my best friend who is unfortunately like dead was 23 when we met and i was 18, i bring this up because though it was a friend ship, there were occasional nudes-swapping and shit lol , although because he lived in tampa (and i live somewhere very far from tampa) it obviously never was or could be more than that at least as things were at the time, the distance i mean basically….

i am the same age he was when we first met back then now (which is blowing my mind by the way because i never really thought about that til saying this)

i can say though i dont feel like there was any creepiness involved whatsoever, period (and we initially only ever crossed paths because we were both in a rehab together, so it wasnt like this was some weirdo seeking teenagers hanging at arcades or whereever the fuck teenagers hang out) that i dont think id be able to have any level of sexual involvement, no matter how mild, with anyone under the age of 20 (and i am sure this number will increase as i age, myself)

emotional maturity matters…. im not talking like, its cool and good for some 40 year old creep to go after some literal (18y) teenager because the teenager claims theyre just “sooo mature”

i mean this more in the sense that the younger party involved, understands implications of different things , and can fully be aware of whatever they may be doing, and is careful to not be taken advantage of in ANY way and that they have the capacity to understand when things are starting to head south and they should immediately cease contact with that other party (though of course:this is why groomers exist, they will do shit over a long period of time so as to not scare you away, its truly disgusting when you really thinkg about it)