Former professional baseball pitcher Brandon McCarthy had a shower thought: did people used to look older in the past? So, he did what you normally do in these situations: he asked X (formerly Twitter) about getting old in the past.
When you think about it, evolution is a very slow process, and humans are more or less the same basic issue model that they’ve been for years, so it can’t be the case, right? However, people started replying to McCarthy with old photos of their parents where 20-year-old dads look like they’re about to retire. And that’s irrefutable evidence that people used to look older right there!
Continue scrolling and check out these vintage photos and the interesting debate on why did people look older in the past.
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Did Humans Used to Age Faster?
If we got serious for a moment and forgot about the hilarious “did people used to look older” thread, we’d discover that different humans age differently, and that’s the way it has always been. Aging itself hasn’t really changed much over time. But how we live, our healthcare and our food are way better now. That’s why people today can live longer, stay healthier and age “slower” compared to folks in the past.
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Study Findings: Diverse Health Ages Found in 38-Year-Olds
You can’t say everyone in the past looked older than they were supposed to. It really varied from person to person. Some might’ve seemed older due to tough living conditions, but not everyone fit that bill.
In a similar vein, a 2015 study of nearly one thousand 38-year-olds revealed that while most had biological ages close to the number of birthdays they had notched up, others were in quite worse or better health.
Researchers used 18 physiological markers, including blood pressure, organ function, and metabolism, to evaluate the participants’ biological age. For some, the past dozen years had taken no obvious toll on their body’s biology.
Others, however, hadn’t been so lucky. A good many participants had biological ages in the 50s, and in one “extreme case,” a person had a biological age of 61, meaning that for every birthday over the past dozen years, their body had aged 3 years, thus shortening the life span significantly.
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Why Do People Look Younger Now?
Now that we know that people actually age at different rates and some are luckier than others, it would still be nice to clear the air about the visual aspect of aging and looking your age.
Here are our observations on why people looked older in the past:
Quality of the photos. These vintage photos, or rather the scans of them, aren’t of such good quality as the ones we take now. All the additional grain and “noise” makes the people in them seem less “defined,” thus also aging them quite a bit.
Vintage attire. All the people in the photos are usually dressed “out of fashion” to what we are used to seeing now. This is also a visually aging factor!
Self-care. These days we’re all about self-care, good food, and expensive skincare. People of yesteryear weren’t so focused on all this, and it did make their skin look less bright or aged beyond years.
Smoking. In 1965, almost half of Americans were current smokers. A scientific paper titled “Does cigarette smoking make you ugly and old?” explored the habit’s impact on appearance, identifying “cigarette skin” characterized by grayish, wrinkled skin. Despite study limitations, research consistently links smoking to the development of wrinkles.
While we’re pretty sure there are more factors as to why do people look younger now, these three that we’ve mentioned sum it up nicely. So, continue your excellent self-care routine, and nobody will guess your real age for years to come!
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Others thought this thread was perfect for making jokes:
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Smoking was the main thing, I think. When I first started working in the late 70s, it was still normal to smoke all day long at work. If you didn't smoke people thought you were some kind of health nut/weirdo. It's really hard to fathom now, but you could even smoke in hospitals and doctor's offices back then.
I think we also think a lot of them look old because their styles look like something an older person would wear. That's because people tend to stick with the style they had at 23 in the 1960s (for example) which we now associate with a person who's 70. Others in these examples just didn't have good dental care or luck with their hairlines. You'll find people today in their 50s, with no teeth, or balding who look way older too.
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Exactly -- the short, curled hair and the drawn on eyebrows were very aging for women -- prom pictures all look like 40 year old housewives dancing with teenage boys.
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I admit I have always wondered about this. When I look at old-time pictures of high school students they all look like they are in their mid to late 20's. Why is this?
In the 50s twentyyearolds were serious adults with jobs, houses and families to look after. Maybe that's why. Ps. Can somebody please fix the "no comment"bug, it seems that some of users cannot comment other than replies to other comments?
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Bea Arthur was 50 in 1972, not 44. Most of the pictures on this post are later pics than they claim.
Thanks for pointing that out, this article is pretty BS.
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I think this is an example how internet can manipulate us about how right we are. When you have an opinion to share with internet there are always a lot of people that are agree with you. So you get more certain and excited about your idea.Am i right?
Yes, this looks like selection bias. People age at different rates regardless of era. There are plenty people who look older than their age now and people who looked younger for their age then.
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I'd bet that if all that makeup Liz Taylor had on was scraped off and her hair wasn't permed, she'd've looked her age. She was styled to death in that portrait.
