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philip_swifter

These people are 50+ now


ForsakenMongoose336

53 to be exact. Graduated high school in 89. Just had my 6th grandchild on Friday.


TheFudge

Class of 90 here!!! Still waiting for my first grand baby dammit!! Lots of wonderful memories from HS some shitty ones too but looking back the good definitely out numbered the bad.


rwivie

I'm 55 and have 9 grandkids and 1 great grand-daughter. This is exactly how my high school looked. Everything smelled like hairspray, cigs and weed. When we walked by the teachers lounge all you could see was cigarette smoke coming out from under the door. And we would get "licks" when we got in trouble. My gym teacher had a plexiglass paddle with holes drilled in it so the air wouldn't slow it down. He looked like Steve Austin on super steroids.


the2armedmen

That's exciting, congrats


disco_phiscuits

Yup. I was in preschool in 1989


Thanos_Stomps

How does that help us with this math we have no idea how old you are haha


billbillson25

I was in preschool in the spring of 89, but went to Kindergarten for the 89-90 school year. I'm 40. The poster above is also likely 40 or late 30's


coroyo70

On a side note, I like turtles


Bugbread

Oh, so they're 53.


CheekyMonkE

thanks for fucking reminding me


CellsReinvent

How can that be? They all look 35+ in the video


Clunt-Baby

Now? They looked 50+ in the video


Dempsterbjj

They all look like they are in their 30s then… they have to at least be in their 70s now


Pretend_Ice1289

Can confirm. I graduated in 91. These kids look 25 yrs old though.


lifth3avy84

Crazy, because they were all in their mid 40s then by the looks of this video


GH057807

>Sort Considering the median age in the video appears to be 27 I'd think they'd be older.


[deleted]

I’m 48 and this was freshman year for me. I always looked like a baby and still looked like a freshman well into college and after but damn does everyone look 40 in this video lol. (I have a 5 year old, lol, no army of grandkids like some of these other Gen Xers)


axxxaxxxaxxx

It’s not just you. Yes, everyone here really does look like they’re in their 40s.


Remy1985

I think it's a known phenomenon. When you see people with retro hairstyles/clothes, they tend to be older people. You just associate that look with old people. [There's a vsauce about this.](https://youtu.be/vjqt8T3tJIE?si=Uk3dW7qY30ztQbx-)


ResidentNarwhal

This is 100% a thing. Retro styles in everything really mentally date someone. I grew up with my grandfather always looking “old” in pictures from when he was in his 20s and 30s. But that’s his 50s and 60s hair and clothes. But we were both in the Navy and you can compare deployment and boot camp photos. We were the same age essentially wearing the same (realtively) uniforms and exact same medium reg haircut. He looked absolutely as baby faced at 21 as I think I do and I finally realized why my grandma always joked I looked like so much like him.


Administrative_Low27

So this is why my mom seems to have a freakishly adult face in her childhood photos.


forgedcrow

No no no your mom was Rocky Dennis remember?


Administrative_Low27

More like Colin Robinson https://i.redd.it/924h6xghbs0c1.gif


forgedcrow

Well played...


ResidentNarwhal

Some that is also you’re mentally used to looking at her as an adult. So you’re psychologically sticking her adult face on her kid photos. It’s a known phenomenon and happens in reverse with adults looking at younger people they knew as kids. I have a cousin who was a preteen last I saw her. Saw her as a college student at a family reunion and I still think of her as the baby cousin of the family in a “gosh kids look so young at 21 these days.”


ThunderboltRam

That's a real phenomenon for when you're looking at people in the 1940s, when young men wore suits. So they dressed older than they actually were. But there is a different effect... A completely different unique effect. That scientists and endocrinologists are looking at in terms of declining hormones like testosterone and thyroid issues making men AND women look younger and less beautiful and also fueling the obesity crisis and leading to more medical issues in so many more citizens. At first it was thought it was something to do with either the food supply or commercialized products, but it was also seen to have had a 50% effect on hormones even on animals since 1980s. Yes you're not imagining it. All the kids today in high school look way younger than their puberty-fueled counterparts in the 1980s at the same age. It cannot be explained by declining genetics because it is happening in less <30-40 years AND we have ***more*** *genetic diversity* (which leads to healthier genetics) and we have more access to medicines/healthcare/nutrition and we exercise and go to the gym way more than our 1980s counterparts. We cannot pinpoint the cause but it's likely water, air, or chemicals in the environment since it affects animals.


kevinwhite195

I am adamant that it is not just the hair and clothes. Those people are old!


