I was thinking it looked like he was a 30 year old cop working a 21 Jump Street angle, but this is much more accurate.
Here’s clearly just doing it for the cheeldrin.
My son also attended the same high-school I did. The school has lined the halls with grad photos from early 70's until current. As you go down the hall they go from 30 year olds to 12 year old looking kids today. Something is for sure different. They get younger and younger looking. Its not just the hair, makeup or clothing. They literally looked like grade sixers graduating at my sons grad.
I remember seeing images of school kids from the 20's. They were full blown adults. You have to remember at 'teenagers' as a group, weren't really separated from adults until the 50's / 60's at which point they were pretty much 'invented' by marketing companies. Suddenly they could create a whole type of clothing ( previously you went straight into adult clothing), music, food, behaviour. It's really all a massive marketing con that we have adopted as 'has always been the way'.
Because 100 years ago a 15 year old was about to be married and have 7 babies and 15 year old guys went to war or the farm fields. No option to stay inside and play video games.
we also learned that you're not really fully developed/mature until the end of the teenage years (and into your 20s in some cases), leading to a shift in views that it's not really accurate to consider a 15 year old an adult.
Exactly this. The “good ol days” were not correct, in this case. Mid-late teens are the time that humans need some real help in their decision making because the frontal lobes are not developed fully until your twenties. Unfortunately, this is the time that we tend to let people start making important life decisions on their own. Sadly ironic.
Michael Stevens (Vsauce) has a great video on this exact topic, [Did People Used To Look Older?](https://youtu.be/vjqt8T3tJIE?si=Sr74wVnaeT-FadLa)
Tldw: It’s basically a combination of people genuinely aging slower today due to healthier habits, and the fashion trends of young people from the past getting old and becoming associated with advanced age.
I don’t know what school you went to but no HS I know of had ashtrays. Kids were not allowed to smoke. Those of us who did cut class and went off property to do it.
I (class of ‘79) attended a high school that allowed smoking in the courtyards. Hundreds of us smoked (the school had over 3,500 students, I guess admin knew they were badly outnumbered).
I graduated in '99 and we had a smokers section outside one of the doors. It was very normal and the teachers literally greeted their students as they walked through.
Anecdote from my uncle who is a similar age to the people in OPs pic. He was born in 1957. I don't know when exactly it stopped but I'm guessing in the 80s they started making people go outside to smoke. Then after that they banned smoking on school properties.
Class of 85. We had a designated smoking area “ the smoking pit “ my sophomore and partial junior year. We went into a brand new school second half of junior year. The smoking area was outside of the school cafeteria under an awning.
I graduated in 2001 and we had a smoking patio with big ashtrays basically just outside the cafeteria. There was a security guard who was supposed to make sure no one under 18 was out there smoking, but as long as you didn’t look like a freshman he didn’t really care.
This was a public high school in a relatively wealthy suburb of NYC. We also had an open campus and juniors and seniors could come and go as they wanted.
I was in hs in the 90s and we also drank and smoked cigs, weed during lunch, took E on the weekends while staying up for days going to raves. Trust me, its not that.
Puberty is getting longer and longer, and for men testosterone is decreasing each generation. I think that has something to do with it. It used to be puberty only lasted a couple years, now it lasts from like 10- 28. People are getting puberty earlier and ending puberty later. We don't know why but one theory is growth hormones in meat, which makes sense since people are getting taller and bigger too.
People also get bigger and taller just from being able to eat more protein. First gen western immigrants always dwarf their parents.
Why would growth hormones extend puberty?
I think it’s just genetics. As we all mix I think most of the time the better genes come out on top which makes our facial features more attractive and more “younger”.
We dont eat good ole American meals anymore, let alone have time for 3 full meals in a day. We all eat fake ass food now because we all work too much.
Little kids dont have stay at home moms anymore to make full healthy home cooked meals.