There's some truth to this, but it's really difficult to tell with puberty and teenagers. I always looked much much older than I really was, until I became 19, when I started taking better care of myself and started looking younger. There is no real way a teenager is "supposed to" look. There are teenagers with a slim and petite look and teenagers, heck, even 11-12 year olds with curves and D+ cups already. And most of them are respectively ashamed for having or not having curves, because they're taught they should look a particular way. It's similar for boys, some grow a full beard already and/or have robust biceps, while others look more fragile. But the truth is, all of these body types are normal.
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Oh for pity's sake. Cosmetics, styles, hair, all contribute to how someone is perceived (and photoshop and botox weren't around back then, nor was cosmetic surgery so common in celebs).... and youth was not alwasy worshipped. In fact, seeming mature was preferable. Girls were still expected to marry and be responsible for a household well before the average age of marriage in our current decade. Boys were expected to find jobs and support a household, or go into the military. You went from high school to the workplace in most cases. Also, the trend has been for people to not dress differently as they age, so the distinction of fashion as an age indicator is basically lost. I know I'll catch c**p, but people can't just blame a lack of sunscreen and a lot of nicotine for the changes.
If you're talking about the 1960s and 70s, youth absolutely WAS worshiped during that time! Nonetheless, older people really did look older than people who are the same age now. I think it's the styles. But I wouldn't discount the fact that I'm much older myself, and therefore, a 30-year-old looks a lot younger to me now than they did when I was 15. :)
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Okay, we all know how smoking ages your skin and too much time in the sun without protection will just add to it BUT, some of the people are TRYING to look older. If you were 17 you didn't want to LOOK 17, you wanted to look mid twenties to be cool. Young kids dressed and kept their hair in older styles to look adult, now it's completely the other way around!
Boys do this by growing beards & it KILLS me. I don't get why they want to look 20-30 years older & I don't like men with beards, yet the majority of them go that route. Saying that, I don't remember most of these pics with beards.
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It was good up until people started posting hollywood make up BS. My husband had a full beard and mustache in the 7th grade. He wore a suit since it was the same day they were taking class photos. He was actually mistaken for the teacher by a fellow student.
I think we are missing why we think they look old. Is it their hair style? Their clothes? Is it a receding hairline that we would cover up with a ball cap? The photo of the woman during the depression depicts someone who is living a hard life. So yes, she would appear older.
She actually looks like a 32 y.o. who's having a hard life. But the ladies of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, do look their ages, the men look older!
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My Mom was born in 1927. When she was in her 60s, no one could believe she wasn't in her 40s and it wasn't due to fancy hairstyle, makeup or clothes. She just looked young. She finally started going gray in late 60s. Was still not fully gray when she died at age 80. Some people age faster than others for a variety of reasons. Also, as others have pointed out, some of these, it's just the hairstyles that are dated and thus we associate them with someone who is the age now that would have had a haircut like that.
They looked older because of their clothing and old-fashioned mind set.Some of the elderly look ridiculous today while trying to look young with dyed long hair,tight jeans and jean jackets.
What blew me away most was the 29 year old cat. Apparently there have been many recorded instances of cats living to well over 30. Mind blown
I doubt they were 17. People actually entered puberty later on average back then. Someone posited the theory that they may have been lying to avoid the draft, which seems more likely.
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One that really stunned me was Uncle Remus in Song of the South, James Baskett was only 42 when he made that movie.
I think that is probably the only thing they got right in SotS - being a "free" man in the Reconstruction South aged one about as quickly as being a slave did.
Load More Replies... Some people look older when they are young but then their looks catch up with their age. Many use makeup, dyes, Botox, modern styles these days for a “refreshed” look.
Lots of reasons but mainly because when you were 24 you were expected to be an adult and take on adult responsibilities. Today even in you 30s you can be in Grade 27, living at home and only are required to support your habits.
I call it the grandma syndrome in films. Grandmas were always portrayed as stooped little old white haired ladies with buns. When you think about it, a lot of people become grandmas between 40 and 50, but the movies often still portray them as little old ladies.
Yes, people back then thought once you reached a certain life stage you had to look and dress old.
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One bonus of working in a dental office is that I get to see the ages of my patients. The ones who look much older than their years? Smokers! A lot of people heavily smoked a few decades ago. I still remember the shopping mall and airports when I was a kid... a cloud of smoke and ashtrays everywhere! My great grandmother was a chain smoker and looked 75 by the time she was 40!
Two years ago I helped with a summer program at a target school for students 11-14. Over half of them looked like young adults: tall, fully developed, guys had facial hair and girls were far past training bras. Back in the 1970s, my voice didn't crack until I was 15.
Liz Taylor looked like an adult head on a baby body. Pretty but look at her kid photos. Its weird.
Life habits were different, but like some people already pointed out in the comments, the hair styles and clothings play a part as well in some of the examples. For actors in sitcom, it's probably deliberate as they had to play characters older than their real age for example.