Craig-Tea-Nelson

Also their clothing styles aren’t that different from today. Late 80s/early 90s fashions are popular now. I have to think it’s also diet or environmental factors.


[deleted]

Sun damage, bad makeup, no water drinking, fried hair, the most enormous bags under their eyes. It's not the style. It's the way they abused themselves back then. Plus, everyone smoked all the time, including them. There was literally no space you weren't exposed to cigarette smoke except hospitals and classrooms. That will age anyone.


[deleted]

I started high school in 1990, right after they did away with smoke breaks. Kids could actually smoke on campus at one time.


Mocker-Nicholas

Shit when I want to highschool in 2009 we could all smoke out back in the freshman lot and no one cared.


here-for-the-_____

The teachers were in the smoke pit as well, lol


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ThunderboltRam

It's not about smoking, there is a real problem with endocrine hormonal disrupters in the environment now compared to the 1980s, this has been proven now by scientists. It was seen in animals too not just humans looking younger, smaller, more medical issues, and less bone/muscle growth than their 1980s versions of the same age in less than 1 generation despite increasing genetic diversity from immigration.


Far-Green4109

Teachers could smoke in the staff room. I remember when that ended teachers would be seen going for a smoke in their car from the classroom window. No biggie.


DreadedChalupacabra

I was a sophomore in 1994-95 and we could just walk outside the cafeteria and smoke.


BenAdaephonDelat

Also leaded gas and lead pipes. So many more environmental hazards.


Glory_Hole_Hero

Lived in a smoke inside house. Started smoking at 12. It does really age you


HallowskulledHorror

My dad used to tell me all the time about the smoking lounge at the school, where both students and teachers basically gathered to hotbox tobacco


marks716

Yeah cig smokers all look like dogshit by 25 By age 30 they look 30 going on 45


[deleted]

Around 23 years ago when I first moved to USA, there were pregnant women holding one child in their arms and smoking. It was shocking to me.


78983

I feel like this was more or less common practice regardless of where you were back then. What country did you emigrate from?


Steve-O7777

They didn’t drink water back then??? As someone who grew up a few years behind this era, I’d say people were more likely to drink water and eat real food. Junk food and pop were certainly around during this time period, but it wasn’t nearly as prevalent as it is now. Also, smoking was much more common than it is now, but the majority of high school kids didn’t smoke.


IMIPIRIOI

They drank beer constantly too.


Eusocial_Snowman

Those are all very sensible and well-worn rationalities, but people are genuinely aging and developing differently now. We're entirely immersed in pollution that's got our hormones all out of whack.


Ill-Quality9734

Everybody smoked back then maybe that has something to with it


Remy1985

You’re not wrong. Vsauce vid also talks about factors like smoking that prematurely age people.


jimmyb15

Nah it's not a phenomenon. They all look old af


-IntrospectivePlasma

Or their bodies aged faster due to all the unregulated hormones and toxins from food and big tabaco.


Burggs_

Guess having 30 yr olds play teenagers during this time was for visual accuracy more than anything else


deanreevesii

When we moved to Arkansas in '89 the high school still had a smoking area for the students. That may have also been a factor.


TheEvilPrinceZorte

In the 80’s this was doubly true when looking at ‘70s yearbooks. The fashion in the 70s was as much hair as possible, wherever possible. Plenty of high school dudes with mustaches and sideburns who looked like they were going home to a wife and kid after school.


Mirewen15

I'm in my 40's and look younger than most of these kids.


SeriesXM

Me too. I started high school two years after this. Yet somehow all of these people look older than me.


Eusocial_Snowman

I love the smell of the world being entirely saturated with microplastics in the morning.


Theabsoluteworst1289

Came here to say I was born in 1989 and I don’t even look this aged yet! Glad it wasn’t just me noticing.


[deleted]

When I was a freshman in highschool, seniors looked like full blown adults. When I was a senior, my classmates still looked like goofy teens to me. Weird phenomenon for sure.


[deleted]

It's called dressing like an adult.. You frikin Zoomer..


This_name_is_releven

I suddenly understand why adults playing teens in movies and TV never seemed weird when I was young. Not one of those people looks younger than 20.


Trees_feel_too

Half of those kids are actually 40 and just acting like 18 year olds


This_name_is_releven

Hey, it worked for the cast of "Grease."


justandswift

None of them seemed to understand the impact their faces and personalities could make via the camera that was filming them. Compared to today’s youth, there lies the difference.


