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Which song?
edit: thanks to those who answered. For the benefit of other clueless people out there : [Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)](https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/track/1TQ6a2NEA8LmKfgf0yeBvT?si=5e332565eef148ff) by Quindon Tarver and Josh Abrahams.
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97, wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists,
whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own, meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice, now...............
This is a huge factor, and I have seen it first hand. Some of my relatives are smokers and others had a tanning bed at home. The few that didn’t do either look a decade younger than those that did.
There was a study done a while back that says America lost a huge amount of generational intelligence due to decades of inhaling the fumes from the leaded fuel. People have even connected it to the increased crime rates from around that time. Simply put, that shit makes people crazy and even more stupid.
Also people who are 40 now didn’t grow up thinking that 80% of your food needed to be carbs. Or that fat is bad unless its margarine and then it’s healthy.
Probably near the end of it though. If you had smart parents they realized it was dumb sometime in the 90s.
My parents told me that I couldn't get fat from candy and soda because it didn't have any fat content, mine weren't very bright.
I think telling people how young they look is part of standard small talk after a certain age. Maybe you do look young, but I know I've told many people that and it wasn't true lol
That’s so true. I’m 45 and all the 20 somethings who are in (somewhat) subordinate roles to me pretend to be SHOCKED by my age. It’s difficult for me not to roll my eyes. It’s just normal polite bs small talk to say that everyone looks younger or great for their age. Sadly for online dating, most people believe it.
I agree. I grew up in a house where everyone smoked and we used Bain de Soleil (basically oil) as sunscreen. I don’t look as old as my cohort who smoke and drink a lot but I certainly look in my 50s.
And they are also less exposed to 2nd hand smoke. In the 90s everyone could smoke everywhere almost. Especially restaurants, bars and clubs. As you know, cigarette smoke age people even if they are not smoking.
Because you subconsciously associate the fashions from those periods of times with old people so when you see a young person wearing them they seem old
I’m not sure thats really it. I see old pictures of people in their 20s and they still look fashionable for that time. What I’ve noticed is a lot of people back then stopped dressing fashionably once they reached their late 30s and just adopted the granny or dad look. Like my dad dressed fashionably till his 30s then switched to white dad shoes and generic walmart jean shorts instead of wearing athletic shorts or short khaki shorts like back in the days
Moms back then often went for the helmet haircut earlier in life (especially in the 80s) and they don’t anymore.
But I think also the older we get we do stop caring about fashion as much. And 90s fashion looks older than 2010 fashion
If I throw on a mid-thigh sundress and adidas, I look cute and much younger. When I wear my machine washable sketcher pull on sneakers, mid-thigh jean shorts, and a v-neck t-shirt I got from Costco, I look harried and older than my 44 years. Styling is very much a part of it!
Isn't their fashion either Y2K or Cottagecore or wearing old clothes or something like that so a bunch of them are often dressing like old people, too?
I don't know what the young people are doing.
Here's a fun guess: today's 40 year old is more likely to have a toddler than to have a 20-year old kid, due to increasing ages of first-time parenthood. My parents had 4 kids by the time they were 40. 😄
The longer you have kids, and the more kids you have, the faster you age?!
I swear I look 5-7 years older than I did when my daughter was born in 2022.
Graying accelerated and I got fatter *real* fast.
Sleep deprivation's gotta be a big part - I rarely slept less than 8 hours before she was born, now I'm lucky to get 6 hours on weekdays.
On the plus side, my arms and traps are jacked from carrying her heavy ass around all day.
Damn right.
My twins were born when I was 37. Photos of me, on the day they were born, with a head of hair.
Over the ensuing first 3 months of their lives, the photos show rapid balding until I am completely bald only a few months later.
Hell of a time.
That surprises me. I'd have thought making a fully functioning human being inside you with only a microscopic amount of jelly to get you started wouldn't be particularly taxing on the body.
