It doesn’t come as a surprise that we and our parents at our age are light-years apart. When it comes to our lifestyles, choices, and values, it seems like we were born on different planets. But there’s only one way to find out what exactly was so different for them than it is for us now, and it’s looking at hard evidence, aka photo albums.
With so much free time on our hands during this festive season in quarantine, the chances are you'll stumble upon one or two great pics that will bring out a blast from the past. And people on Twitter are all in for the "My Parents Vs. Me" challenge, posting snaps of family members where age is the only parallel you’ll find.
We have selected some of the cutest, funniest, and most illuminating posts that show how generations have changed. And after you’re done, don’t forget to check out Bored Panda’s previous post with "Me Vs. My Parents" memes that put a comical spin on these generational differences.
This post may include affiliate links.
Unicorn dude. The answer to everything is unicorn dude.
Load More Replies...One must remember that the life expectancy was much lower then. So people married younger, had their children younger. Now that so many live to 80-90 and above, they can wait a bit....and it's for the better!
The mother looks like she’s giving her son a dirty look through the photo. The dad just looks terrified we’ll know it’s his son
To find out more about the Me Vs. My Parents Challenge, Bored Panda reached out to a social media influencer who goes by the handle @Bloody5Iveezy. Iveezy’s post with the caption “My parents at 24 vs. me at 24” went viral, amassing 637.6K likes and 67.8K retweets.
“In my opinion, a big difference is how relaxed we are. We don’t care what people will say, it’s not all work. We have a big emphasis on living life, being happy, and having fun.”Iveezy also said that so many people related to the challenge because “we are all tired of the assumption that everyone wants to get married and have kids.”
For him, being a first-generation Mexican American, it’s almost taboo not to want a big religious wedding with lots of kids. “And my picture says the complete opposite: 'I’m just a 24-year-old Mexican that likes whiskey dressed like a unicorn and I’m not worried about anything.'”
When asked what kind of challenges Iveezy’s generation has to face, the social media influencer said it’s information. “In my parents' day, you were limited to who you knew and what you knew about them. Relationships are so hard now because someone will always tell your partner 'oh yeah, I’ve seen them before with so and so' or 'yeah, I’ve heard of 'em, have you seen his tweets?'”
“Besides the social aspect, our parents didn’t know what depression or anxiety was. They felt the symptoms, but didn’t recognize the condition,” Iveezy explained. Meanwhile, “my generation does and if I know I’m depressed, the last thing I’m worried about is marrying someone, so yeah, information is our double-edged sword,” he concluded.
Who was it who said, "The more I know about men, the more I like my dog"?
Load More Replies...Happiness is from within, following some tradition with respect without being brain washed into never having an idea of your own.
The feeling that our millennial generation and our parents are worlds apart is not just all in our heads. In fact, the generational differences can be even bigger than one would expect.
Over the past 50 years, cultural, social, and economic shifts have paved the way to the modern day, where the youngest millennials have now become adults. Today, they make up the second-largest generation in the US electorate, hence the Democratic leanings compared to previous generations.
According to Pew Center, “Today’s young adults are much better educated than their grandparents, as the share of young adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher has steadily climbed since 1968.” 4 in 10 millennials have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
However, the financial well-being of millennials is very complicated. “The individual earnings for young workers have remained mostly flat over the past 50 years. But this belies a notably large gap in earnings between millennials who have a college education and those who don’t.”
Maybe it was a bad cake and that's why she's not happy?
Load More Replies...It's the look of murderous intent for me....yeah my teachers give me that look a lot
It's a courthouse wedding! Momma was 'knocked up' and they had to move quickly.
There is more freedom of choice with advanced knowledge, that doesn't mean either choice is wrong.
i dont know why people are down voting you. i agree with what you said
Load More Replies...Ok where did u get that outfit, I absolutely love it
Thank you! They're a pain to walk on but I still have fun with them. :D
Load More Replies...Pew Research showed that millennial workers with some college education made $36,000, lower than the $38,900 that baby boomer workers made in 1982 when they were the same age.
And since millennials were hit hard by the great recession, they are much slower in forming their own households. As a result, many still can’t afford their own houses and are forced to live with their parents or in flat-shares. The young generation is also forming families much later than older generations, as the “Me vs. My Parents” challenge has shown.
Pew Center suggests that the share of adults who have never married is increasing with each successive generation. “If current patterns continue, an estimated one-in-four of today’s young adults will have never married by the time they reach their mid-40s to early 50s—a record high share.”
