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What if I'm over 25?
The Mix
The Mix HQPosts: 2,600 Staff Team
in Start Here
We get asked this question a lot and, until now, we haven't had any
written or official rules around it. For the most part, turning 26
won't mean any big changes in how you can use The Mix community, but
there are some finer details you'll need to keep in mind. This
post should help clarify those details and make sure our approach is consistent
for everyone reaching the end of their time as a Young Person™ 
Some of this might be stuff you already know, and some of it might be new information.
So, without further ado...
Can I join the community if I'm a little over 25?
Yep! You're welcome to join, stick around, and chat.
And finally, we'll probably be less lenient if you break the Community Guidelines.
This is because in-depth conversations about the guidelines or your
behavior are quite time consuming for moderators, and we need to make
sure we're focusing that time on community members under 25. As an older
member, we also expect you to be a role model for positive
behaviour in the community.
Our support needs don't suddenly change on our 26th birthday, and
chances are a lot of conversations on the community are relevant to you
even though you're just over 25.
That said, there are a few things to keep in mind...
Some of
The Mix's services are funded strictly for Under 25's, such as Support
Circle. You won't be able to use those services. If you try to
without realising, don't worry - we'll let you know.
As a
general rule, we also prioritise under 25's for most things. For
example, if we have a busy PM or email inbox, we're likely to prioritise
under 25's and may take longer to get back to you.
If you
break the guidelines, we'll probably just let you know what the issue
was and leave it there. If you break the guidelines frequently, you may be banned indefinitely.
I'm under 25 now, but what happens when I turn 26?
Not
much will change immediately. Our support needs don't suddenly change
on our 26th birthday and you're still a valued community member.
And finally, we'll probably be less lenient if you break the Community Guidelines.
This is because in-depth conversations about the guidelines or
problematic behavior are quite time consuming for moderators, and we
need to make
sure we're focusing that time on community members under 25. As an older
member, we also expect you to be a role model for positive
behaviour in the community.
If you
break the guidelines, we'll probably just let you know what the issue
was and leave it there. If you break the guidelines frequently, you may be banned indefinitely.
Over time, we might have a conversation with you about transitioning to another service to get support. You're welcome to stick around here and support others for as long as you like, though - we've got plenty of active members who turned 25 long ago, but still stick around to help out and chat more generally.
That said, there are a few things to keep in mind...
Some of
The Mix's services are funded strictly for Under 25's, such as Support
Circle. You won't be able to use those services. If you try to
without realising, don't worry - we'll let you know.
As a
general rule, we also prioritise under 25's for most things. For
example, if we have a busy PM or email inbox, we're likely to prioritise
under 25's and may take longer to get back to you.
Over time, we might have a conversation with you about transitioning to another service to get support. You're welcome to stick around here and support others for as long as you like, though - we've got plenty of active members who turned 25 long ago, but still stick around to help out and chat more generally.
Moving on from a support service can be a good thing
It
can be difficult to stop using a service for support, and understandably so. In
communities, we build relationships, experiences, memories, and life
lessons that are important to us.
But transitioning to a new support service at the right time is a healthy thing to do.
There are practical considerations first and foremost. Support services tend to be specialised in one way or another and, for The Mix, that's young people. So the information you'll find with The Mix's services will usually be specific to young people. A lot of services we might tell you about (e.g. Childline) aren't usable for adults, but if you join a community for older people, they'll know all about support for adults.
Ask yourself... can the service I'm currently using support me in the ways I need it to? Would I benefit from a service more setup for my age, or specialised in something I'm struggling with?
Using a new support service can also be a time for change; a chance for us to connect with new people, think in new ways, and try new things. Those moments can be essential for our support journey, and sometimes even help us break unhelpful cycles or thought processes we might be stuck in.
And you know what? Let's celebrate that change.
If you're at a point where you're thinking about moving on from getting support at The Mix, that means you've spent time building a community with us, supporting others, and - most importantly - growing as a person. That's something to be proud of, and for us to celebrate with you.
Besides, no one ever really leaves The Mix. You're an elder now, and no doubt there are community members under 25 who could learn from you and what you've learned.
But transitioning to a new support service at the right time is a healthy thing to do.
