In any case, 'Mister' is merely a corruption of 'Master', at one time used to refer to any otherwise untitled adult male, as is 'Mistress' (Mrs) for a woman.
I think that "young Ben" sounds as patronising as hell. Its difficult when writing (or speaking) a piece to find alternatives to continuously using someone's name which gets repetitive and annoying, and "master" sounds very outdated to me. I see nothing wrong with the use of Mr......can I ask the OP why he or she cares?
Yes master sounds outdated. However it is used still today and is the correct formal address of a young male person, as is Miss for the female young person. . My youngest son gets his savings bank statements addressed to Master X and his unmarried adult sister to Miss X.
I think we’ve established there is no ‘correct’ and even if there were it would be pedantic to insist on it being applied to an article praising a young chap’s achievements.
murraymints //no business being in a car ! what on earth is going on//
Read the article. Its all off road and there are no Laws prohibiting children under 17 driving a car off road. Our youngest was driving around granddads land in an old truck as soon as his feet could touch the pedals.
ZM who has decided there is no correct way? It is the 'correct' formal way to address a young male. However, just because something is 'correct' does not mean its appropriate. Perhaps the OP should have asked "is the use of 'Mr' appropriate in this article?"
I think we all have. The thread hasn’t reached any conclusion I can see. I can see lots of opinions but not one which references a solid trusted benchmark definition. Can you?
In our NHS waiting room only first and second names show on the screen. personally I can't understand why people feel the need to use Mr. Mrs. Miss or the ridiculous Ms. in this day and age.
Found myself getting a bit confused. One minute I was reading about Ben then all at once a Mr. Westerman.
Master is an outdated term for young boys nowadays but to call a 13 years old Mr. Westerman seems equally as silly.