I was going to make this comment, totally agree with you, she is the portrait of her father !
Load More Replies...A person can have them all, life partner, children, dogs, cats there isn't a list that says, 'Pick one'.
These are all "I'm not married at the age my parents were married."
Roses are red, Violets are left, No one liked my comment, so I did it myself!
and of course they had no idea how precious alcohol would become in 2020!
why is it that our parents all were married or having children in a house while we're all stuck maybe havin an apartment and if we're lucky a gf or bf
Well, it’s not just you guys doing it. I was just like you at your age, and that was back in the eighties. I had a grand time being myself, living on my own, and calling all my own shots. I wasn’t ready to get married until I was 40, and I still have fun. It’s not a sign of immaturity to have fun and be a goofball as an adult. I know you don’t do it at work, or in class, or in any other inappropriate situations. So just be yourself, and tell anyone who tries to tell you to grow up and act your age to just mind their own damn business (most of those people have pretty shitty lives anyway, but somehow think they’re qualified to be the spirit guide to YOUR life). Your parents decided to do what they thought was right for them at that age. You’re the only one who gets to decide what’s right for you at your age. So don’t tie yourself up in knots comparing yourself to your parents. Just go out and be goofy all you want! You do you.
Load More Replies...I love animal crossing new horizons! I really want the game but my parents are still deciding-.
Look again. They look content and confident.
Load More Replies...Inhaling helium—-something my parents wouldn’t even have thought of doing, and I just turned 60—-is freaking hilarious. If that’s what you’re doing.... (Yes, I know it’s not really good for you but hell, everything is when done in excess. So have fun. Just be careful and don’t overdo it.)
why does the mother look like "uegh why the hell did i even date him"
the parents look like they just realized they have to live together with the other's weirdness for the rest of their life
Your parents look so tired in that picture... honestly though I get it
If they saw that picture then they would have thought it was science fiction!
@Bryan Bacon you don't have to be married with kids to be mature. maybe you want kids that soon but not everyone does.
So her mother was obviously a lot less reactionary than she is herself... sad.
Haha I love the zoomed up photo of her face in this one! Bit tipsy much?!
omg, I think she looks like Katy Perry, but just making a funny face.. XD
Were they married in 1985 because I wore a very similar hat at my wedding!!
same bro. i just literally spelt same as wqne 2 times in a row before getting it right
You know ur a bottom when u have to write that ur a top across the top of ur shirt 😕😔🪦
If you have that much wrinkles in your 20s - you better change your cream routine ;-) On the other hand - you are doing much better on your make up ;-)
You dad looks French and has the height to prove it. You look...taller.
For some reason I'm reading this in Dory's/Ellen DeGeneres's voice.. XD
Load More Replies...Don’t swallow that booze laying down hon you’ll regret it 😂
alcohol poisoning isn't funny and you won't enjoy that after effect but I do get it...and I had the hangover afterwards...didn't enjoy it
the parents don't look exactly happy, but not disappointed either. I can't read the mom's face. the dad however looks proud of himself
I would say water but it also looks like vodka to me idk
Load More Replies...Probably not too different. The parents look like their in a photo shoot of some sort, so they are going to look more formal. The "me" side is them just goofing around. I am sure that the parents goofed off like that when they were in their 20's too, just obviously not in a formal photo.
Both taken by the same person who can't center a pic worth diddly squat? Is that the take away here?
Happy , hopefull, carefree parents when things were fun and for the taking if you were willing to try. The son , new times, more serious, more responsibilities still willing to try.
Must you say that? Can't you just keep it to yourself?
Load More Replies...No shame in wanting to complete your education and go out into the world on your own. I did it and have zero regrets.
The sad part is that nearly every photo depicts a hardworking, young married couple and their children who now live off their money to F around all day
Lots of time before you "settle down" and find a partner and have a family in case you wish to go the traditional route. All my friends and family that got married very young and had children very young were not happy because they were "missing out".
awww, they look so happy in their wedding photo! and the kid looks like the perfect mix of both of them. i love it! <3
The '80's were a great time for music and stuff, bad time for hair.
because she hasn't got a child and can afford housekeeping, obviously ;)
Load More Replies...This happens for everyone worldwide. My grandma was a grandma at my age. My mom had a child in college. And I am single with a beautiful cat :)
Sooooooooooo many kids use to get married & have babies. I'm glad that we wait now. I'm almost 50 & never got married or gave birth.....it doesn't HAVE to be done. I'm in a long term relationship raising kids that needed parents. It all works out in the end. HAVE FUN & STAY YOUNG!!!
