Screens and Slang: a 10-question quiz, explained

Short answer: The ten "Screens and slang" questions (Q31 to Q40) ask how you deal with phones, apps, memes and updates. This category has the smallest swing of the ten, and it is the one most likely to be out of date. Some of its options mention age outright, and others reward plain self-discipline that has nothing to do with age.

I'm Muhammad Husnain Zahid. The quiz above takes about a minute. Below I split the ten questions into the ones that are really about age and the ones that are really about discipline, because I think that split is the most useful way to read your result. All ten questions are on the full question list.

The smallest range in the test

Averaged over the ten questions, the first option is worth about 13 points and the last about 53. That gap of 40 is the smallest of the ten categories, so going from all first options to all last options would move your full 100-question result by about four points. Picking at random gives about 31.

The four option positions average roughly 13, 22, 34 and 53. Q31, about an unknown word online, has the narrowest range of all, from 14 to 50. Its top option is worth less than any other fourth option here.

Options that mention age out loud

Two options in this category only make sense for a certain age. In Q31 the top option is "I ask an actual person under thirty to translate" (50). In Q34, about a new app everyone is using, the top option is "I hear about it roughly a year later, from someone's kid" (58).

If you are twenty, you cannot honestly pick the first of those, because you are the person under thirty. If you are fifty with no children, "someone's kid" does not describe you either. So for some readers these top options are closed, and they pick the best fit among the others. That lowers their score for a reason that has nothing to do with how they behave.

Options that are really about discipline

The rest of the top options describe something you could do at any age:

• Q32, phone buzzing at dinner: "on silent in another room, on purpose" (53).
• Q36, autocorrect: "I proofread before sending, mostly to avoid this" (53).
• Q37, a frozen video call: "I already have a backup plan, a phone call" (54).
• Q39, the weekly screen time report: "I've already set limits on the apps that matter" (50).
• Q40, a software update: "I schedule it for overnight, every time" (51).

These are habits of care. A seventeen-year-old who keeps their phone out of the room at dinner picks the top option in Q32 and earns 53, the same as a seventy-year-old would. I think this group is the fairest part of the category. It measures what you do, not how old the thing you are using is.

Holding back scores higher than trying

Q33 (what to watch) and Q38 (a meme you don't get) have top options about holding back. Q33: "the same three shows, again, on purpose" (56). Q38: "I nod politely and change the subject" (52). Q31 sends you to someone else. So sticking to what you know, or leaving a thing you do not understand, scores higher than trying it. For this category I put curiosity at the lower end, and I am not certain that is right. Someone who looks up every new word and tries every new app is arguably more engaged than someone who does not, and the quiz scores them as younger.

The first options are almost jokes

The lowest options in this category are written with a smile: "I already knew it, I invented it" (14), "Whatever's loudest and brightest on the home screen" (13), "I already knew it before it was cool" (13). They describe a person who is a bit too sure of themselves online. The first options in this category average 13 points, and only Feelings and fights, at 14, is higher. Most other categories start nearer 10 or 11.

Where the screen points come from

I found some of the questions by searching what people post on social media, wrote some myself and asked friends for others. The points come from how I see children, adults and older people around me use phones. Children are quick and loud with new apps. Adults check in and out. Older people tend to wait and ask. I placed the four options along that line.

Nobody has checked these against real ages. The points are my judgement.

Why this category dates fastest

This quiz was published in 2026. Words like "meme", "screen time report" and "app" feel normal now. Slang changes much faster than habits do, and within a few years, an option about a "new app everyone is using" will describe different apps. The discipline questions will still work. The age questions will not. This category needs a review more often than the others.

Reading your screens number

• Under 20: you mostly picked the quick, curious options. You try things first and read later.
• 20 to 40: a mix, which is where most people sit.
• Above 40: you mostly picked the careful or the cautious options. Open the list of your answers and check which kind. If it was Q32, Q36, Q39 and Q40, that is discipline. If it was Q31, Q34 and Q38, it may just mean you are not the first to hear about things.

Why ten answers is a weak signal

This category is a tenth of the full test, so it can only move your final number by about four points. A tired evening can also change several answers at once, because your phone habits shift with your week. Your answers on this page stay in your own browser, so you can try it again later and compare. To see how it adds up, take the full test. I explain how the number is built in How a Mental Age Score Is Really Worked Out.

What this does not tell you

It is not a measure of how good you are with technology or how healthy your screen habits are. This is a quiz for fun and self-reflection, and it has not been scientifically validated. If screens are getting in the way of sleep, study or relationships, talking to someone you trust is a good first step, and the help resources page lists free, confidential support.

Sources and further reading

• How the whole number is built: the age guide and How a Mental Age Score Is Really Worked Out.
• Every question and answer option: the full question list.

Frequently asked questions