We’re not getting any younger, and there’s little we can do about it. And we may ignore it, but the reality sometimes shamelessly comes right into your face.
For example, when looking at your phone pictures from last year, or when lathering your skin with anti-aging cream, or when suddenly meeting your unrecognizable childhood friend in a supermarket, or when scrolling for your birthdate in a drop-down menu. These painful reality checks hilariously remind us of the passing time.
So when someone asked “What made you realize ‘you’re old?’” it hit a soft spot for too many people out there. A whopping 16k comments later, the all too relatable responses are in, and oh boy, I never felt as ancient as I do right now.
#1
Doing nothing became my favorite thing to do on the weekend.
Image credits: MooreDubs
#2
Whenever I have to enter my birthdate in a drop-down menu
Image credits: didfart
#3
When my Mom moved into my mirror.
Image credits: hazelhas2
Laura Wasser, a family law expert and chief of divorce evolution at Divorce.com, told Bored Panda that a positive outlook on getting older involves accepting it as a natural part of life and concentrating on the upsides.
“As time goes by, we acquire valuable experiences, insight, and a better comprehension of ourselves and our surroundings. Instead of getting hung up on the unavoidable bodily changes, let’s appreciate the wisdom, personal development, and connections we’ve made over the years,” she explained.
#4
At 44 I don’t feel old but when I’m going to do something now a days I think about it if I could get hurt
Image credits: Youhurtmypee
#5
Spent my 30th birthday itching to go home and take my new cordless vacuum cleaner for a spin.
Image credits: SamCropper
#6
Viggo Mortensen is now older than Ian McKellan was when he played Gandalf in Fellowship..
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According to Laura, “keeping our spirits up and feeling thankful help us nurture a happier, more satisfying attitude toward aging while still looking after our mental and emotional health.”
Being in a relationship as you grow older offers many positive aspects. Laura explained that one of the main perks is the sense of companionship. “Sharing life experiences, memories, and moments with someone you care about makes life richer and more satisfying,” she said.
#7
I was reading Rolling Stone at the doctors office and realized I hardly knew any of the bands on the billboard #1 singles list. 90s music to my kids is like what 60s music was to me.
Image credits: wholesomeorgange
#8
The first time the barber asked if I wanted my eyebrows trimmed.
Image credits: jgriss
#9
When celebrities would come on late night shows and they looked SO much older… then I would think “I guess I do too…”
Image credits: superdopeshow
“Additionally, being in a healthy partnership leads to better mental well-being. Research indicates that people in strong relationships experience increased happiness, reduced stress, and a lower likelihood of depression.”
Moreover, Laura noted that sharing your life with a partner comes with practical advantages. “Life becomes easier when you can tackle daily tasks, financial matters, and important decisions as a team. This shared responsibility leads to a more enjoyable and manageable lifestyle.”
#10
Getting annoyed when they rearrange the grocery store.
Image credits: tamarainspace
#11
A bunch of things lol.
Bent down to pick up my 20 lb pup and threw my back out.
Seeing athletes get drafted into the NFL that were born after 2000. Also watching guys I saw get drafted now retiring.
Wanting peace and quiet instead of parties.
Getting excited about grocery or furniture shopping.
Image credits: Well_thatwas_random
#12
You know all the celebrities that die. I remember celebrity deaths to me for years were just always random people that might as well have been from Ancient Rome for how well I knew of them and how old they were. Now, every celebrity death is like, ‘What?!??! She died?? But she was just in that movie!’ But then you remember that for you, ‘just in that movie’ was a movie 30 years or more ago sometimes.
Image credits: BigMax
We also wondered why our society is so obsessed with staying forever young. Laura explained that “people love the idea of staying young because it reminds them of a time full of chances, energy, and new beginnings.”
“Being young means having more freedom and fun, and as we age, we often miss those simpler times without many responsibilities. By trying to stay youthful, we hope to keep enjoying life like we did when we were younger,” she said.
Moreover, our society values and promotes youthfulness, Laura argues. “You can see young people and new ideas in movies, music, and ads, which makes us think that being young is something worth chasing after.”
