My nephew, who is 7 years younger than me, was a Star Wars fan before I was and actually is the one who got me into Star Wars. He was born on May 25th (yes, the same day SW was released), but he was born in 1978, so he'll be 29 next month. I know he saw ESB theatrically in 1980 and he became a Darth Vader fanatic at the tender age of two. We went to see ROTJ for his 5th birthday in '83.
I don't "disregard" any Star Wars fan, but I have to say that I generally give more credence to fans who are old enough to have seen the OT on the big screen (I guess that includes anyone who saw the limited OT theatrical screenings in 1987), and who's first Star Wars exposure WASN'T the SE or the PT.
I guess it's sort of like the difference between Beatles fans who were alive during the late 1960s Beatlemania & listened to the original albums on vinyl, and those who've only just recently discovered the Beatles on CD (I sort of fall in-between the two categories).
Some experiences are just "you kinda had to be there to understand" moments.