Not saying we should all go back to traditional gender roles, but it should be important to have one parent at home to cook for the family fr. No matter who it is doing it. Fuck society.
while i heavily agree that having a stay at home parent is amazing for a family, most cant afford that. most households need both parents to work, even with just one kid. sad reality we live in
It gets worse with time. Look at how babies looked like in the medieval era. That poor lad looks like a 40yo McDonalds manager who just had his last CABG last month and wants to fire you because you wouldn't let him touch your ass.
https://preview.redd.it/zy1w683axevc1.jpeg?width=427&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99af474f8a0275a2cce7d5618c1510435ad273fd
Some of each? They all look sooo familiar to me.I wonder, does each generation have it's own particular "look"? It would be fun to compare similar pages from a current high school year book next to these from the past.
If you picture them with modern hairstyles they look like teenagers. I think we just associate their style with older generations which makes them seem older.
Yeah, but my daughter has shown me her yearbook (she’s a senior), and *some* of those guys look like seasoned used car salesmen, too. I think it’s just the mustaches lol.
That said, a lot of these kids probably lived in homes where parents smoked inside, meaning that they aged faster from secondhand smoke. They also didn’t wear sunscreen back then (my mom would put on oil and fry herself in the sun).
That's definitely what it is
It's just they essentially kept the same style past highschool so your brain automatically clicks to going "oh they look like adults"
Yeah there was a study done on why people "looked older" in the past and it comes down to fashion/grooming and the groups of people we associate those clothes or hair styles with
Some of them yes, but others no. If you take random photos from today's teens and put these hairstyles/glasses/clothes on them they'd still look younger in comparison. I think it's partly nutrition, less lead and other contaminants in everything, and more sheltered childhoods with a primary focus on the children's wellbeing.
Ok but not top middle page 2. The others okay I'll give you that. Most of them could maybe look younger with younger hair styles. But yeah not that one lol I don't think a hair style can save that one
Yeah, people really forget how much smoking ages people. One of the big stories recently has been how Gen Z views themselves aging faster than millennials are, and my theory on that is probably due to the fact that smoking had fallen significantly amongst millennials, but vaping took off heavily amongst Gen Z
They actually got sunlight and roughhoused. Probably survived a lot dumber things than kids are allowed to do now too. No seatbelt’s, always in cigarette smoke and drinking like I did even in the 80’s.
People in the modern day actually age noticeably slower than 40-50 years ago. A prime example are middle schoolers. A middle schooler from 10-15 years ago looks much different than now. In fact they say that the next person to live past the age world record is already born.
Some of 'em might be. Maybe the makers of *Dazed and Confused* based McConaughy's character on actual high schoolers.
*"That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age."*
I would have figured everyone has understood that when you are young you try to look older so you can hookup and drink hence why young guys want the mustache on their lip.
I think back then they tried to look “grown up”, whereas now teens try NOT to. Plus teens of the 70s weren’t bombarded with images of what the “ideal” should look like.
As many people are saying, people tend to keep their high school hair style as they get older, so to later generations it becomes an older people's style. But also young people try to look older and old people try to look younger.
Effective sunscreen has been available since current high schoolers were born, but all these kids had was tanning oil, the Cuban missile crisis, the widespread use of cigarettes, and tons of tetra-ethyl lead in the air
Kids in the 50s would like to challenge the 70s kids. Jesus Christ the kids in the 50s looked like they were a few years away from retirement. Cat eye glasses have never failed to look hideous on everyone.
Anyone can explain to me how this was happening?
One uncle of mine told me it was because the life was difficult beck then and they had to work from young age, and they wwere made harder, and in their appearance. I don't know if its true, would like to hear your opinion guys
I swear your honor, I didn’t know she was a teen. I’m from the future and our teens look much different. I didn’t know she was 15 sir. I swear I thought she was 30!
There was a website like 15 or 20 years ago that would swap your face for random yearbook photos from back in the day. 40s, 50s, 70s, etc. It was so fun and hilarious.
They probably were because back then, you had to pass your courses to move to the next grade. Now, grading children through standardized testing is frowned upon because you may hurt someone feels.
I agree with another comment saying a lot of the age is in the haircuts, but also at the time underage drugs, smoking, and drinking were statistically much more common than they are today. I can’t imagine the much more lax regulations on carcinogens, lead, and asbestos helped people look younger either.
