i realized today another reason why people get more inhibited, more adult-like as they grow older. one thing that i've been noticing for a while is that a lot more of the people i meet remind me of someone, both physically and personality-wise; i've simply reached the point in my life where i've met so many people that some uncanny resemblance is almost inevitable.
the flip side of this is that i've met a lot of people who i don't like. that's not quite right; i mean, it's right, but not so relevant. what's relevant is that i've met a lot of people who i don't want to be like, who i don't consider role models. these people, of course, exhibit various behaviors.
the end result is that, in a deliciously cannibalistic sense, a lot of the things i do remind me of other people. so i tone down the act, because i notice the identity between me and some other person who i don't particularly want to be identified with. i think this has been going on for a while, but for some reason i only noticed it just now. the ultimate result is that as i've grown older, i've noticed a lot more of my behaviors in other people, people who i don't aspire to be, and thus presumably i've been cutting back these behaviors.
i'm not sure how universal this is, but i don't think it's just me. i know that i do a lot of seeing faults instead of positives in people, since i'm looking for perfection; presumably this is a contributing factor. i've also got leftover insecurities, probably from my childhood, regarding ostracization, which i'm sure also contribute. (probably not so much.)