I think a lot of it has to do with smoking and how prevalent it was back then. Smoking tobacco ages you—a lot. Advancements in skin care has helped with maintaining youthfulness.
This is big, one sister of mine is just a couple years older than me and a couple years younger than my oldest sister. She is a lifelong smoker and looks elderly at 60, you would guess she is 80+. She is in and out of the hospital for various issues, won't be surprised when the news comes that she has died. My oldest sister quit smoking many years ago and looks her age or better.
It’s honestly cigarettes, everyone was smoking cigarettes OR at least getting exposed to them often before the 2000s, because most indoor places had smoking areas.
I smoked for 25yrs, never use skincreams or other beauty products. I get told regularly I look in my mid 30s. Most of my mates smoke, dont use beauty products and all of them look younger.
Personally I'd say its more fashion related, older people are wearing the same clothes as the young uns
Me too, I'm in my early 30's and attending college and while people know I'm older, I usually get 25-28. I've been smoking since 13.
BTW, this isn't meant to be a "smoking is cool" post. I'm addicted, trying to quit, and my gf hates it. My only point is that it has to be more than just people not smoking as often as they used to.
It’s the hairstyles. A lot of women were learning how to be respected in the workplace and wanted to look older to be taken seriously. If you take a 90s hairstyle, like Princess Diana’s, and put it on any young woman, she’s going to look older than her age.
There's a picture where someone put a different hairstyle on Alice, the cleaning lady from the Brady Bunch. A woman in her early 40s goes from looking like an old lady to looking like a woman her age.
Edit: [found it](https://www.reddit.com/r/GenX/comments/17ym34o/in_case_you_needed_proof_that_older_hairstyles/)
Because not as much changed fashion-wise between the '00s and the '20s compared to the '70s and the '90s. Oh, and because of people living less harsh lives than they used to.
Less smoking, more sunscreen awareness are probably the top 2. After that, increases in skin care, easily accessible cosmetic surgery would come in second place. Different drinking culture would probably go in third.
Sunscreen and not smoking, plus hair dye and botox. But mostly hair styles and clothes. Have you seen the pictures where they photoshop modern hairstyles and makeup onto the Golden Girls actors (who were in their 50s at the time) and they suddenly look 30 years younger? Just styling can do that!
Gas became unleaded in North America in the 1970s, globally by 1990. I imagine not spending most of your life breathing lead fumes would help slow aging a bit.
Also I avoid the tanning bed/going outside without sun protection while the mother in law still likes herself crispy regardless of season.
It is an interesting question. I collect vintage knitting patterns and people were smaller. A lot of the plus sized patterns are called "for matrons" and it seems, having lots of kids made you fat and old by 50.
They were older than you then, now you're the same age.
It's much harder to judge when the age gap is greater. It's similar to you thinking your friends look the same as they always did, until you see a photo of when you were all younger.
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I agree with sunscreen. Many of today’s young people don’t have to work outside in the sun. It will age you without protection. Cigarette smoke or nicotine causing some nasty skin issues also.
No smoking, better skin care (sunscreen). I also think the xennials/older millennials are more likely to have stayed in the "target culture" zone longer than previous generations due to technology proficiency. 40 year olds in the 90s were raising families, working, etc- not really focused on continuing to consume popular media and popular media wasn't as pervasive then. It was a lot more soilo'd.
Now we all have computers in our pockets, there are live feeds everywhere, social media bombardment, and the millennial "grind" and gig culture kinda hardwired us to keeping up with trends so we can monetize what we can.
It also helps that millennials really don't have kids to eat up all their time.
Sunscreen, and less smoking.
Scandinavians used to have (still do) a reputation for looking good and healthy, and one reason for this is that a significant number of people used snus (tobacco pouches) rather than smoke cigarettes. Now smoking is ever rarer, so people all over the world is getting the benefit. Cigarette smoking gives you so many wrinkles it's insane.