There are practical considerations first and foremost. Support services tend to be specialised in one way or another and, for The Mix, that's young people. So the information you'll find with The Mix's services will usually be specific to young people. A lot of services we might tell you about (e.g. Childline) aren't usable for adults, but if you join a community for older people, they'll know all about support for adults.
Ask yourself... can the service I'm currently using support me in the ways I need it to? Would I benefit from a service more setup for my age, or specialised in something I'm struggling with?
Using a new support service can also be a time for change; a chance for us to connect with new people, think in new ways, and try new things. Those moments can be essential for our support journey, and sometimes even help us break unhelpful cycles or thought processes we might be stuck in.
And you know what? Let's celebrate that change.
If you're at a point where you're thinking about moving on from getting support at The Mix, that means you've spent time building a community with us, supporting others, and - most importantly - growing as a person. That's something to be proud of, and for us to celebrate with you.
Besides, no one ever really leaves The Mix. You're an elder now, and no doubt there are community members under 25 who could learn from you and what you've learned.
What if I'm much older? (e.g. 30+)
The
community's life experience and knowledge of support is generally
specialised to under 25's. That means it's going to be tricky to have
conversations
about situations specific to your age group, and we're not going to have
very much practical information on hand to support you.
As a safeguard for our younger members, you also won't be able to send PMs.
For these reasons, we would suggest using a service specifically designed for adults. A good starting point is Side by Side, a mental health support community run by Mind for over 18's.
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Feel free to comment below with any questions or suggestions.New here?
Head to Start Here, where you'll find some useful information about us and our main rules and guidelines.
5
Comments
If people over 30 can't send PM's, and someone who has been around for years turns 30, will they not be able to send PM's anymore? Or will that be relaxed because they've been around for a long time?
I think that you might be able to get away with joining the support circle on your 26th birthday at the discretion of mods but usually you would have to stop using it before you turn 26. Yes it can be hard to move on if you have been using support circle for a long time but our support needs can change a lot over time. This is just what I think.
I also think that the rule about over 30's not being able to PM will only count for new users but again that is just what I think and the rule could be a blanket rule for all over 30's.
This is something we're pretty firm on. Partly it's to make sure people under 25 are prioritised for Support Circle, and also because of the funding point mentioned before.
The theory is this post should give people a heads up about that transition, so they have as long as they need to prepare for that next stage. The staff team can also help facilitate that transition, if that person would find it useful. For example, we can help find similar spaces elsewhere or work out a gradual 'cutting down' so that person uses that space less over time rather than the change being sudden.
We're a little more flexible on this one. This is primarily for people who join when they're way out of our age range. If you've been here a long time, we trust you and we trust that you understand how to use PMs appropriately. We might disable them if we're concerned, though.
Does that help? @Dancer was more or less right with their answer!
So what’s like the oldest you have to stop asking for support. 29? If the user is an old time user does that make any difference lol. Cause coming here when you’re a lot older than everyone else- slightly weird compared to if came here ages ago. “ we've got plenty of active members who turned 25 long ago, but still stick around to help out and chat more generally”. How old are they? When you turn 30 are we like just not allowed to use? I don’t mean for support. I mean can we support others as long as we don’t PM anyone?and like share our good moments like say if got a new job. Like cause as sad as I sound but this place is one of the first places I go to if I’m doing well or something. And like have you ever had someone you share good news with and then when they leave you’re just like well this is all pointless if I have no one to share this with lol. What I quote I think answers this question but want to check.
Generally speaking, if you're approaching 30 and actively looking for support on the community, that's when we might drop you a PM to talk about moving on. For anyone currently 25, it might be worth thinking about broadening your support network and gradually reducing your time spent here.
It's not going to be a black and white thing because there are a lot of factors we might need to consider. For now, we'll be taking it on a case-by-case basis (deciding for each individual).
Agreed that it's different if someone has been here a long time.
It varies quite a bit. We have some folks whose accounts are 10-20 years old, though they stopped using the community regularly and asking for support quite some time ago.
There will always be a way you can stick around on the community. You'd certainly be welcome to share good news, as well as support others and post in non-support threads.
Though I’m kinda hoping by the time I’m like 25 I will have a better life where I have more close people where I will not use this as regular as I’m mostly here cause lonely