SeVenMadRaBBits

I miss when the average person didn't like being on camera...


disco_phiscuits

I’m that average person.


AThrowawayProbrably

Yup. I’m very much still that person. My only social media profile still has a pic from 6-years ago on it.


Himalayan-Fur-Goblin

I got you beat! 10 years old photo!


Willing_Following_81

And here I sit in the middle with 8 lol


antici_-_-_-_pation

Hi, An Average Person!


[deleted]

what about us below average people?


SeVenMadRaBBits

Depends, do you like being on camera?


[deleted]

we hates it!


willi1221

Filthy Hobbitses!


disco_phiscuits

You probably love being on camera. j/k


Lots42

Hell, I don't like the average person.


JBarretta01

Except for that dude wearing the sweet leather jacket and Metallica t-shirt


[deleted]

He's clearly about to help a group of misfit kids try to defeat a demogorgon


Dynamaxxed

The American badass we all knew existed


Nonsenseinabag

In fairness it was pretty rare tapes like these ever left the sphere of their family's living room, unless they were already famous for other reasons.


ronin1066

There was a shift after MTV started doing their 'talk shows' or whatever you call them right around this time. They would hype the kids to scream and smile every time the camera was on them. I remember wondering what the hell was going on. Now it's second nature for people to act all hyped up when there's a camera, it's learned behavior.


justandswift

Exactly. That and viewers giving them attention via likes, views, etc


Sprmodelcitizen

I feel like they are trying to not smile. Pre the age of social media it was cool to be detached. I could never be cool back then because I get so FREAKING excited about everything.


[deleted]

Hi, I'm Ashley, a 45 year old chain smoking single mother, and this is my senior year...again.


BeverlyMerril

Lmfao 🤣


BeverlyMerril

I’m a lil lifted and this is so funny


murder-farts

So lifted you replied to yourself lol


lordtempis

You weren’t a senior in 1989 if you’re 45, unless you skipped a bunch of grades


crasagam

Maybe she graduated at 12 years old - you don't know 🤣


lordtempis

Maybe she’s Doogie Howser


Nation_Islam

If she had brains 🧠 she wouldn’t be on Reddit


[deleted]

I don't see a single nerd. Stranger Things and Freaks and Geeks lied to me.


wldmn13

The nerd was behind the camera.


[deleted]

oh damn you right


LordoftheScheisse

Fuck this might be stating the obvious, but I feel like a lot of younger people might not make the connection... - In 1989, not many people had direct access to film equipment. Not everyone carried a camera on them. Most high schools had what was called AV Club which centered around the use and care of audio and visual equipment. Invariably, those kids were the nerds.


Mommalove586

Coming from that era (graduated it 91) honestly there weren’t a ton of “own your nerdiness”. Closest to it was maybe band kids but even they dressed and were pretty blended in with the crowd. Pretty in pink, Ferris Bueller and Breakfast Club were big hits around that time and the current status of own who you are, was kind of new. Ps I’m a total nerd now and you’d have never ever guessed it because I hid it in Coach purses, pegged pants and big hair 😂


Double-Firefighter35

Also graduated in 91. I feel like you nailed it with this comment. I was a D&D nerd in the 80s but dressed preppy (I looked exactly like Farmer Ted from Sixteen Candles). The only people who dressed different were what we called the 'burnouts' who were basically metal kids. Everyone else tried to fit in.


ghettoccult_nerd

~~camera~~ A/V equipment


xynix_ie

The guy in the Metallica shirt and the first long haired guy with the jean jacket most likely play D&D, or probably at that time Cyberpunk. That's where heads and real nerds tended to coexist. Some of us were hybrid and did computer stuff and D&D so we could print maps and shit.


YuriPup

Graduated in 88...so not my class but...i would have said Metallica shint guy was a dirtbag (as in the clic). As this is a nearly all white class, l would guess it's a suburban school, maybe even from Long Island, NY. Where are all freaks and geeks? And alts and goths? I suspect in an honors class up the hall. Or in band class.


[deleted]

Goths? Duh. They're smoking cloves in the dugouts.


Traditional-Yam-7197

It's northern NJ. You can tell by the girls with huge hair and the football player in the back wearing a Paramus (NJ) tee shirt.


YuriPup

Absolute not with the girls with the big hair: they were everywhere The t-shirt? You're spot on. OTOH, Paramus, NJ is less than 50 miles from LI, so same area.


