ADVERTISEMENT

Old photos are a real pleasure to look at: it’s awesome to see how fashion and style trends changed. But one thing that caught our eye is that a lot of young people in old-timey photos seem to look far older than people of the same age nowadays. Did people use to age faster in the past? It’s worth considering.

Scroll down to check out the photos we’ve collected showing how humans from the past looked way older than they ‘should.’ One of the places we drew inspiration from is the Old School Cool subreddit that’s dedicated to photos of “history’s coolest kids,” so give them a visit and have a peek at the awesome pics they post.

When you’re done enjoying this list, check our other posts about people sharing old photos that ‘prove’ humans aged faster in the past here and here.

Discover more in People Remain Convinced That We 'Aged' Faster In The Past, Post 28 Pics To Prove This Theory (New Pics)

Click here & follow us for more lists, facts, and stories.

#1

My Grandmother On Her Confirmation Day In 1941. She Is 14 Years Old In This Picture And She Made Her Own Dress.

Black and white vintage portrait of a young woman illustrating how people aged faster in the past.

reddit.com Report

RELATED:
    #2

    1940 My Grandad (17 Years Old In Photo) At The Dublin Races With His Mother, My Great Grandmother. Apologies About The Image Defect, It's The Best Photograph We Have Of Him.

    Black and white vintage photo showing two people, illustrating how people aged faster in the past according to theory.

    reddit.com Report

    #3

    My Grandfather’s Ww2 Photograph, He Was 18 Years Old. Still Alive And Sharp As A Tack At 96.

    Vintage portrait of a young soldier in uniform showing how people aged faster in the past.

    reddit.com Report

    The Old School Cool Reddit community says that it celebrates everyone from the past who’s looking hip: “Everything from beatniks to bikers, mods to rude boys, hippies to ravers. And everything in between.”

    The subreddit has a whopping 14.5 million members and it asks its members that they don’t post any pictures of people from 1995 onward. Does that mean that every photo older than 25 is considered ‘old school’ now? We sure hope that this term doesn’t apply to people born before 1995, too!

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #4

    My Grandma At 16. She Is Turning 80 This Year. She Makes Me Laugh Every Day. I Love This Woman!

    Vintage black and white portrait of a woman with short hair and earrings, illustrating aging faster in the past theory.

    reddit.com Report

    #5

    My Grandmother, Age 16 (Mexico)

    Black and white portrait of a woman from the past, illustrating how people aged faster in earlier decades.

    reddit.com Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #6

    The Rock At 16 Years Old. (1987)

    Black and white vintage portrait of a man in a suit and tie, illustrating how people aged faster in the past.

    reddit.com Report

    It’s not too much of a stretch to say that people in the past aged faster than we do now. Why? One of the biggest factors related to visible aging is sun exposure: the more time you spend in the sun, the more it damages your skin, the older you’ll look.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Since more people used to work and spend time outdoors in the past (and sunscreen wasn’t as big of a thing as it is now), they visibly aged faster. Compare that to how more and more people in 2020 are spending way more time indoors and will apply sunscreen when they go outside and there you have it—mystery solved! Of course, this doesn’t apply to everyone in the 21st century, but there’s a definite trend.

    #7

    My Ukranian Grandmother In 1927 At 16 Years Old. Her Brother My Uncle Nick Opened The First Photography Studio In Drumheller,alberta. She Was His One Of His Best Friends And She Used To Hand Tint The Photographs For Him. I Miss Her Dearly.

    Vintage portrait of a young woman with a styled hairdo and lace dress, illustrating how people aged faster in the past.

    reddit.com Report

    #8

    This Was My Grandad. He Was Australia’s Youngest Radio Announcer At 16 Back In 1934

    Young man in vintage radio studio with turntable and microphone, illustrating people aged faster in the past theory.

    Marty James Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #9

    My Grandparents Getting Married In Iceland In 1976 At 19

    Young couple in vintage attire holding flowers, illustrating how people aged faster in the past in a candid moment.