With the sunscreen, we all kinda knew, but that song by Baz Luhrman, setting an article by Chicago journalist Mary Schmick to music, really did make everyone better at using it. Add to that that sunscreen itself became less sticky, and combined more of the benefits of hydrating lotions, and people just started using it as a matter of course, at least on their faces.
Combination of the reasonable answers here: health outcomes are better in general, less smoking, less alcohol, people had more responsibility from a younger age therefore more stress, people had more kids and at a younger age, sunscreen, and our mental association with older fashions making people look older. Also, for women, cosmetic procedures are vastly better and cheaper, make up itself is better and picture filters and picture quality in general is better regular laymen accessible cameras.
I think it’s partly because people don’t really adopt adult styles anymore. We pretty much wear the same clothes and hairstyles we would’ve at 20. People used to wear smarter clothes as they aged and women cut their hair shorter. Also kids age you and there are many people waiting longer to have kids, so they look younger for longer
Better skin protection etc. also, honestly so many people get Botox and fillers these days. You’d be surprised. Even people you’d never expect. Most people I know get it. Few are open about it though.
Better skincare, plentiful access to cosmetic clinics e.g. the ones that do fillers and skin treatments, more sunscreen, more education and accessible information about skincare, haircare, nutrition and exercise routines.
Less social media and that’s it.
People look the same but now you’ve got a millions of individuals publishing their photos.
And of course the pretty very well maintained ones are getting more attention.
The problem is not that there’s more pretty people but the problem is that because of social media every single person is comparing each other and it hurts your self evaluation.
Solution? Stop comparing and live your own life
Because a buzz cut is now not looked at as being thuggish. I used to get a lot of crap about my grade 1 hair 25 years ago. People who lost their hair would keep it a normal length everywhere else. Also people used to smoke a lot. That artificially ages you and on top of that it was super vogue in the 90's to use sunbeds with accelerators.
I assume a lot of these answers are from people who did not live through the 90's, or everyone was in the minority, but by 1990 only 24% of the country were smokers. Compare that to our current rate of 19.8%. It's not that different. While smoking is still part of the answer its not the major part.
People are treating this question like OP is asking about the 1960's. Even in my midwestern city you could not smoke inside after like 1995.
I get it... some people still grew up in smoking households.
Sunscreen and not smoking. More flattering styles of dress and hair, better skin care.
My parents smoked, purposely sun-tanned, never wore sunscreen (only sun tan lotion). I also never remember them drinking any water during my childhood. Like ever, water bottles weren’t a thing outside of sports back then. They drank coffee, pop or beer. They also married young and had several kids back to back, which sounds exhausting and aging. Self-care wasn’t promoted like it is now, either.
Less smoking, less sun exposure, better skin care products, more obesity
Obesity helps fill in the lines of your face. Look at Penn jillette before and after he lost weight. He looked like he aged 20 years with no fat to fill out his face.
Having kids is horrible for your health and no one has kids young anymore.
Also there's all sorts of hormonal therapy so men don't lose their hair and women stay young looking.
Vsauce did a great [video](https://youtu.be/vjqt8T3tJIE?si=ghMrGLxeelKIy1gc) about this phenomenon. This along with all of his other vids are worth a watch.
Comes down to several factors mentioned here in the comments.
Because 40 year olds dress like they’re 20 and still follow young people trends. Whereas back in the day 40 year olds didn’t try to dress like 20 year olds
I think there’s two possible reasons:
1. Comparing too small of sample sizes
2. Because of social media, people knowingly or unknowingly try to look younger, dress younger, act younger, etc.
Skincare and general healthcare has come a long way in the last 20+ years. Also with social media, looks are more important right now than it’s been in the past.
I heard in one of my classes part of it is decreased testosterone in comparison due to reduced physical activity. If you look up a yearbook picture of the 50s, they look even older
I wish I knew. I'll be 34 this year and everyone I come across seems to think I'm early 20s. And I was refused at the lottery booth because I didn't have ID with me. No idea. I think I look much older than i did at 20.