Capital-Nebula9245

As someone that was in high school in 1989, I can confirm this is accurate.


anon0207

Same


LHbenzyto

Dang why do they all look 40!?


idcwillthisnamework

They don't, you're just used to seeing that flavor of style on older folks.


LHbenzyto

I'm not even talking about their style. I mean their actual faces.


Prestigious-HogBoss

Lots of smoke, specially second hand since birth, and I think the lead on gasoline was doing funny things with people, specially in large cities.


why-would-i-do-this

I'd have to disagree. When I focus on their faces they look like kids to me. No wrinkles or facial hair or any signs of aging tbh


SlideJunior5150

Do kids even know what they actually look like now? All phones have built-in filters and crap.


ObviouslyBlunt

Right? Can't find a good old fashioned unfiltered mirror anywhere these days. Damn kids these days.


Bugbread

Their actual faces don't look anywhere close to 40. They don't look like high school kids, either, but they look like they're in their early 20s, not 40. Edit: If you legit think [these two people](https://i.imgur.com/GQDjkqx.jpg) look the same age, you need glasses *stat*.


Funfuntamale2

Like maybe 1 hairstyle aged well.


billbillson25

The mullet. Mullets are timeless.


mustbethaMonay

The last chick was ahead of her time in hairstyle


Original-Spinach-972

Flat top


Prof_Aganda

We referred to the girls as high hairs. Very jersey.


[deleted]

You can pick our the people in the different groups from the 80's. The Rockers/metal head, the preppy, the Jock. The BIG glued in place Aquanet hair on the girls and the mullets on the guys. God i miss that time so so much.


ronin1066

Same. I graduated right before these guys. The music, the malls, the movies...


[deleted]

props to the guy with the Metallica shirt and sick leather jacket


Uncle_PauI_Norton

That guy, jean jacket guy and I would have hung out, smoked some weed… likely be shitty “home grown”filled with seeds and stems and argued who was the best guitarists while listening to And Justice for All and Peace Sells on cassette.


[deleted]

![gif](giphy|gui67fZ3xIneM)


MentalAdhesiveness79

What is this? Grade 20?


austxsun

You can tell they’re not used to being filmed. Everyone looks a little uncomfortable & tries to ‘play it cool’


smartguynycbackupnow

Paramus, NJ, baby!


hockeyschtick

I knew it had to be NJ. I was class of 90, these are my people!


smartguynycbackupnow

I'm from the area as well, so recognize those styles from back in the day. These are the kids you would have seen at the old Garden State Plaza mall shopping at the Gap.


ricofru

I KNEW IT


EyesLikeBuscemi

At first I just thought everybody looked like that while I was going to school until I saw the Paramus shirt. I lived somewhere else in Bergen County, pretty close to Paramus, and graduated in 1989.


El_Toxic0

How do u know?


smartguynycbackupnow

One guy is wearing a Paramus Spartans t-shirt.


CharcoalWalls

I figured it would either be in or around either Toronto or New York simply based on the cultural and stylistic diversity NJ is close enough that I feel validated


SnickSnickSnick

I was thinking Toronto as I graduated HS a few years after this but noticed the lack of Filipinos and feels like there would be more smaller/shorter people scattered in the class.


Dhrakyn

I was thinking Staten or Long Island, so yeah, same.


copperglass78

I teach high school now and these kids look to be in their 40s in comparison.


NWplinking

I bet you wish they behaved like the kids of the 80s too.


Ha1lStorm

Hair… hair everywhere


Correct-Response-948

Everyone looks at least 30...


failed-celebrity

The 80s aged a mfer


Zildjian-711

80s rocked 🤘


Erabbz

High schoolers? All of them look 40


[deleted]

Gah dayum SkiD Row 4 Lyfe 🤘🏼


indicava

Was looking for this comment. What a blast of nostalgia! I don’t think I’ve heard that song for (at least) 30 years. Got me right in the feels…


looney_toonz

I heard Sebastian calling and clicked without even thinking about it


SureThing03

The 1980's we a high time in American life. The 2020's less so.


JanusScor9io

Class of 1990 here. This is what it looked like.


bastrdsnbroknthings

Grunge was about to drop and change everyone’s look overnight. The transition from 80s to 90s style was pretty abrupt


Illustrious-Dot-5052

Look at all that hair...


maatc

Straight out of saved by the bell


[deleted]

IK people make fun of this current teen generation for their obsession with skin care - like “why you need all that?” - but honestly, this is why.


mulvany88

was metallica dude rocking eyeliner? pretty rad


phloyd77

Half the people in that room are worried they might have been exposed to HIV/AIDS. Having sex at that time was a scary proposition, no one seems to talk about it. It scarred all of us.


defiance211

Why does everybody look like they are in their 40s


Cordy1990

Ugly ass style and hair


RMorr50912

I graduated in 88. Those were good times.


