Judging from a few comments here and there i read, it seems some of the GimpChat people are retired.

This is something that suprised me a bit. I would have guessed image manipulation would be something that appeals more to a younger age.
Or is gimping a hobby like crafting, now that we live in the computer-age ?

My grandpa is over 90 and he does video editing on his laptop - but that is something very unusual for a man of his age.

I'm in my early 40ies and not a very ordinary representant for my age group, i guess, as im still obsessed with "youth culture" - you know, all the techno music and graffiti and comics and stuff.

Most of the forums i frequent are populated by twenty-thirty-somethings (i believe), and i tend to forget that these users are a lot younger than i am.
So on one hand, i understand a lot of the topics and way of speaking/humor that these younger people cultivate, on the other hand, i find some of the more testesterone-fueled ignorance a tad unnerving.

Instead of asking how old everybody is (which would probably be rude), i just wanted to ask is it true that we have a lot of older people and very few young ?
And do you have a theory why that is so ?

Before anybody feels discriminated, let me assure you, i have no problem with "older" people and even if everybody on this board was only 15, i would still love to be a part of this awesome community, which has improved my life vastly !

Well, yes, there are a lot of us older birds here on Gimp Chat...and a few very young ones too. I would think that Moko is one of the youngest. I think it's interesting that many of the older-than-30-somethings on gimp chat are from an artistic or tech background. I, on the other hand, am from no background. I can't even remember how I got suckered into the world of photo-editing! Maybe because I have always had a fascination for computers, stemming from way back when I used to see news about Eniac and Univac, and learned that computers worked by a simple concept of on and off for each little switch. Never really understood how it actually can work, but still find it fascinating.

Since I'm semi-retired (only work from home now), I was able to look around and find this site and learn things about GIMP I never knew before.

Rapidly approaching 30, but I feel like I'm 90 some days. Especially when I had a bad bout of insomnia that won't let me sleep for days on end.

I think it's been a while since the invention of computers and the inception of the internet and some people that still remember what an Apple 2e is capable of are now reaching the golden age of 'get off my lawn damn kids.'

I also believe we've reached an age where broadening ones horizons is not bound by social stigma anymore. And I've gamed with businessmen as well as gimped with retirerees. Moms facebook and kids text.

That's the beauty of the internet. With all its flaws and draw backs, it has been hugely successful in bringing people together that otherwise would never give each other the time of day. Across borders of age, class and countries.

Esper, I'm another semi-retired guy, with a curious mind. Lot's of old hippies in "My Generation".

Over 40 myself. I think older people have more patience for the trials and tribulations that are GIMP. Younger people seem to get far more easily frustrated by the lack of instant gratification. I could be wrong but I'm basing this on my four children.

I'm in my upper 40s Esper. Did do contract work so, unfortunately had too much time so learned how to use GIMP to keep up my technical skills (and not became the devils playing field). Finally got a job though and start Monday so you folks may not see so much of me pretty soon, but I'll try to visit as much as I can (if I don't get bushed; lol).

Early 40's here, Reading through the thread has been interesting, I've always liked art and nearly went to art college but back in the day that wasn't considered a real career choice so ended up in engineering.
My first venture into computer graphics was back in the early 90's when I brought a program called "DPaint" for the Atari 520st, amazing bit of kit could display 16 colours at the same time and do animations.
Stopped doing anything artsy for a while then started again but began by using a publisher program,The clown in my Avatar was created on a publisher program, Then someone pointed me in the direction of Gimp, took a while to get stated with it.
Now I love gimping, it suits me fine, I like Maths, technical drawing and of course art, so gimp kinda rolls these all into one.

i'm 37. Cell biology and molecular genetics background. Always gravitated to computers and image/video software. Photoshop, Sony Vegas most of the 1st decade in the new millennium before I got my hands on Inkscape, GIMP and later on Blender. Photography is a hobby since the age of 7. Father was a talented painter (mostly oil and acrylic) but did not pass that gift on me (my sister got all of the burden ).
When it comes to art, age is irrelevant. Lust for creativity is all that matters.

congratulations, Lyle. I hope you will still have time to drop in, but very glad you got yourself some employment!

i've wondered about that age thing too. i'm really glad to see that not only kids play with digital imaging, though - i hate being the only grown up around in web forums, which has happened to me a lot. besides, teenagers are usually flock animals and very often they make only the same kind of stuff all their friends make. that means less inspiration for someone who (like me) get inspired by differences in styles and techniques. so long live the retirees with time to be creative and a mind of their own !

AnMal - When you mention teenagers all doing the same style we wouldn't be talking about anime.

Anime or actually Manga style is circulating on DA a lot these days. Which is fine if it's done well. But there's a lot of attempts and cheap knock offs (i.e. trace jobs, etc) that really just ruin it for me. After a while it gets old and I get sick of looking at it. On the other hand I've seen some beautiful art in the manga and western comic style that would make me sad if it was excluded just because there is a perceived stigma.

I've nearly reached 50 and I find it's very noticeable that there are a significant number of grown-ups on this forum. It's making for a very civilised environment that I appreciate very much.

As for the computing, I remember using an Apple IIe at university but we started by using the mainframe. Batch processed punch cards, now there's an opposite to instant gratification:


Kevin

AnMal, I think more than you know of the "semi-retired" have been playing with computers for 25+ years, look at Gimp it's 20 years old. It's all good and it's all fun

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."

-Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science.

When I was in high school, boys were not allowed to take typing classes (conventional wisdom was that our hands were not yet coordinated enough at that age and only women became "keypunch operators"). Before taking the class, I tried to convince the school's principal that "there were these things called computers" which would eventually require that everybody know how to type. He did not believe me, though I was ultimately allowed to take the class (after pointing out that Title IX was not just about girls playing sports).

@saulgoode: That's both funny and sad, in retrospective context. I kinda still remember when I learned to type. Out of necessity. I never took a typing class and still to this day look at the keyboard when I make text. At least I can do it fast, but it isn't pretty at all.

I am one of those old fogies (over 65) . Spent 30 years working for Big Blue as a hardware technician, from keypunches to mainframes. Although I never formally learned software, I have some appreciation of it. I am still a finger picker on the keyboard. I came to Gimp because of photography, wanting to do more than the basics in imaging. Like many of the more mature people on this forum, I grew up on Dos early games with b/w, then 4 colours, then 16 colours, etc . xt, 286, 386 and onwards. I still have boxes of 5 1/5 diskettes and a drive for it . I dont use it --- just nostalgia. This is one of the best forums I have seen with a great mix of old and young.

I'm 47 but I'll be 18 next birthday. I used to post to a games forum (Might and Magic) and there was one chap on there who was in his 70s and he knew the M&M games inside out.