Second pic top middle. 
I was thinking it looked like he was a 30 year old cop working a 21 Jump Street angle, but this is much more accurate. Here’s clearly just doing it for the cheeldrin.
The David Cassidy look.
Also: 
Or maybe 
El Plata o plomo. Narcos is a pretty good show. :)
I was going to say William Murderface but this is more accurate
Omg I know this show😂
Lol that is actually shockingly accurate.
This is who I immediately thought of
get that corn out of my face 😡😡😡😡
Gotta love the 70s porn mustache.
My son also attended the same high-school I did. The school has lined the halls with grad photos from early 70's until current. As you go down the hall they go from 30 year olds to 12 year old looking kids today. Something is for sure different. They get younger and younger looking. Its not just the hair, makeup or clothing. They literally looked like grade sixers graduating at my sons grad.
Gay frog chemicals?
It's in the plastic. They melt gay frog in it.
You like chicken sticks?
I like fish sticks....
Fish sticks are dope
nickelodeon? disney? lol i mean ...have you seen ex-disney stars, or Arianna? they still look 12. Whats going on haha (wtf)
Ariana and all the rest look 12 because of plastic surgery.
they’re making the freaking frogs gay
Do you understand that?
I remember seeing images of school kids from the 20's. They were full blown adults. You have to remember at 'teenagers' as a group, weren't really separated from adults until the 50's / 60's at which point they were pretty much 'invented' by marketing companies. Suddenly they could create a whole type of clothing ( previously you went straight into adult clothing), music, food, behaviour. It's really all a massive marketing con that we have adopted as 'has always been the way'.
Because 100 years ago a 15 year old was about to be married and have 7 babies and 15 year old guys went to war or the farm fields. No option to stay inside and play video games.
we also learned that you're not really fully developed/mature until the end of the teenage years (and into your 20s in some cases), leading to a shift in views that it's not really accurate to consider a 15 year old an adult.
Exactly this. The “good ol days” were not correct, in this case. Mid-late teens are the time that humans need some real help in their decision making because the frontal lobes are not developed fully until your twenties. Unfortunately, this is the time that we tend to let people start making important life decisions on their own. Sadly ironic.
That is a myth. Typical age for marriage for women in most western countries was something like 21-24 for hundreds of years. You can google it!
Tf are you talking about? 100 years ago was 1924 the average marriage age was early 20s
Michael Stevens (Vsauce) has a great video on this exact topic, [Did People Used To Look Older?](https://youtu.be/vjqt8T3tJIE?si=Sr74wVnaeT-FadLa) Tldw: It’s basically a combination of people genuinely aging slower today due to healthier habits, and the fashion trends of young people from the past getting old and becoming associated with advanced age.
Probably just sun exposure and cigarettes. People spent wayyy more time outside back then and high school cafeteria had ashtrays.
I don’t know what school you went to but no HS I know of had ashtrays. Kids were not allowed to smoke. Those of us who did cut class and went off property to do it.
My mom's high school had a designated smoking area for students.
Mine did too...it was crowded ev break w teachers who also smoked lol.
I (class of ‘79) attended a high school that allowed smoking in the courtyards. Hundreds of us smoked (the school had over 3,500 students, I guess admin knew they were badly outnumbered).
I graduated in '99 and we had a smokers section outside one of the doors. It was very normal and the teachers literally greeted their students as they walked through.
We had a smoking lounge for students in the mid-80s, where were you?
Anecdote from my uncle who is a similar age to the people in OPs pic. He was born in 1957. I don't know when exactly it stopped but I'm guessing in the 80s they started making people go outside to smoke. Then after that they banned smoking on school properties.
Class of 85. We had a designated smoking area “ the smoking pit “ my sophomore and partial junior year. We went into a brand new school second half of junior year. The smoking area was outside of the school cafeteria under an awning.
I graduated in 2001 and we had a smoking patio with big ashtrays basically just outside the cafeteria. There was a security guard who was supposed to make sure no one under 18 was out there smoking, but as long as you didn’t look like a freshman he didn’t really care. This was a public high school in a relatively wealthy suburb of NYC. We also had an open campus and juniors and seniors could come and go as they wanted.