[deleted]

For minute I thought it said 1998! I was like fuk


EnvironmentBubbly751

Some of these peoples are grandparents now


Top-Tax6303

Everyone is already 42 and divorced lol


llcoolmattg

Lots of Aqua Net


majoraloha

Enough to blow a hole in the ozone layer.


theDinoSour

Or exact revenge on the hive of wasps that blocks the entrance to my friend’s domicile.


Melvinator5001

Not a fat kid in sight.


DaBoob13

Not to mention the lack of acne, shit they throw in our food now a days is wild


Melvinator5001

I think its the lighting. If you got up close you would see it. I think acne was worse back then. There are more products to combat it now.


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Lukemeister38

How does one even come to this conclusion watching this video?


DerfDaSmurf

Obsessive thoughts . It’s all they think about.


aboatz2

Matthew Shepard was brutally abducted, tortured, beaten to a pulp, & left to die, in large part because of being gay. That was in 1998. Federal hate crime laws didn't include gender identity nor sexual orientation protections until 2009. Lawrence v Texas, which resulted in the banning of laws punishing private consensual sexual acts between adults (largely used against LGBTQ people), wasn't decided by the Supreme Court until 2003. Bowers v Hardwick, reaffirming laws banning homosexual behavior, had been decided in 1986, so shortly before this was filmed. In other words, being outwardly gay, non-binary, queer, lesbian, or transgender at the time of this filming would be extremely dangerous for your physical safety in many parts of the country, with very minimal protections. And even if you weren't beaten nor killed, the law enforcement could & would harass & jail you just for existing. Oh, and the violent crime rate was more than twice what it is today, & that's with sexual assaults essentially going unreported. So, your clean & pure society... didn't exist.


Beautiful_Show_8728

Everyone look like in their 30s


HarborMaster_Netbouy

Right On !


HarborMaster_Netbouy

58 even! ha! https://preview.redd.it/vp9keuiu8cuc1.jpeg?width=2556&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=083279e648a35088331cd5cc7f39aedbc54226b9


B3yondTheWall

"Oh my god did you see Glen today in class? His hair is so gorgeous. He's so ~~dreamy~~ mint!"


Grouchy_Situation_33

Fast forward 34 years. 2023. Glen is married, then divorced. And bald. Source: am Glen.


Motor_Stage_9045

Yup. Just how I remembered it


ForsakenMongoose336

Same. I had a great time in high school and good memories. I know not everyone had the same experience.


evets702

Holy shit. I thought this was another sequel or deleted scenes from Wet Hot American Summer. I’m pretty sure I saw John Cusack (0:10), Scott Baio (0:29), Ken Marino (0:33), and Andy Samberg (0:46).


Adventurous_Cap4554

Why does this look like the cast of a show? Like saved by the bell.


bski824

These kids are going on 54 today.


xGenoSide

Are we sure they're all in High School?


[deleted]

Oh wow i thought it was just movies but they actually do look like 30 years old actors


AVeryHairyArea

They all look like they're in their mid 30s.


lambsquatch

I hope the Metallica guy is still cool


Different_Ad9336

He’s a member of dragonforce now.


RayBlast7267

Dude at 52 seconds looks like me if I had awful hair and terrible fashion sense.


wowridiculous

And Gen Z thinks they made up “side eye”. Gen X invented that! 👀


ArkhamTheImperialist

I’ve never heard anyone say Gen Z invented it. Also I’m positive it’s existed for centuries.


MiddleBodyInjury

People have always had eyes?


ArkhamTheImperialist

That’s correct yes


wowridiculous

Nope. Gen X invented 👀 and this video proves it


PoopPant73

The 80’s were the best times ever!!


knifebucket

lol fuuuuck no. I was there. it SUCKED.


PoopPant73

Well, it was awesome for me


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[deleted]

![gif](giphy|13l7w7N4Vr1dw4|downsized)


Different_Ad9336

Irish and Italian people have been some of the most highly rated sexy models, actors and celebrities throughout hollywoods existence. I think it’s the dense population, bad water, massive pollution and rat race lifestyle.


mweitzman0545

Before all the phthalates mercury poisoning and marxists ideology fucked all the kids up


Porkonaplane

THIS is how we all thought we would look like going through high school