I think that the poofy hairstyles, heavy makeup and "serious looking" clothes also have a lot to do with it. Plus old cameras
Did they look older in the past? Sure. But this should be proof that there have been improvements to quality of life (to some extent). What are the factors that make a person look older? Skin and hair. Skin care and Hair care products have improved greatly. Additionally, I would also point out that better dieting health care probably help too. Add to that the fact that black and white photos have a tendency to make a person look older anyway just because of the way lighting can affect a person's appearance and it's no wonder people looked older than 25 at age 17.
I think everyone looked old in the 1980's. The people on tv in that decade look younger now. I know most have plastic surgery but it's true for people not on tv too.
Also, BP please do more stories like this!
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Mentality now and then was totally different, people were very busy to grow up and do all the stuff they need to do as quick as possible; marry, have children, work one job the whole life, get retired when time comes and die. It was very robotic and without much possibilities to do or be something else as we now have a chance and freedom to be, plus we are much less scared of some groups of people like politicians, police, religion etc; in other words now we ordinary people know our worth in much greater way than people before. Also, many new things came up, not only in materialistic way but also human mind and conciseness evolves drastically which is making things go different. That's making a huge role of how our life will manifest and also how our body will look or age. Smoking does so little in this story, I live in a country where majority of people both younger and older smoke, and still many people I know look much younger then they are! It all starts from within.
The fifth man from the bottom looks like "Brad Pitt" in the movie Benjamin Button (I think that was the name) anyway the movie where he aged backwards. it's not what you looked liked in your senior pictures is how bad or good you aged. Some of us never smoked, stayed out of the sun or drank alcohol and that makes a huge difference as you get older. At my 50 th reunion I looked a years (10-15) years younger than most of my classmates.
Is White people age faster anyways , people with more melanin always look a lot younger
External factors may have had some contribution but going grey in their 40's?? All Grey? this must have been an American thing. I think the biggest effect was the hair styles and clothing. Things were not directed at the young as they are today. I think now someone over 60 will have a problem finding clothes in decent styles that actually fit them. Of Course we not not forget Botox and the knife.
I know plenty people today that look a lot older than they actually are. Also there was an actress on here (correct me if I am wrong). The pressure of the entertainment business will age people.
OKAY BUT I showed these to my Mom (62) and she guessed the ages within a few years so maybe it's not the people in the photos, it's the viewers?
On the other hand, kids nowadays look and act like teenagers much sooner than before. I work in a public library and it happens to me all the time that students ask about a book, or for some help to do their homework online, I talk to them as if they were 16 because it's what they look like, then find out they are 11 year old girls.
I've noticed this too. And I don't think it's always to do with associating certain styles with old people or living more difficult lives either as I've noticed it in photos/footage from as recently as the 90s. Obviously back then there were still people who looked young for their age, likewise, there's people who look old for their age today; however looking older than your age did appear to be more common.
Sergei Eisenstein, Russian filmmaker at age 37 (in 1935). 800px-Serg...c2b440.jpg 
For every picture that shows a young person looking old then I can show you the same thing today. Come on! You can make anything look your way with pictures that you choose. I was born in 1946 and am now 73 on my way to 74 but people still look at me and think I'm in my 50's. Jeez! Perspective people!
I'm sure there are a lot of factors in play here. Likely the greatest of which being genetics. Obviously, lifestyles were a bit different as well, and hardship/smoking/drinking/tanning, etc. will absolutely have an impact, but as far as I'm aware, nothing affects how you age more than your genes. I'd be willing to bet there are plenty of photos from decades past showing people with the opposite aging effect.
It had to do with styles. There was no such thing as “juniors” clothing until the 70s. Also, lighting and photo/film quality have to be taken into consideration. The smoking thing is true: I know of a doctor who had interns carry his ashtray for him during hospital rounds
This has been such an interesting post, BP, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm 77, with a mind of 36, sort of Sitting on the Fence, looking both ways. Up until the Fifties, everybody wanted to look older, but from the mid-Sixties, Youth was IN, with the Beatles, The Stones, mini-skirts, etc.etc., and it has continued so till now. Seeing a young girl trying to look older is as bad as seeing a senior citizen trying to look younger. I'm lucky, I suppose, I've always been satisfied with my age.
Its no surprise really. Nowadays people tend to eat healthier, exercise more, have a skin-care regimen, etc.
My Grandfather, mid to upper 40's, and my mom in high school. WeChat-Ima...f60a0c.jpg 
Yes, I agree with most comments, however, what about good genes, my mom came from a very large family, born in 1920's worked extremely hard her entire life, even so, she had good genes, she never looked her age,younger by at least ten years, I have been blessed with that gene !!!