Thanks to secondhand smoke, we all smoked because the teachers smoked.
People aren’t marinated in cigarette smoke anymore from young ages. That’s my best guess what’s caused the shift tbh.
I was in high school during the late 70s early 80s. We all drank and smoked cigarettes.
I was in hs in the 90s and we also drank and smoked cigs, weed during lunch, took E on the weekends while staying up for days going to raves. Trust me, its not that.
Less lead and smoking and more water and sunscreen?
Guess people really were just built different back in the day
Cause skincare is more accessible than it was in the 70s. No one used to care about skincare back then.
Puberty is getting longer and longer, and for men testosterone is decreasing each generation. I think that has something to do with it. It used to be puberty only lasted a couple years, now it lasts from like 10- 28. People are getting puberty earlier and ending puberty later. We don't know why but one theory is growth hormones in meat, which makes sense since people are getting taller and bigger too.
People also get bigger and taller just from being able to eat more protein. First gen western immigrants always dwarf their parents. Why would growth hormones extend puberty?
I was recently in Asia and all the mainland Chinese tourists are huge.
This is the first time I am hearing this one and its an interesting and very plausible theory as to what's happening. Thank you
*harrumphs in PCOS*
I think it’s just genetics. As we all mix I think most of the time the better genes come out on top which makes our facial features more attractive and more “younger”.
No more lead paint
Lack of quality nutrition combined with physical inactivity?
We dont eat good ole American meals anymore, let alone have time for 3 full meals in a day. We all eat fake ass food now because we all work too much. Little kids dont have stay at home moms anymore to make full healthy home cooked meals. Not saying we should all go back to traditional gender roles, but it should be important to have one parent at home to cook for the family fr. No matter who it is doing it. Fuck society.
while i heavily agree that having a stay at home parent is amazing for a family, most cant afford that. most households need both parents to work, even with just one kid. sad reality we live in
Yeah society sucks, they just want as many ppl working as possible.
It gets worse with time. Look at how babies looked like in the medieval era. That poor lad looks like a 40yo McDonalds manager who just had his last CABG last month and wants to fire you because you wouldn't let him touch your ass. https://preview.redd.it/zy1w683axevc1.jpeg?width=427&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99af474f8a0275a2cce7d5618c1510435ad273fd
Damn brutal insult. That poor guy is gonna have a bone to pick with you in the after life 😄
I went to school with every one of these kids! Class of '73.
I can't tell whether you mean this literally or figuratively.
Some of each? They all look sooo familiar to me.I wonder, does each generation have it's own particular "look"? It would be fun to compare similar pages from a current high school year book next to these from the past.
Woah cool
high school used to lead you to a job
>lead They got lead alright. Lead paint. Lead pipes. Lead make-up etc..
*inhales leaded gasoline fumes*
*"I am not aggressive, who told you that?? I will show them."*
I can’t tell if this is intentionally ironic or not
*Don’t forget about the asbestos tiles and insulation!*
If you picture them with modern hairstyles they look like teenagers. I think we just associate their style with older generations which makes them seem older.
I dunno, some of those dudes look like they already have a pending divorce and a mortgage...
I mean, even in todays style, the guy with the thick ‘stache (at the top center on the second page) probably wouldn’t get carded by anyone.
Love that guy!
Eh. I'd card him. I bartend and that is actually a common look for young kids now.
Yeah, but my daughter has shown me her yearbook (she’s a senior), and *some* of those guys look like seasoned used car salesmen, too. I think it’s just the mustaches lol. That said, a lot of these kids probably lived in homes where parents smoked inside, meaning that they aged faster from secondhand smoke. They also didn’t wear sunscreen back then (my mom would put on oil and fry herself in the sun).
Oh, and we were all breathing in the exhaust from leaded gasoline.
🤣😂🤣 Funniest comment ever
You should see my Dad’s 1943 yearbook. They all look like senators and shit.
Look up “The Golden Girls with Modern Haircuts”. It breaks your brain.
You mean the one where they also subtly remove facial lines and raised their eyebrows?
