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.

#1

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

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

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.

    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.

    reddit.com Report

    #3

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

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

    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!

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

    reddit.com Report

    Charolett Wells
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I want those earrings. Your Grandma is a beautiful woman.

    View more comments
    #5

    My Grandmother, Age 16 (Mexico)

    My Grandmother, Age 16 (Mexico)

    reddit.com Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    #6

    The Rock At 16 Years Old. (1987)

    The Rock At 16 Years Old. (1987)

    reddit.com Report

    JessG
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Imagine what he sounded like while his voice was cracking:-D

    View more comments

    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.

    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.

    reddit.com Report

    Ivana Junas
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She looks her age. The style of hair and clothing is currently perceived as "old fashioned" ad might be what makes her seem to be older. She looks 16.

    View more comments
    #8

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

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

    Marty James Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #9

    My Grandparents Getting Married In Iceland In 1976 At 19

    My Grandparents Getting Married In Iceland In 1976 At 19

    Arnlaugur1 Report

    Teresa Horton
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Grandparents married in 1976? What year is it? How old am I? !!!

    View more comments

    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.

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

    Deja Parker Report

    fro_st puppy
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I can see a 13-year-old. just take off the fancy dress and makeup.

    View more comments
    #11

    My 14 Year Old Grandfather Riding His New Bike In 1949 Dayton, Ohio

    My 14 Year Old Grandfather Riding His New Bike In 1949 Dayton, Ohio

    reddit.com Report

    Anne
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    OId face, but from the muscle structure you can see he is not out of his teens yet

    View more comments
    #12

    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

    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

    Christina Lee Report

    Anne
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Thats a fierce grandma you got there

    View more comments
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    #13

    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

    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

    Danielle Brandon Teed Report

    Kathy Baylis
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The expression on her face is priceless! She must have a great sense of humor.

    View more comments
    #14

    My Grandma Around 20 Years Old

    My Grandma Around 20 Years Old

    Suzanna Hultqvist‎ Report

    #15

    My Paternal Grandfather Aged 16 Colourised

    My Paternal Grandfather Aged 16 Colourised

    reddit.com Report

    Terje Nygård
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ruff his hair up, put on a hoodie and drop the glasses and it might surprise you how much clothes impacts "visual" age :)

    View more comments
    #16

    My Grandmother At 16 Years Old In 1917

    My Grandmother At 16 Years Old In 1917

    reddit.com Report

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #17

    My Mother At 16 In 1949

    My Mother At 16 In 1949

    Report

    Community Member
    5 years ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Thank you. She was, I was in love with her. My earliest memory was watching her tamp her lips on tp in the mirror. She would have been 21 at the time

    Load More Replies...
    Christy Smith
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Looking middle aged @ 16 seems like it would be rough.

    Mairead Heffernan
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Again, it is the hair that makes her look older

    Teresa Groth
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She could have been an actress!

    Friedlander Rosenzweig
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She reminds me of Donna Reed. I just loved that show!

    Pam Olson
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She is beautiful. She looks like she is excited about her future.

    View more comments
    #18

    My Grandmother In 1955 (She Was Around 13 Or 14) And Her The Week My Grandfather “Found” Her!

    My Grandmother In 1955 (She Was Around 13 Or 14) And Her The Week My Grandfather “Found” Her!

    Briann Durkan Report

    #19

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

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

    reddit.com Report

    LittleMissPanda
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wow, if you told me she's 40 with 3 kids, I wouldn't think twice about it

    View more comments
    #20

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

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

    Carol Dean‎ Report

    Rabbit Carrot
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He looks really young, she does look a lot older.

    View more comments
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #21

    My 16 Year Old Grandmother, 1922

    My 16 Year Old Grandmother, 1922

    reddit.com Report

    Beverly
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Her clothes are exquisite. Where was that taken, I wonder?

    View more comments
    #22

    My Mama, Rose In High School

    My Mama, Rose In High School

    ‎Morgan Coady‎ Report

    Tomasz Jackowski
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Did she allow you to drive the Mystery Machine? Don't you go tell me your mom's name is anything other than Velma :D Also, I love that style of glasses.

    View more comments
    #23

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

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

    reddit.com Report

    Kathy Baylis
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    What’s that Ginger Rogers quote? She did everything he did, only backwards and in heels.

    View more comments
    #24

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

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

    Michelle Elam Report

    JessG
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He looks like a scrappy, sassy young lad

    View more comments
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda
    #25

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

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

    Ashley Fajkowski Report

    #26

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

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

    reddit.com Report

    #27

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

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

    Laynie Hails Report

    #28

    Jamie Foxx, 18 Years Old

    Jamie Foxx, 18 Years Old

    reddit.com Report

    Rabbit Carrot
    Community Member
    5 years ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A man who definitely ages better the older he gets.

    View more comments
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    See Also on Bored Panda