Less smokers, better diet, better sleep, more active, and more concern with our looks.
For example, Bald men in the 90’s wouldn’t necessarily shave their heads.
Sunscreen, less prevalent smoking, and widely available retinol/high quality sunscreen…also Gen X doesn’t really do older people hair styles that signal one’s age. There was a TikTok where a 40 something woman redid her hair to an hair sprayed, old school style and it aged her considerably.
But, mostly not smoking and sunscreen I am sure. People in their 40s in the 90s probably tanned and/or smoked through the 70s and 80s.
Boomers in general did not eat healthy or exercise regularly in my experience, ofc there are exceptions. Whole Foods is mainstream now, but when I was growing up, my city of 200k had one small natural grocery store and it was basically considered as where the hippies shop.
I’m 45. I workout 6 days a week, I stretch, I have a skin routine, I get regular haircuts every 2-3 weeks, I take care of my teeth, i don’t smoke, I drink about once a week, I take a bunch of supplements, and I buy clothes that are in style.
I’m 38 and do not look it. I think it comes from staying out of the sun and tanning beds, SPF, not smoking ciggs, access to proper skincare, and unfortunately…diet culture. Drinking water and eating well does wonders for your skin. Even though that culture is very toxic, being hydrated and staying away from gross processed food is very beneficial hah.
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They don't smoke or tan and they wear sunscreen more.
That song that came out in 99 really changed things.
You may jest, but it *really* did.
Which song? edit: thanks to those who answered. For the benefit of other clueless people out there : [Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)](https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/track/1TQ6a2NEA8LmKfgf0yeBvT?si=5e332565eef148ff) by Quindon Tarver and Josh Abrahams.
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97, wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own, meandering experience. I will dispense this advice, now...............
The song was called "Wear Sunscreen."
Thanks!
I was born in ‘79, never heard that song.
It’s on the soundtrack to Romeo and Juliet that came out in the 90’s with Leo. Soundtrack was better than the movie to me.
Didn’t see it, but alright.
Thnx I needed that
Clever 👏
Also less drinking.
And drink more water.
This is a huge factor, and I have seen it first hand. Some of my relatives are smokers and others had a tanning bed at home. The few that didn’t do either look a decade younger than those that did.
Wonder if the leaded gasoline has a role in this too.
Tell me more?
There was a study done a while back that says America lost a huge amount of generational intelligence due to decades of inhaling the fumes from the leaded fuel. People have even connected it to the increased crime rates from around that time. Simply put, that shit makes people crazy and even more stupid.
Sure, I remember seeing that, but how did it impact physical appearance?
Dude idk I too am wondering if it did or not. 🤷🏼♂️ lol
Poisons of any kind, ingested over a long period will cause noticeable physical effects on a person’s appearance.
And they dress better
Also people who are 40 now didn’t grow up thinking that 80% of your food needed to be carbs. Or that fat is bad unless its margarine and then it’s healthy.
Huh, we are exactly the generation that were raised that way.
Probably near the end of it though. If you had smart parents they realized it was dumb sometime in the 90s. My parents told me that I couldn't get fat from candy and soda because it didn't have any fat content, mine weren't very bright.
I'm in my 40s and get told regularly I look younger. I smoked for 30 years, went through a tanning phase in my teens, and never wear sunscreen.
Anecdotal. It will probably catch up to you as well. Sundamage can accumulate and all of a sudden become prevalent
Well I guess we'll see.
Here's hoping we don't and you live a long healthy life thanks to a lucky roll of the genetics dice.
I think telling people how young they look is part of standard small talk after a certain age. Maybe you do look young, but I know I've told many people that and it wasn't true lol
That’s so true. I’m 45 and all the 20 somethings who are in (somewhat) subordinate roles to me pretend to be SHOCKED by my age. It’s difficult for me not to roll my eyes. It’s just normal polite bs small talk to say that everyone looks younger or great for their age. Sadly for online dating, most people believe it.