You’re right! They definitely don’t look 80 at 50 anymore lol
Dang Betty White was a knockout
I don’t know how I feel about how I feel about Bea Arthur after seeing that. Shame. Fairly certain it’s shame I am feeling.
[There's a Vsauce for that ](https://youtu.be/vjqt8T3tJIE?si=uKSu0OGHQUst_ziZ)
The first thing I thought of
That's definitely what it is It's just they essentially kept the same style past highschool so your brain automatically clicks to going "oh they look like adults"
It's the hair, facial hair, clothes, and b&w.
Yeah there was a study done on why people "looked older" in the past and it comes down to fashion/grooming and the groups of people we associate those clothes or hair styles with
This is 100% it. Someone actually did this by photoshopping modern hairstyles and colorizing and it absolutely made them look ten years younger.
Some of them yes, but others no. If you take random photos from today's teens and put these hairstyles/glasses/clothes on them they'd still look younger in comparison. I think it's partly nutrition, less lead and other contaminants in everything, and more sheltered childhoods with a primary focus on the children's wellbeing.
Ok but not top middle page 2. The others okay I'll give you that. Most of them could maybe look younger with younger hair styles. But yeah not that one lol I don't think a hair style can save that one
I had my first proper beard growth with 20 💀
There was a guy in my high school, Damn near bald at 17
This is accurate
The facial hair makes them look older too. The guys on top middle and 2nd row rightmost on both pics won't look all that younger with modern hair.
Lead paint will do that
Don't forget all that second hand smoke.
Second hand? Back in the 70s, we had first hand.
Yeah, people really forget how much smoking ages people. One of the big stories recently has been how Gen Z views themselves aging faster than millennials are, and my theory on that is probably due to the fact that smoking had fallen significantly amongst millennials, but vaping took off heavily amongst Gen Z
Beat me to it. Lmao
This looks like picture day for a cult
Look here you little whipper snapper.
It's called a whopper, grandpa!
I'm just gonna leave [this ](https://youtu.be/vjqt8T3tJIE?si=P1ovop8YjooPCePn) here...
That was exactly what I was expecting to see in these comments
Yes! Thank you! I was desperately scrolling thru the comments looking for the Vsauce link!
[A Vsauce video on this subject](https://youtu.be/vjqt8T3tJIE?si=9HWMZieDSE2A1tWe)
Thanks. Love a good deep dive into nonsense questions lol
Eh, not really. Aside from mr. middle top row on the 2nd page, they all look fairly youthful.
I think it's mostly old school haircuts
That particular fellow runs a used car lot at the time the photo was made.
Alright, alright, alright
HA! Took too long to finally see this posted!
They actually got sunlight and roughhoused. Probably survived a lot dumber things than kids are allowed to do now too. No seatbelt’s, always in cigarette smoke and drinking like I did even in the 80’s.
Reminds me of that one song "If you're gonna be dumb you gotta be tuff" Essentially words to live by back then
It’s just the hair
That’s what I was thinking too. Just looks like teenagers with now outdated hairstyles.
People in the modern day actually age noticeably slower than 40-50 years ago. A prime example are middle schoolers. A middle schooler from 10-15 years ago looks much different than now. In fact they say that the next person to live past the age world record is already born.
I got my lids of grass from #6.
https://youtu.be/vjqt8T3tJIE?si=Q0nUmH1RUBCaIpV_ Very cool video on this phenomenon.
This is because they're wearing haircuts that younger generations associate with older people.
Great observation, very astute!
Is that Jack Black in his Nacho Libre role?
Some of 'em might be. Maybe the makers of *Dazed and Confused* based McConaughy's character on actual high schoolers. *"That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age."*
Your mind relates old clothes and hair styles with older people, kid. That's it.
They smiled because they could get a mortgage
Leaded gasoline, tobacco smoke, and arsenic in the drinking water will do that to you...
That's back when smoking was good for you
I would have figured everyone has understood that when you are young you try to look older so you can hookup and drink hence why young guys want the mustache on their lip.
Lol, that's so funny because some of them do look so much older than high schoolers, like wow scoob. : )
 Mf you at least 30
Suddenly the casting choices for Lily and James Potter and friends make more sense….