#13
I almost fell over when a local radio station called songs from the ’80s the ‘golden oldies.’ No! The golden oldies are the ’50s/’60s!
Image credits: RichieNRich
#14
I had to go to a Walgreens to get my passport photo taken. They use a digital camera. The clerk helping me was so young, she said something like, ‘I’ve never used one of these old type cameras before.’ I had to help her get the SD card out and put it in the printer.
Image credits: mmm_unprocessed_fish
#15
Asked a young relative what music she was into, thinking I would be able to impress her with all I know about the “cool” bands. She listed quite a few and I had never heard of a single one, instantly humbled.
Image credits: greeenlander
#16
The song ‘1979’ by The Smashing Pumpkins is closer to the year 1979 than it is to our current time, and not inconsiderably so. Released in 1995
Image credits: amsterdam_BTS
#17
You know what’s a totally not fun game to play with your younger coworkers? Asking them what cartoons they grew up watching. Asking them where they were on 9/11 is also a good one.
Image credits: Civilized_Primate
#18
When the supermarket started playing the music I listened to in high school
Edit: wow ty for the gold and rip my inbox!
Image credits: thekillercook
#19
My “Check Knee” light turned on.
Image credits: SkewberDewber
#20
When I gave dating sites a try and found that the people my age were old looking.
Image credits: No-Handle-3515
#21
I teach writing to college freshmen. I had a student writing about standardized testing who started a paragraph with the phrase: ‘Beliefs about education at the turn of the century worked from the assumption that…’ It took me two paragraphs to realize that the turn she was talking about was 1999 to 2000. This was two years ago. The resulting existential crisis is still unresolved.
Image credits: HGFuller
#22
I’ve been a gigging musician for over 30 years and in the last 10 those late nights just started killing me.
Image credits: ThunderClap_Fween
#23
Butt problems.
There, I said it so you don’t have to.
Image credits: BlackLetterLies
#24
My kid makes fun of me because I mix white milk with chocolate milk because it’s too sweet. Just leave me alone and grab my Lactaid
#25
I recently saw a reddit post about things that were popular 25 years ago and I thought about the 80s until I saw a comment that pointed out that we are talking about 1998. I also then realized that I am older than 25.
I also recently used the phrase ’20 years ago’ when I was talking to a friend. That hit different.
Image credits: No_Scale7584
#26
Both parents have died and their siblings are also gone.
Image credits: brian2funny
#27
When I realized that I own t shirts that are older than people I work with
#28
Hangovers lasting into a 2nd day and waking up with random sore muscles.
#29
I hit 49 years of age and my body decided at that point that I’m old. Every bad decision I made regarding my health came back to bite me.
#30
I used to sneak out of home to go to a party, now I sneak out of the party to go home
#31
I use urban dictionary
#32
I was taking to my team (early 20s, I’m basically their parents’ age) about the actress Gillian Anderson and when it didn’t ring a bell, I said “you know, Agent Scully from X-Files. No one knew X-Files or who Agent Scully was but one of the girls chipped in “oh, the mother from Sex Education” and they all clicked.
#33
Look at an intact cardboard box you have in your house. What do you think? If the answer is: Oh, this is a good cardboard box, I should hold on to it, you know it has started.
#34
My sister, a decade younger than me, asked about a band I was listening to. I told her I’d burn her a CD for her car. She told me her car doesn’t even have a CD player.
#35
I mentioned the band ‘Pearl Jam’ and no one had heard of them!?!
#36
I was browsing a thrift store a few years ago, an RCA wooden console TV caught my eye because we had an identical one growing up so I checked it out for fun, read the back of it and everything. A while later as I was standing in line beside the TVs, a kid behind me points to the wooden console one and goes “MOM, LOOK AT THAT ANCIENT TV!”
It was made the same year I was born
Image credits: MotherOfBorzoi
#37
When i started working with kids, and they were told “You listen to [my name]! Do what she tells you, okay?” Hang on, i am in charge here? Of tiny people? F*ck.
