its a funny situation
If a woman dates a young man she is called a cougar .. sleek... smart...sexy
if I man dates a young woman he is called a dirty pig . a dirty friggin pig...a pervert
I prefer women of my age group, give or take a few years.

I used to think tha age didn't matter, until I had a relationship with 5 year younger men than me.
We had lots of fun, and he used to bring freshness and that young vibe... however there was important things that come with age that young people is hard to understand.
Force them to try to understand, doesn't work either. So age is not just a number.
But it's also true that maturity comes with certain wisdom implicitly

Generational differences are real and significant. Times change quickly. The world you grew up in is very different from the world the generation before you did. Doesn't seem like it should but it does. I don't think i could last an hour going on a date with a girl in her twenties. We'd have very little common ground to connect on. Not her fault, not my fault. Pop culture is the culprit for the most part. The way people speak, the music they like, the movies they like, the way they dress, it's really hard to relate to people much younger than or older than yourself. Times change really fast, generation gaps are tough to overcome.

I look at IQ first.
I have a requirement, that a partner
be well above "average" IQ.

However, I generally will only date
within five years of my own age.