Heck ya! Best thing my Nana ever taught me: Age is just a number the moment you start "acting" your age is when you start feeling your age. Be responsible, get your adult s*** handled, after that love what you love. 😂Nana wasn't "forced" to watch anime with her grandkids, she loved it too! (This was advice given when I was deciding I was "too old" for my dolls... I wasn't really ready to give them up. 😅)
Load More Replies...I've heard too many comments from baby-boomers and others moaning about how later generations don't acieve anything to find these funny, I'm afraid. The cost of living Vs. wages (particularly those of young adults) has skyrocketed in most countries. Education is frankly unaffordable for most, in many western countries. Not to mention house prices. Don't get me wrong, I like self-depreciating humour in the right places and doses, but this hits a little close to reality.
This. My partner and I make SIGNIFICANTLY less, dollar for dollar, than either of our parents at our age, even though we are both more/better educated than either of our parents. And that's not even adjusting for inflation.
Load More Replies...I want to know if all these 'my parents at <25' getting married/having kids are still together and dont regret it.
So. ..people aren't getting married and starting families as young as they used to I gather. Perhaps the current generation doesn't view being married with kids and a white picket fence as the symbol of happiness or the goal anymore?
I'd say that they don't but is there a correlation between skyrocketing depression and todays society?
Load More Replies...Most of the pictures are like "...And that's why you should use a condom every single time..." 😅
I dunno how I feel about this. Parents behaving like adults, adult offspring behaving like self-indulgent children... I just wonder if today's world doesn't need a little more responsibility and maturity and a little less frivolity and self-absorption.
Thing is, a bet most of those current adults actually have responsibilities they take care of, and most of those parents still had social lives back then. This is more about the narative we tell ourselves to justify not making new people, not an honest depiction of our actual productivity level.
Load More Replies...I waited until I was in my early 30's to get married and am very grateful. My 20's were a blast and I wouldn't trade them for anything.
This happens for everyone worldwide. My grandma was a grandma at my age. My mom had a child in college. And I am single with a beautiful cat :)
Sooooooooooo many kids use to get married & have babies. I'm glad that we wait now. I'm almost 50 & never got married or gave birth.....it doesn't HAVE to be done. I'm in a long term relationship raising kids that needed parents. It all works out in the end. HAVE FUN & STAY YOUNG!!!
Heck ya! Best thing my Nana ever taught me: Age is just a number the moment you start "acting" your age is when you start feeling your age. Be responsible, get your adult s*** handled, after that love what you love. 😂Nana wasn't "forced" to watch anime with her grandkids, she loved it too! (This was advice given when I was deciding I was "too old" for my dolls... I wasn't really ready to give them up. 😅)
Load More Replies...I've heard too many comments from baby-boomers and others moaning about how later generations don't acieve anything to find these funny, I'm afraid. The cost of living Vs. wages (particularly those of young adults) has skyrocketed in most countries. Education is frankly unaffordable for most, in many western countries. Not to mention house prices. Don't get me wrong, I like self-depreciating humour in the right places and doses, but this hits a little close to reality.
This. My partner and I make SIGNIFICANTLY less, dollar for dollar, than either of our parents at our age, even though we are both more/better educated than either of our parents. And that's not even adjusting for inflation.
Load More Replies...I want to know if all these 'my parents at <25' getting married/having kids are still together and dont regret it.
So. ..people aren't getting married and starting families as young as they used to I gather. Perhaps the current generation doesn't view being married with kids and a white picket fence as the symbol of happiness or the goal anymore?
I'd say that they don't but is there a correlation between skyrocketing depression and todays society?
Load More Replies...Most of the pictures are like "...And that's why you should use a condom every single time..." 😅
I dunno how I feel about this. Parents behaving like adults, adult offspring behaving like self-indulgent children... I just wonder if today's world doesn't need a little more responsibility and maturity and a little less frivolity and self-absorption.
Thing is, a bet most of those current adults actually have responsibilities they take care of, and most of those parents still had social lives back then. This is more about the narative we tell ourselves to justify not making new people, not an honest depiction of our actual productivity level.
Load More Replies...I waited until I was in my early 30's to get married and am very grateful. My 20's were a blast and I wouldn't trade them for anything.