    Arnlaugur1 Report

    Some other things that make you age faster are stress, constantly changing your diet, not drinking enough water, overindulging in soda, and neglecting your friendships. Keep that in mind if you want to keep looking and feeling young, dear Pandas!

    #10

    My Grandma. You May Not Believe But She Was 13 In This Photo.

    Vintage photo of a young woman in a formal dress, illustrating how people aged faster in the past theory.

    Deja Parker Report

    #11

    She Was About 17 When This Photo Was Taken. She Was Born In May Of 1918. On The Right Is Her Daughter, My Mother, Mary. She Was 19 And It Was The Day She Married My Dad

    Side-by-side portraits of women in vintage and modern wedding attire showing aging differences across decades.

    Christina Lee Report

    #12

    My Grandma (Mimi) Was An Airline Stewardess When She Was In Her Early 20’s (So, Early To Mid 1960’s), This Is A Newspaper Article From A Flight She Was On Where A Bag Full Of Frogs Escaped That She Had To Catch On The Plane

    Black and white photo of a woman holding two frogs, illustrating how people aged faster in the past theory.

    Danielle Brandon Teed Report

    Data1001
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is one where I think she definitely looks her age.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #13

    My Grandma Around 20 Years Old

    Black and white portrait of a person illustrating how people aged faster in the past with vintage hairstyle and clothing.

    Suzanna Hultqvist‎ Report

    Data1001
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Grandma really had that Art Garfunkel thing going!

    #14

    My Paternal Grandfather Aged 16 Colourised

    Young man wearing round glasses and a suit, illustrating how people aged faster in the past.

    reddit.com Report

    #15

    My Grandmother At 16 Years Old In 1917

    Black and white portrait of a young woman in vintage attire illustrating how people aged faster in the past.

    reddit.com Report

    #16

    My Mother At 16 In 1949

    Framed black and white portrait of a smiling woman, illustrating how people aged faster in the past theory.

    Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #17

    1945, My 18 Year Old Grandmother Concetta. She Was The Woman Who Taught Me How To Be A Sassy, Classy And Bad-Assy Woman.

    Vintage portrait of a smiling young woman with curled hair, illustrating how people aged faster in the past theory.

    reddit.com Report

    #18

    My Mum And Dads Wedding Here In The UK . Mum Was 20 Dad 21

    Vintage black and white photo of a group posing outside, illustrating people aged faster in the past theory.

    Carol Dean‎ Report

    #19

    My 16 Year Old Grandmother, 1922

    Vintage sepia photo of a young woman in an old-fashioned dress, illustrating how people aged faster in the past.

    reddit.com Report

    #20

    My Mama, Rose In High School

    Vintage portrait of a woman with styled hair and glasses, illustrating how people aged faster in the past concept.

    ‎Morgan Coady‎ Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #21

    My Grandmother At 24 In 1934, Dancing With My Grandfather.

    Vintage black and white photo of a couple dancing in formal attire, illustrating people aging faster in the past.

    reddit.com Report

    #22

    My Grandfather When He Joined The Navy In 1942. He Was Only 16 Years Old At The Time Of This Picture

    Vintage photo of a young sailor in uniform, illustrating how people aged faster in the past according to old pictures.

    Michelle Elam Report

    #23

    A Photo Of My Great Grandmother, Lottie, With Her Hunting Buddies. She Had To Have Been In Her 20’s

    Two men holding guns and posing with a dog in a vintage black and white photo showing aged faster past times.

    Ashley Fajkowski Report

    #24

    My Handsome Grandfather When He Was My Age (32).

    Sepia-toned close-up of a man with short hair, illustrating the theory that people aged faster in the past.

    reddit.com Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #25

    This Is My Grandmother In 1954 With Her Then Beau. Her First Love. She Was 17 Years Old

    Black and white photo of a young couple smiling, illustrating how people aged faster in the past, vintage style image.

    Laynie Hails Report

    #26

    Jamie Foxx, 18 Years Old

    Young man with curly hair wearing a white shirt and tie, posing in front of a brick wall, illustrating aging faster theory.

    reddit.com Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda