meaning - Is "since I'm" now an acceptable alternative to "since I was"?


In a recent episode of the television show Entourage, Ari Gold (a 40 year old man) says:



I've known her since I'm 19.



In an episode of Sex and the City, a character, who is 15, tells Carrie:



I've been giving blowjobs since I'm 12.



The speakers are replacing the past tense of the verb to be (was) with the present tense (am).


Is this simply a mistake of the writers (seemingly specific to HBO), or is this usage a trend that is developing? I've heard it in other television shows and in person, as well.




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