Image credits: Ieatalot2004
#38
My everyday routine: Come home from work, watch Wheel of Fortune, look at the newspaper and sit outside(weather permitting), to watch the birds and squirrels. If that doesn’t mean I am old, then nothing does!
Image credits: ripmerle
#39
When I started mixing corn flakes with frosted flakes because frosted flakes alone was too f*****g sweet.
7 year old me would be shocked at old me
Image credits: 1_UpvoteGiver
#40
Two friends and I were backpacking in the high Sierras in California. Dan and I had been up this same trail twice before with no problems. It starts around 8000’ (2440 m) and goes up to a pass at 11,400’ (3480 m) in about 8 miles. This time however, by 9000’ we were all quite tired and took a long break. We moved on and up and within another mile we were all ready to stop but the canyon is very narrow with no camping spots. We had to continue, but we searched for campsites every step.
By 10,000’ we were all nearly exhausted, one of us in particular. He threw off his pack and was going to camp right in the trail, which is not allowed. I volunteered to scout ahead for a campsite. Maybe 1/3 of a mile on and about 10,300’ I found a nice area next to a beautiful lake. I left my pack and went back to get my friends. We were moving on shaky legs. It took forever to set up camp, fix dinner, pump water, clean up the cooking stuff, and so on. We were in bed before dark and slept like logs.
From then on, for the rest of the week, we were fine. But it surely highlighted aging. (I was 70).
#41
Guy at the liquor store looked really quick at my license. I said that was fast. He said it starts with 19–
#42
When kids refered to the 90s at the “late 1900s”
Image credits: riphitter
#43
when 30 seems like “just a kid”
#44
Clerk in a store was singing along to Soft Cell Don’t you want me/ Where did our love go. I said “ur too young to know this” He said he “lived with his Grandpa and knows all the oldies”
#45
I was watching Derry Girls and thinking, “Finally, they cast *actual* teenagers in a show about teenagers!” They were all over 25 and one of them was 31.
#46
When I was about to turn 50 and I got my first AARP application in the mail.
#47
I find more and more people are being stupid and annoying.
#48
When “ow that hurt” became “I hope that’s not permanent”
#49
When I went out to the bar and thought that some of the people there looked like children to me. They were probably 25…
#50
I stepped in a hole in the concrete at the gas station and fell over. That simple fall to the pavement broke my foot, my ankle, and three ribs. I’m 56 and now officially old.
#51
When all of my fellow welding apprentices at work started calling me their “Shop mom.”
#52
Nearly busted my a*s in the shower and suddenly life alert made sense ?
#53
Looked in the mirror. Thats not my face, and it’s way older than me. Then my voice said “damn, I’m old” and I had to agree, but was very confused who said it.
#54
Discovered I had a favorite spatula
#55
Wait a minute – let me get my glasses and put the main light on to read this properly…
#56
The setting in Back to the Future was the same distance from the 1950’s as we are to the 1990’s.
#57
Sleeping straight through the night is a thing of the past; if it’s not a hip or shoulder screaming at me to roll over, it’s a bladder wanting releif.
#58
Ear hair
#59
Nirvana being considered Classic Rock.
#60
My teenager had a camera that prints out the picture!!! It’s amazing! Look it prints out the picture right after you take it!!
FML
#61
When Gen Z started calling me aunty
#62
My job has an ipad that we use for certain things. I asked a younger coworker how to adjust the volume, and he said “oh it’s just an ipad. Wait, do you not know how to use an ipad?” & he was genuinely surprised that I’d never used one before. I’m a millennial. My mom used to say I was tech savvy with my flip phone. Now look at me, pathetic.
#63
When I discovered my sciatic nerve
#64
Appreciating a well mown lawn.
#65
I’m disgusted by TikTok
#66
Music that I listened to as a kid being played on the “oldies” radio station.
#67
Work with a young lad named Dillon. He just got back today from a two week holiday and I greeted him with a –
“Dillon!… You Son Of A B***h!”
-He looked confused and I said ” Yano? From Predator?”…
… he asked me what Predator was.
*cries internally*
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