Women in my family tend to look younger, my daughter and I both regularly got carded at 30, lol. I'm in my 60's but look look only slightly older than my 50-ish year old sister. Her words, not mine.
Imagine in another 50 years - all teens year will look like 7 year olds (or iMacs with arms and legs!!) and think that the 20/30 year olds of 2020 look like OAPs
Another thing is nowadays most people dye their grey hair. Basically people are obsessed with hiding the signs of aging nowadays more than ever. Male fertility is less than 50% now than it was in the 1950s, I suspect from these pictures that men have a lot less testosterone than they used to, making them look more boyish nowadays. Something similar is probably going on for women too.
I haven't even looked at the entire article yet but I can tell you that in the 90s, 40 onwards was considered 'middle aged' and people generally acted and dressed that way too, whereas now ppl in their 40's tend to dress and act as youthful as they can. When my Nan was in her 50s she wore what I would call 'old person clothes' but nowadays most people 50+ also dress and behave quite youthfully. It makes sense that ppl age slower now due to societal factors, also it is worth baring in mind that plastic surgery is very common these days, teenagers even have botox sometimes.
Also, there are Other factors involved: Actually, some Intended to make others Look MORE Mature than their real ages at that time in photos for marketing perspectives. For example, the photos of Elizabeth Taylor and Ritchie Valens taken at the age of both 17 here are most probably what the Producers and Agents wanted to present to the public, comparing to a photo of someone's Mom's ... maybe high school yearbook ... photo in 1967 when that Mon was 19 years old. Fashion & Makeup Styles, Photography & Lighting Equipment have been changed and/or evolved to go along with the Changes of Mentality, e.g. when you're actually Young, you actually may Want to Look Older but when you're actually Older, Now you WANT to Look Young!
That Mark Twain photo is NOT his high school photo. The top picture on this page (http://oldphotoarchive.com/stories/mark-twain-photos-samuel-clemens-photos/2) was taken when Twain was 36.
That picture of Sparky Anderson! Damn I miss him. And I agree with everyone about the smoking, you could damn well smoke anywhere you wanted. I remember when my dad turned 50, and he was grey and balding, I am 53 now, and I still look back at those pictures and was like what happened? Love and miss him very much
Please do check this pic.
Mick Jagger and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti..
Same Age, maybe drugs are not so dangerous! monti3-5e0...f5a5f2.jpg 
Old people clothes contributed to the look. They also worked harder around the house. Worse nutrition then. Better hea!th now. VACCINES, etc. now help too. Fluoride as wll.
Vaccines save lives but don’t have anti aging capacities. Fluoride (and tooth whitening, and better dental care in general) do make a big difference though.
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well back then they didn't have all these skin care products and as much make-up as we have now
The two blonde 17 year olds....from back in the day.....yeah. When I was in school they would have been just a little to old for me, (about the age of my future husband). But the kid in me would still like to put their poster on my wall.
Could also be the photography. They are usually black & white which makes the person look older & even the very old color photos made people look older. Despite the clothes & hair issues, they still look older. I was blessed looking at least 10 years younger & when I'm tired I look older. Sleep is very important & so is releasing our stress. Two things most people don't seem to care about unfortunately. Despite the way we look, it's more about how we feel. People back then had way better health than we do now. Most people now are sick with something due to all the poisons they have forced on us & things will only get worse in the next 5-10 years when 5G (the weapon) starts to roll out. Check out Agenda 21. I'd post a link to a vid depicting all the ways they poison us, but they don't allow that here.
I personally am a big part of the cause of this. I srsly have an absurdly babyish face. Just weeks ago, I was doing a task at a job for a woman who was my supervisor who's about 40, and was asked by someone if I was her son. I'm turning 36 in two weeks. When I was 31 someone once said I looked like I was 12. When I was 22 a coworker at a job said she thought for like six months that I must be a 16 year old doing his first job. One time a bouncer refused to let me in a nightclub, insisting my ID had to be fake. I was 23. Lol. I just have to laugh about it.
When I went into highschool in the early 90s I remember being in grade 9 and looking at the pictures of graduating classes from 60s and 70s on the wall and comparing them to the kids who were only a few years older then me. The pics of the sports teams all looked like fully grown men with full beards and whatnot compared to gangly kids I was in school with it baffled me. I used to point it out to people all the time. Some told me once it' was all the genetically modified food we eat nowadays.