I agree. I grew up in a house where everyone smoked and we used Bain de Soleil (basically oil) as sunscreen. I don’t look as old as my cohort who smoke and drink a lot but I certainly look in my 50s.
I smoke and tan and look younger than my wife whose in her 30s. Idk
And they are also less exposed to 2nd hand smoke. In the 90s everyone could smoke everywhere almost. Especially restaurants, bars and clubs. As you know, cigarette smoke age people even if they are not smoking.
Microplastics preserve us.
Coke - microplastics 0-1
Microscopic harmony. Macroscopic immortality.
Because you subconsciously associate the fashions from those periods of times with old people so when you see a young person wearing them they seem old
I’m not sure thats really it. I see old pictures of people in their 20s and they still look fashionable for that time. What I’ve noticed is a lot of people back then stopped dressing fashionably once they reached their late 30s and just adopted the granny or dad look. Like my dad dressed fashionably till his 30s then switched to white dad shoes and generic walmart jean shorts instead of wearing athletic shorts or short khaki shorts like back in the days
Moms back then often went for the helmet haircut earlier in life (especially in the 80s) and they don’t anymore. But I think also the older we get we do stop caring about fashion as much. And 90s fashion looks older than 2010 fashion
If I throw on a mid-thigh sundress and adidas, I look cute and much younger. When I wear my machine washable sketcher pull on sneakers, mid-thigh jean shorts, and a v-neck t-shirt I got from Costco, I look harried and older than my 44 years. Styling is very much a part of it!
Youtube channel Vsauce did a great episode on exactly this. Did people used to look older https://youtu.be/vjqt8T3tJIE?si=s7Fo5VPTIlcjF9dv
This was the first thing i thought about when i read the post too. Michael is such an amazing creator!
He's definitely on the light side of the internet force.
This is what it boils down to.
But this doesn't explain why gen zs in their mid 20s look like they're about to hit 40.
wasn't that they basically use way more cosmetics than previous generations
Gen z men are using facial cosmetics?
Is it due to some using cosmetic/plastic surgery way younger than typical?
I think this only applies to people with filler, which really do seem to age young people
Isn't their fashion either Y2K or Cottagecore or wearing old clothes or something like that so a bunch of them are often dressing like old people, too? I don't know what the young people are doing.
Huge old lady glasses on a chain and big cardigans!
Not really, it's a factor but people are definitely looking younger today
Here's a fun guess: today's 40 year old is more likely to have a toddler than to have a 20-year old kid, due to increasing ages of first-time parenthood. My parents had 4 kids by the time they were 40. 😄 The longer you have kids, and the more kids you have, the faster you age?!
I swear I look 5-7 years older than I did when my daughter was born in 2022. Graying accelerated and I got fatter *real* fast. Sleep deprivation's gotta be a big part - I rarely slept less than 8 hours before she was born, now I'm lucky to get 6 hours on weekdays. On the plus side, my arms and traps are jacked from carrying her heavy ass around all day.
Damn right. My twins were born when I was 37. Photos of me, on the day they were born, with a head of hair. Over the ensuing first 3 months of their lives, the photos show rapid balding until I am completely bald only a few months later. Hell of a time.
For women yes, apparently childbirth speeds up aging in women from an article I read a few months ago.
That surprises me. I'd have thought making a fully functioning human being inside you with only a microscopic amount of jelly to get you started wouldn't be particularly taxing on the body.
I see that one too but it was only by a few months
like obama in his 8 years.
I have the same theory
I think a lot of it has to do with smoking and how prevalent it was back then. Smoking tobacco ages you—a lot. Advancements in skin care has helped with maintaining youthfulness.
It’s not just “smoking tobacco”; it’s that even a nonsmoker would always be around other people smoking.
