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When hobbies, obsessions, and eccentricities take over late middle age

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Cite

Long, R. (2026, September 27). When hobbies, obsessions, and eccentricities take over late middle age. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/4737623/why-were-all-getting-so-weird/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Washington Examiner · collected 2026-09-27 · by Rob Long

Quick Summary

The article discusses how people in their late middle age often engage in various activities or experiences described as "going through things." These phrases can refer to significant life changes like divorce, illness, or financial difficulties, and the author notes that these expressions are used ambiguously among friends around the age of 60. The piece focuses on the broad use of this vague term to describe a range of personal transitions during later adulthood.
Written by AI on 2026-09-27, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

At around age 60, many people start experiencing significant life changes described by the phrase "going through something." This vague term is used regardless of the specific situation and can refer to major events like divorce, health diagnoses, or financial difficulties such as bankruptcy. The author notes that this euphemism serves to broadly encompass a range of challenging experiences common among individuals in late middle age.

Written for “Middle Age Obsessions” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Middle Age Obsessions
Health · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
4
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
25%
1 of 4 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
70/100
Washington Examiner's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Health
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-27 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Rob Long
5 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 It’s the kind of service that usually draws a congregation you could count on one hand, assuming the hand belonged to someone careless with power tools.
2026-10-31 · assertive framing · Take joy in celebrating Halloween, this and every year
🔮 Maybe on a good day, from a professor who liked you, you could weasel into a C-plus.
2026-10-04 · assertive framing · When not to stew over that unearned b-plus
🔮 We say a hushed, slightly ceremonial “She’s going through things,” which could mean anything from a divorce to a diagnosis to a second bankruptcy.
2026-09-27 · mixed framing · When hobbies, obsessions, and eccentricities take over late middle age
Also by Rob Long
Take joy in celebrating Halloween, this and every year
2026-10-31 · Washington Examiner
When another’s fear is our entertainment
2026-10-17 · Washington Examiner
When not to stew over that unearned b-plus
2026-10-04 · Washington Examiner
Learning to love those who misuse the language
2026-09-19 · Washington Examiner
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

No topics tagged.

Subjects

No subjects extracted.

Narrative

That’s the phrase we use — “He’s going through something” — and I’ve noticed it’s deployed the same way regardless of what’s actually happening.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-27
🔮 We say a hushed, slightly ceremonial “She’s going through things,” which could mean anything from a divorce to a diagnosis to a second bankruptcy.
2026-09-27 · Washington Examiner
When hobbies, obsessions, and eccentricities take over late middle age · mixed framing

Claims (4 extracted, 1 hedged)

At a certain age, everyone you know starts going through things. asserted
you → know → things
That’s the phrase we use — “He’s going through something” — and I’ve noticed it’s deployed the same way regardless of what’s actually happening. asserted
what → ’ → something
We say a hushed, slightly ceremonial “She’s going through things,” which could mean anything from a divorce to a diagnosis to a second bankruptcy. uncertain
which → say → bankruptcy
It’s a euphemism built to cover a lot of ground, though most of my friends are up to or approaching 60, so there’s a lot of ground to cover. asserted
most → ’ → ground
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