Just in the past year I saw an article similar to this comparing Paul "Bear" Bryant and Nick Saban (Both Alabama football coaches) with regard to how they looked at age 65. Bryant was just so wrinkled and his skin had no elasticity while Saban looked 20 years younger than Bryant. I'd say it's part genetics, part lifestyle (Saban works out and eats healthy), and part vanity (I'm certain Saban cares more about his looks and takes steps to look younger). I'm 53 and back when I was 48 I got carded for cigarettes and the cashier was taken aback and commented how young I looked - and I've been smoking 30+ years. BUT…I've always had very oily skin and my dermatologist said oily skin is like having 24/7 moisturizer which probably explains why my skin is still so "young" looking.
Seems to have had the opposite effect on old timey people.
Load More Replies... Hmm... I wonder how much they enjoyed sunbathing. Too much sunlight could be harmful to our skin.
Life in the 60’s and 70’s was definitely not hard for celebrities. Life was less healthy, but for many of the people pictured not especially difficult.
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Showing photos of 17 year-olds that smokin` hot should be Entrapment!
Being attracted to (supposed) 17 year olds in photographs is not illegal.
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There are a lot of factors, such as dress, hair styles, etc. But I believe the most important factor is the age one enters puberty. Today young people enter puberty around 2-3 years earlier than in the 50s and 60s, due to better quality of diet, medical health, and other things. I was born in 1944, and didn't enter puberty until I was fifteen, almost sixteen. Girls entered puberty around 12-13 yo. Today's youth enter puberty at least 2-3 years sooner, getting a head start.
But shouldn't that have the opposite effect of delaying an adult appearance?
Load More Replies... Smoking was the main thing, I think. When I first started working in the late 70s, it was still normal to smoke all day long at work. If you didn't smoke people thought you were some kind of health nut/weirdo. It's really hard to fathom now, but you could even smoke in hospitals and doctor's offices back then.
I think we also think a lot of them look old because their styles look like something an older person would wear. That's because people tend to stick with the style they had at 23 in the 1960s (for example) which we now associate with a person who's 70. Others in these examples just didn't have good dental care or luck with their hairlines. You'll find people today in their 50s, with no teeth, or balding who look way older too.
Load More Replies... Exactly -- the short, curled hair and the drawn on eyebrows were very aging for women -- prom pictures all look like 40 year old housewives dancing with teenage boys.
Load More Replies... I admit I have always wondered about this. When I look at old-time pictures of high school students they all look like they are in their mid to late 20's. Why is this?
In the 50s twentyyearolds were serious adults with jobs, houses and families to look after. Maybe that's why. Ps. Can somebody please fix the "no comment"bug, it seems that some of users cannot comment other than replies to other comments?
Load More Replies... Bea Arthur was 50 in 1972, not 44. Most of the pictures on this post are later pics than they claim.
Thanks for pointing that out, this article is pretty BS.
Load More Replies... I think this is an example how internet can manipulate us about how right we are. When you have an opinion to share with internet there are always a lot of people that are agree with you. So you get more certain and excited about your idea.Am i right?
Yes, this looks like selection bias. People age at different rates regardless of era. There are plenty people who look older than their age now and people who looked younger for their age then.
Load More Replies... I'd bet that if all that makeup Liz Taylor had on was scraped off and her hair wasn't permed, she'd've looked her age. She was styled to death in that portrait.
There's some truth to this, but it's really difficult to tell with puberty and teenagers. I always looked much much older than I really was, until I became 19, when I started taking better care of myself and started looking younger. There is no real way a teenager is "supposed to" look. There are teenagers with a slim and petite look and teenagers, heck, even 11-12 year olds with curves and D+ cups already. And most of them are respectively ashamed for having or not having curves, because they're taught they should look a particular way. It's similar for boys, some grow a full beard already and/or have robust biceps, while others look more fragile. But the truth is, all of these body types are normal.
Load More Replies... Oh for pity's sake. Cosmetics, styles, hair, all contribute to how someone is perceived (and photoshop and botox weren't around back then, nor was cosmetic surgery so common in celebs).... and youth was not alwasy worshipped. In fact, seeming mature was preferable. Girls were still expected to marry and be responsible for a household well before the average age of marriage in our current decade. Boys were expected to find jobs and support a household, or go into the military. You went from high school to the workplace in most cases. Also, the trend has been for people to not dress differently as they age, so the distinction of fashion as an age indicator is basically lost. I know I'll catch c**p, but people can't just blame a lack of sunscreen and a lot of nicotine for the changes.
If you're talking about the 1960s and 70s, youth absolutely WAS worshiped during that time! Nonetheless, older people really did look older than people who are the same age now. I think it's the styles. But I wouldn't discount the fact that I'm much older myself, and therefore, a 30-year-old looks a lot younger to me now than they did when I was 15. :)
Load More Replies... Okay, we all know how smoking ages your skin and too much time in the sun without protection will just add to it BUT, some of the people are TRYING to look older. If you were 17 you didn't want to LOOK 17, you wanted to look mid twenties to be cool. Young kids dressed and kept their hair in older styles to look adult, now it's completely the other way around!