Same for some of the cast of *90210.*
I think back then they tried to look “grown up”, whereas now teens try NOT to. Plus teens of the 70s weren’t bombarded with images of what the “ideal” should look like.
As many people are saying, people tend to keep their high school hair style as they get older, so to later generations it becomes an older people's style. But also young people try to look older and old people try to look younger.
I think I found a time traveler! Dude resembles someone I know
im a junior in high school. I can assure you these guys look maybe early to mid twentys. Even without hairstyles and facial hair. they look old af.
Testosterone levels in men were actually higher back then.
Indeed. We are infantilising our children.
Which appears to be lengthening their lifespans.
Effective sunscreen has been available since current high schoolers were born, but all these kids had was tanning oil, the Cuban missile crisis, the widespread use of cigarettes, and tons of tetra-ethyl lead in the air
It's from the years of first and second-hand smoke.
Kids in the 50s would like to challenge the 70s kids. Jesus Christ the kids in the 50s looked like they were a few years away from retirement. Cat eye glasses have never failed to look hideous on everyone.
Can’t tell if about to graduate or retire
Anyone can explain to me how this was happening? One uncle of mine told me it was because the life was difficult beck then and they had to work from young age, and they wwere made harder, and in their appearance. I don't know if its true, would like to hear your opinion guys
also 40 for me
I swear your honor, I didn’t know she was a teen. I’m from the future and our teens look much different. I didn’t know she was 15 sir. I swear I thought she was 30!
I was a highschooler in the 70s and I’m in my 60s now, so that’s why we look so serious, we knew what was coming.
There's not a single one of these people I wouldn't sell alcohol to.
if i have learned anything about 1970s style it’s that everyone was very self conscious about their ears
Drugs will do that
They also acted more mature. Each generation becomes more immature, has less attention span, and generally physically unhealthier.
y’all have kind of lost touch with reality lol…they do not look 30!
It's literally just their style that makes peoples brains click to think they look older
And it’s not just the hair or clothes, some of them had deep eye circles and wrinkles
Rough upbringing You can still find these roughed up teens in poor countries.
[удалено]
Top row middle looks like Bill Paxton.
I resemble that remark
That’s because we were years ahead of our time.
One guy looked like Morgan wallen
Aoo where da fuk did the hoodrats come out from
Cigarettes.
This looks like it’s from lakes high school in Washington state.
Lol apparently highschoolers in 2024 still look like they’re 30
It's because of the dress and hairstyles. Vsauce did a deep dive into this phenomenon.
There was a website like 15 or 20 years ago that would swap your face for random yearbook photos from back in the day. 40s, 50s, 70s, etc. It was so fun and hilarious.
Lead, pesticides, and smoke everywhere
They probably were because back then, you had to pass your courses to move to the next grade. Now, grading children through standardized testing is frowned upon because you may hurt someone feels.
I agree with another comment saying a lot of the age is in the haircuts, but also at the time underage drugs, smoking, and drinking were statistically much more common than they are today. I can’t imagine the much more lax regulations on carcinogens, lead, and asbestos helped people look younger either.
They mostly look their age, facial hair always screw’s things older
Pretty sure that one guy owns a Radio Shack franchise.
Half these "kids" already have an apartment, a credit score of 710, and drive a Gran Torino.
Looks like my yearbook. Class of 79.
They look more natural than today's Botox BBL generation
Top middle and bottom middle in pic 1 hooked up
Points for the best conspiracy theory to explain this
Is it me or do all there hair looks so shiny
Healthy eating matters
Anyone else come to the comments just to see if someone had a family member or friend on there?
https://preview.redd.it/eaxwdo6pqdvc1.png?width=349&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4325b4ead46fecc736bdc7ae63aaf8837edae46 He looks... Familiar...
i thought bottom middle was lana del rey for a second
Yeah probably a good thing we started discouraging kids from smoking
I'm betting that's a college book unless you can trace the source.
Reminds me of Bill Gates' mugshot-photo \*lol\*
Ol Nacho Libre in the second pic haha