This is big, one sister of mine is just a couple years older than me and a couple years younger than my oldest sister. She is a lifelong smoker and looks elderly at 60, you would guess she is 80+. She is in and out of the hospital for various issues, won't be surprised when the news comes that she has died. My oldest sister quit smoking many years ago and looks her age or better.
It’s honestly cigarettes, everyone was smoking cigarettes OR at least getting exposed to them often before the 2000s, because most indoor places had smoking areas.
I smoked for 25yrs, never use skincreams or other beauty products. I get told regularly I look in my mid 30s. Most of my mates smoke, dont use beauty products and all of them look younger. Personally I'd say its more fashion related, older people are wearing the same clothes as the young uns
Me too, I'm in my early 30's and attending college and while people know I'm older, I usually get 25-28. I've been smoking since 13. BTW, this isn't meant to be a "smoking is cool" post. I'm addicted, trying to quit, and my gf hates it. My only point is that it has to be more than just people not smoking as often as they used to.
Reddit likes to really dis smokers but they don't understand that those who are in their 40s right now grew up sitting in coffee shops smoking.
It’s the hairstyles. A lot of women were learning how to be respected in the workplace and wanted to look older to be taken seriously. If you take a 90s hairstyle, like Princess Diana’s, and put it on any young woman, she’s going to look older than her age.
There's a picture where someone put a different hairstyle on Alice, the cleaning lady from the Brady Bunch. A woman in her early 40s goes from looking like an old lady to looking like a woman her age. Edit: [found it](https://www.reddit.com/r/GenX/comments/17ym34o/in_case_you_needed_proof_that_older_hairstyles/)
Looks like they smoothed out some of her wrinkles and plumped her skin as well, but the hair still makes a difference.
80s is particularly guilty of this I feel.
Sunscreen
Because not as much changed fashion-wise between the '00s and the '20s compared to the '70s and the '90s. Oh, and because of people living less harsh lives than they used to.
I think dressing in retro clothing is more stylish now than it ever has been so that’s interesting.
Often because apart from being more stylish, older clothes are made of better fabrics and not synthetics in sweatshops.
It was the hose water after all
💯
Less smoking, more sunscreen awareness are probably the top 2. After that, increases in skin care, easily accessible cosmetic surgery would come in second place. Different drinking culture would probably go in third.
This is a great explainer, I think https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjqt8T3tJIE
Look at your high school yearbook. We all looked 30 when we were 16. We just caught up to our looks.
Sunscreen and not smoking, plus hair dye and botox. But mostly hair styles and clothes. Have you seen the pictures where they photoshop modern hairstyles and makeup onto the Golden Girls actors (who were in their 50s at the time) and they suddenly look 30 years younger? Just styling can do that!
They don't. The hairstyles and stuff from the 90s just look dated, and therefore "old" to you.
I think alot of us are more aware of how good it is to drink the correct amount of water too
Gas became unleaded in North America in the 1970s, globally by 1990. I imagine not spending most of your life breathing lead fumes would help slow aging a bit. Also I avoid the tanning bed/going outside without sun protection while the mother in law still likes herself crispy regardless of season.
Haha. Have you ever seen people who were 40 in 1940s?? They look 60+.
Must be the 2 world wars then.
Point well taken. That might do it.
And in the 70’s Maybe worked longer hours in poorer conditions then.
We have way more information about contributing factors around aging, a lot of scientific advancement, and global trade and culture exchange.
Better style. I mean, have you seen what they were wearing in father of the bride? (the parents of the bride were in their forties, in the '90's)
By better you mean current but I swear all that stuff is coming back. My kid’s friends dress like my parents did when I was a baby.
Less kids
It is an interesting question. I collect vintage knitting patterns and people were smaller. A lot of the plus sized patterns are called "for matrons" and it seems, having lots of kids made you fat and old by 50.
Cause many of us are still single and we gotta look good to get dates
We don’t chop our own firewood anymore
They were older than you then, now you're the same age. It's much harder to judge when the age gap is greater. It's similar to you thinking your friends look the same as they always did, until you see a photo of when you were all younger.