Boys do this by growing beards & it KILLS me. I don't get why they want to look 20-30 years older & I don't like men with beards, yet the majority of them go that route. Saying that, I don't remember most of these pics with beards.
Load More Replies... It was good up until people started posting hollywood make up BS. My husband had a full beard and mustache in the 7th grade. He wore a suit since it was the same day they were taking class photos. He was actually mistaken for the teacher by a fellow student.
I think we are missing why we think they look old. Is it their hair style? Their clothes? Is it a receding hairline that we would cover up with a ball cap? The photo of the woman during the depression depicts someone who is living a hard life. So yes, she would appear older.
She actually looks like a 32 y.o. who's having a hard life. But the ladies of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, do look their ages, the men look older!
Load More Replies... My Mom was born in 1927. When she was in her 60s, no one could believe she wasn't in her 40s and it wasn't due to fancy hairstyle, makeup or clothes. She just looked young. She finally started going gray in late 60s. Was still not fully gray when she died at age 80. Some people age faster than others for a variety of reasons. Also, as others have pointed out, some of these, it's just the hairstyles that are dated and thus we associate them with someone who is the age now that would have had a haircut like that.
They looked older because of their clothing and old-fashioned mind set.Some of the elderly look ridiculous today while trying to look young with dyed long hair,tight jeans and jean jackets.
What blew me away most was the 29 year old cat. Apparently there have been many recorded instances of cats living to well over 30. Mind blown
I doubt they were 17. People actually entered puberty later on average back then. Someone posited the theory that they may have been lying to avoid the draft, which seems more likely.
Load More Replies... One that really stunned me was Uncle Remus in Song of the South, James Baskett was only 42 when he made that movie.
I think that is probably the only thing they got right in SotS - being a "free" man in the Reconstruction South aged one about as quickly as being a slave did.
Load More Replies... Some people look older when they are young but then their looks catch up with their age. Many use makeup, dyes, Botox, modern styles these days for a “refreshed” look.
Lots of reasons but mainly because when you were 24 you were expected to be an adult and take on adult responsibilities. Today even in you 30s you can be in Grade 27, living at home and only are required to support your habits.
I call it the grandma syndrome in films. Grandmas were always portrayed as stooped little old white haired ladies with buns. When you think about it, a lot of people become grandmas between 40 and 50, but the movies often still portray them as little old ladies.
Yes, people back then thought once you reached a certain life stage you had to look and dress old.
Load More Replies... One bonus of working in a dental office is that I get to see the ages of my patients. The ones who look much older than their years? Smokers! A lot of people heavily smoked a few decades ago. I still remember the shopping mall and airports when I was a kid... a cloud of smoke and ashtrays everywhere! My great grandmother was a chain smoker and looked 75 by the time she was 40!
Two years ago I helped with a summer program at a target school for students 11-14. Over half of them looked like young adults: tall, fully developed, guys had facial hair and girls were far past training bras. Back in the 1970s, my voice didn't crack until I was 15.
Liz Taylor looked like an adult head on a baby body. Pretty but look at her kid photos. Its weird.
Life habits were different, but like some people already pointed out in the comments, the hair styles and clothings play a part as well in some of the examples. For actors in sitcom, it's probably deliberate as they had to play characters older than their real age for example.
I think that the poofy hairstyles, heavy makeup and "serious looking" clothes also have a lot to do with it. Plus old cameras
Did they look older in the past? Sure. But this should be proof that there have been improvements to quality of life (to some extent). What are the factors that make a person look older? Skin and hair. Skin care and Hair care products have improved greatly. Additionally, I would also point out that better dieting health care probably help too. Add to that the fact that black and white photos have a tendency to make a person look older anyway just because of the way lighting can affect a person's appearance and it's no wonder people looked older than 25 at age 17.
I think everyone looked old in the 1980's. The people on tv in that decade look younger now. I know most have plastic surgery but it's true for people not on tv too.
Also, BP please do more stories like this!
Load More Replies... Mentality now and then was totally different, people were very busy to grow up and do all the stuff they need to do as quick as possible; marry, have children, work one job the whole life, get retired when time comes and die. It was very robotic and without much possibilities to do or be something else as we now have a chance and freedom to be, plus we are much less scared of some groups of people like politicians, police, religion etc; in other words now we ordinary people know our worth in much greater way than people before. Also, many new things came up, not only in materialistic way but also human mind and conciseness evolves drastically which is making things go different. That's making a huge role of how our life will manifest and also how our body will look or age. Smoking does so little in this story, I live in a country where majority of people both younger and older smoke, and still many people I know look much younger then they are! It all starts from within.
