having a toy was verboten or that a treasured childhood toy had to be thrown away by a certain age because of the perception that reaching adulthood requires you throw aside ties to one's youth.

So, although this questions seems to be a simple "Yes, one can be too old" or "No, you can never be too old", it gets a little more complicated once you really get down to other extraneous and confounding factors that people may or may not realize affect whether or not it is acceptable to be an ABJD collector at certain ages.

 

I don't think there is a "too old" for doll collecting. I think having a hobby is healthy and feel great pity for people that don't have something to enjoy in their spare time like I do.

 

I don't believe there is an age at which you become 'too old' for dolls, or any other hobby for that matter. If something brings you enjoyment and allows you to be creative, then in my opinion, there is no age at which that becomes inappropriate.

 

About 25 minutes after the fire starts on my cremation...

 

PinkPoodle, I'm totally stealing that graphic!!! It's exactly how I feel

For myself, I'm 30. I started collecting BJDs when I was 29. My family thinks I'm a bit strange. I don't care. I enjoy my hobbies... they don't have hobbies. I'm not sure what they do with themselves in their free time. Watch TV?

 

I'm 23 and I'm still an avid fan of cartoons. This was weird to many people until I actually started working in them. (Hee-hee.)

I also got weird looks from a friend when I told her about the dolls, then I told her that I wanted to make one up like a zombie at some point in the future and suddenly, she thought the concept of a posing zombie was cool.

It's just one of those things that's purely perception.

If you're doing something cool, funny, or beautiful with it, then perceptions will change.

Oh, and you're never too old to do what you love.

 

To quote Cheryl Crow:

"If it makes you happy
It can't be that bad
If it makes you happy
Then why the hell are you so sad"

I think if you find a hobby you truly enjoy, it would be a shame to let others shame you out of it...

 

I'll be 62 next month. Am I too old yet? I sure hope not. I plan to play with dolls until the day I croak.

 

Any age is not too old for dolls collecting.
Is it possible to be too old to collect stamps or cat figurines ? I'm sure not, and for dolls is the same.
Everyone in every age can enjoy this beautiful hobby

 

A lot of the time when you are older you can actually afford to buy the dolls more easily.
I don't think their should be any age limit

 

I think BJD collecting is a "forever" hobby XD I think "all" hobbies are, I mean, as long as it makes you happy, isn't that what hobbies are all about? o.o Why would you give ANYTHING up just because other people think it's not suited for your age?? That's just silly, in my opinion (except if the hobby includdes some health risks or something of course, like if you're really old and you like gardening but can't really go out and attend to the garden, I think that's the time when you need to move on to something else >_< )

 

Old ladies have collected dolls for ages. My mother is nearing 50 and collects Barbies >_> She loves BJDs as do I. "Too old", in my opinion, is poppycock.

 

I guess when they feel like they are too old. It depends on the person I guess lol

 

I dont think there is anything as "too old" its another hobby like anything else, so age shouldn't be a contributing factor. Its the same as people who do model trains, action figures, and breyer horses. Hobbies are something for all ages and generations to enjoy.

 

I've collected things all of my life. And there has always been a moment that suddenly I was called to old to be into something. Always by other people like my siblings and even friends. My mother on the other hand has been supportive to no prevail.
When I found my first BJD Peter online she was the very first person I showed him to.
I'm 30 years old, Peter isn't even a year old and within a few weeks I expect to get 4 more Dolls into my little family. :}