The fifth man from the bottom looks like "Brad Pitt" in the movie Benjamin Button (I think that was the name) anyway the movie where he aged backwards. it's not what you looked liked in your senior pictures is how bad or good you aged. Some of us never smoked, stayed out of the sun or drank alcohol and that makes a huge difference as you get older. At my 50 th reunion I looked a years (10-15) years younger than most of my classmates.
Is White people age faster anyways , people with more melanin always look a lot younger
External factors may have had some contribution but going grey in their 40's?? All Grey? this must have been an American thing. I think the biggest effect was the hair styles and clothing. Things were not directed at the young as they are today. I think now someone over 60 will have a problem finding clothes in decent styles that actually fit them. Of Course we not not forget Botox and the knife.
I know plenty people today that look a lot older than they actually are. Also there was an actress on here (correct me if I am wrong). The pressure of the entertainment business will age people.
OKAY BUT I showed these to my Mom (62) and she guessed the ages within a few years so maybe it's not the people in the photos, it's the viewers?
On the other hand, kids nowadays look and act like teenagers much sooner than before. I work in a public library and it happens to me all the time that students ask about a book, or for some help to do their homework online, I talk to them as if they were 16 because it's what they look like, then find out they are 11 year old girls.
I've noticed this too. And I don't think it's always to do with associating certain styles with old people or living more difficult lives either as I've noticed it in photos/footage from as recently as the 90s. Obviously back then there were still people who looked young for their age, likewise, there's people who look old for their age today; however looking older than your age did appear to be more common.
Sergei Eisenstein, Russian filmmaker at age 37 (in 1935). 800px-Serg...c2b440.jpg
For every picture that shows a young person looking old then I can show you the same thing today. Come on! You can make anything look your way with pictures that you choose. I was born in 1946 and am now 73 on my way to 74 but people still look at me and think I'm in my 50's. Jeez! Perspective people!
I'm sure there are a lot of factors in play here. Likely the greatest of which being genetics. Obviously, lifestyles were a bit different as well, and hardship/smoking/drinking/tanning, etc. will absolutely have an impact, but as far as I'm aware, nothing affects how you age more than your genes. I'd be willing to bet there are plenty of photos from decades past showing people with the opposite aging effect.
It had to do with styles. There was no such thing as “juniors” clothing until the 70s. Also, lighting and photo/film quality have to be taken into consideration. The smoking thing is true: I know of a doctor who had interns carry his ashtray for him during hospital rounds
This has been such an interesting post, BP, I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm 77, with a mind of 36, sort of Sitting on the Fence, looking both ways. Up until the Fifties, everybody wanted to look older, but from the mid-Sixties, Youth was IN, with the Beatles, The Stones, mini-skirts, etc.etc., and it has continued so till now. Seeing a young girl trying to look older is as bad as seeing a senior citizen trying to look younger. I'm lucky, I suppose, I've always been satisfied with my age.
Its no surprise really. Nowadays people tend to eat healthier, exercise more, have a skin-care regimen, etc.
My Grandfather, mid to upper 40's, and my mom in high school. WeChat-Ima...f60a0c.jpg
Yes, I agree with most comments, however, what about good genes, my mom came from a very large family, born in 1920's worked extremely hard her entire life, even so, she had good genes, she never looked her age,younger by at least ten years, I have been blessed with that gene !!!
Women in my family tend to look younger, my daughter and I both regularly got carded at 30, lol. I'm in my 60's but look look only slightly older than my 50-ish year old sister. Her words, not mine.
Imagine in another 50 years - all teens year will look like 7 year olds (or iMacs with arms and legs!!) and think that the 20/30 year olds of 2020 look like OAPs
Another thing is nowadays most people dye their grey hair. Basically people are obsessed with hiding the signs of aging nowadays more than ever. Male fertility is less than 50% now than it was in the 1950s, I suspect from these pictures that men have a lot less testosterone than they used to, making them look more boyish nowadays. Something similar is probably going on for women too.
I haven't even looked at the entire article yet but I can tell you that in the 90s, 40 onwards was considered 'middle aged' and people generally acted and dressed that way too, whereas now ppl in their 40's tend to dress and act as youthful as they can. When my Nan was in her 50s she wore what I would call 'old person clothes' but nowadays most people 50+ also dress and behave quite youthfully. It makes sense that ppl age slower now due to societal factors, also it is worth baring in mind that plastic surgery is very common these days, teenagers even have botox sometimes.
Also, there are Other factors involved: Actually, some Intended to make others Look MORE Mature than their real ages at that time in photos for marketing perspectives. For example, the photos of Elizabeth Taylor and Ritchie Valens taken at the age of both 17 here are most probably what the Producers and Agents wanted to present to the public, comparing to a photo of someone's Mom's ... maybe high school yearbook ... photo in 1967 when that Mon was 19 years old. Fashion & Makeup Styles, Photography & Lighting Equipment have been changed and/or evolved to go along with the Changes of Mentality, e.g. when you're actually Young, you actually may Want to Look Older but when you're actually Older, Now you WANT to Look Young!
That Mark Twain photo is NOT his high school photo. The top picture on this page (http://oldphotoarchive.com/stories/mark-twain-photos-samuel-clemens-photos/2) was taken when Twain was 36.
That picture of Sparky Anderson! Damn I miss him. And I agree with everyone about the smoking, you could damn well smoke anywhere you wanted. I remember when my dad turned 50, and he was grey and balding, I am 53 now, and I still look back at those pictures and was like what happened? Love and miss him very much
Please do check this pic.
Mick Jagger and former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti..
Same Age, maybe drugs are not so dangerous! monti3-5e0...f5a5f2.jpg
Old people clothes contributed to the look. They also worked harder around the house. Worse nutrition then. Better hea!th now. VACCINES, etc. now help too. Fluoride as wll.
Vaccines save lives but don’t have anti aging capacities. Fluoride (and tooth whitening, and better dental care in general) do make a big difference though.
Load More Replies... well back then they didn't have all these skin care products and as much make-up as we have now
The two blonde 17 year olds....from back in the day.....yeah. When I was in school they would have been just a little to old for me, (about the age of my future husband). But the kid in me would still like to put their poster on my wall.
Could also be the photography. They are usually black & white which makes the person look older & even the very old color photos made people look older. Despite the clothes & hair issues, they still look older. I was blessed looking at least 10 years younger & when I'm tired I look older. Sleep is very important & so is releasing our stress. Two things most people don't seem to care about unfortunately. Despite the way we look, it's more about how we feel. People back then had way better health than we do now. Most people now are sick with something due to all the poisons they have forced on us & things will only get worse in the next 5-10 years when 5G (the weapon) starts to roll out. Check out Agenda 21. I'd post a link to a vid depicting all the ways they poison us, but they don't allow that here.
I personally am a big part of the cause of this. I srsly have an absurdly babyish face. Just weeks ago, I was doing a task at a job for a woman who was my supervisor who's about 40, and was asked by someone if I was her son. I'm turning 36 in two weeks. When I was 31 someone once said I looked like I was 12. When I was 22 a coworker at a job said she thought for like six months that I must be a 16 year old doing his first job. One time a bouncer refused to let me in a nightclub, insisting my ID had to be fake. I was 23. Lol. I just have to laugh about it.
When I went into highschool in the early 90s I remember being in grade 9 and looking at the pictures of graduating classes from 60s and 70s on the wall and comparing them to the kids who were only a few years older then me. The pics of the sports teams all looked like fully grown men with full beards and whatnot compared to gangly kids I was in school with it baffled me. I used to point it out to people all the time. Some told me once it' was all the genetically modified food we eat nowadays.
Just in the past year I saw an article similar to this comparing Paul "Bear" Bryant and Nick Saban (Both Alabama football coaches) with regard to how they looked at age 65. Bryant was just so wrinkled and his skin had no elasticity while Saban looked 20 years younger than Bryant. I'd say it's part genetics, part lifestyle (Saban works out and eats healthy), and part vanity (I'm certain Saban cares more about his looks and takes steps to look younger). I'm 53 and back when I was 48 I got carded for cigarettes and the cashier was taken aback and commented how young I looked - and I've been smoking 30+ years. BUT…I've always had very oily skin and my dermatologist said oily skin is like having 24/7 moisturizer which probably explains why my skin is still so "young" looking.
Seems to have had the opposite effect on old timey people.
Load More Replies... Hmm... I wonder how much they enjoyed sunbathing. Too much sunlight could be harmful to our skin.
Life in the 60’s and 70’s was definitely not hard for celebrities. Life was less healthy, but for many of the people pictured not especially difficult.
Load More Replies... Showing photos of 17 year-olds that smokin` hot should be Entrapment!
Being attracted to (supposed) 17 year olds in photographs is not illegal.
Load More Replies... There are a lot of factors, such as dress, hair styles, etc. But I believe the most important factor is the age one enters puberty. Today young people enter puberty around 2-3 years earlier than in the 50s and 60s, due to better quality of diet, medical health, and other things. I was born in 1944, and didn't enter puberty until I was fifteen, almost sixteen. Girls entered puberty around 12-13 yo. Today's youth enter puberty at least 2-3 years sooner, getting a head start.
But shouldn't that have the opposite effect of delaying an adult appearance?
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