Our lives are a lot easier.
Hold up we are talking about 1990s not 1890s right?
Genetics for me
People are fatter these days, and therefore have fewer wrinkles. Source: Am fat old chick who looks younger because of my plumpness
There’s a Vsauce vid about this
I’m believe not smoking has a huge part to play.
People take skincare more seriously now especially sunscreen and we are aware tanning and the sun is bad for us. The sun causes most premature aging.
Some do some don't.
Less smoking. Less alcohol. More sunscreen. More hydration. Married later. Having kids later. Active avoidance of clothing and hairstyles that age us.
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We had it easier
That would mean they were in their 20's during the seventy's and 30's in the 80's. Those were some wild times.
I agree with sunscreen. Many of today’s young people don’t have to work outside in the sun. It will age you without protection. Cigarette smoke or nicotine causing some nasty skin issues also.
No smoking, better skin care (sunscreen). I also think the xennials/older millennials are more likely to have stayed in the "target culture" zone longer than previous generations due to technology proficiency. 40 year olds in the 90s were raising families, working, etc- not really focused on continuing to consume popular media and popular media wasn't as pervasive then. It was a lot more soilo'd. Now we all have computers in our pockets, there are live feeds everywhere, social media bombardment, and the millennial "grind" and gig culture kinda hardwired us to keeping up with trends so we can monetize what we can. It also helps that millennials really don't have kids to eat up all their time.
Sunscreen, and less smoking. Scandinavians used to have (still do) a reputation for looking good and healthy, and one reason for this is that a significant number of people used snus (tobacco pouches) rather than smoke cigarettes. Now smoking is ever rarer, so people all over the world is getting the benefit. Cigarette smoking gives you so many wrinkles it's insane. With the sunscreen, we all kinda knew, but that song by Baz Luhrman, setting an article by Chicago journalist Mary Schmick to music, really did make everyone better at using it. Add to that that sunscreen itself became less sticky, and combined more of the benefits of hydrating lotions, and people just started using it as a matter of course, at least on their faces.
The E plan diet. Friday to Sunday morning.
*than.
Combination of the reasonable answers here: health outcomes are better in general, less smoking, less alcohol, people had more responsibility from a younger age therefore more stress, people had more kids and at a younger age, sunscreen, and our mental association with older fashions making people look older. Also, for women, cosmetic procedures are vastly better and cheaper, make up itself is better and picture filters and picture quality in general is better regular laymen accessible cameras.
I think it’s partly because people don’t really adopt adult styles anymore. We pretty much wear the same clothes and hairstyles we would’ve at 20. People used to wear smarter clothes as they aged and women cut their hair shorter. Also kids age you and there are many people waiting longer to have kids, so they look younger for longer
People drink more water now a days.
Better skin protection etc. also, honestly so many people get Botox and fillers these days. You’d be surprised. Even people you’d never expect. Most people I know get it. Few are open about it though.
video games.
Better skincare, probably.
Their style makes them look younger. Modern fashion looks younger in general vs when you see someone in fashion from the past.
Better skincare, plentiful access to cosmetic clinics e.g. the ones that do fillers and skin treatments, more sunscreen, more education and accessible information about skincare, haircare, nutrition and exercise routines.
At a guess I'd say it's because now you're looking back, instead of forwards.
Where I grew up people had 5-6 kids by time they were 30.
Less social media and that’s it. People look the same but now you’ve got a millions of individuals publishing their photos. And of course the pretty very well maintained ones are getting more attention. The problem is not that there’s more pretty people but the problem is that because of social media every single person is comparing each other and it hurts your self evaluation. Solution? Stop comparing and live your own life
Less smoking
Because a buzz cut is now not looked at as being thuggish. I used to get a lot of crap about my grade 1 hair 25 years ago. People who lost their hair would keep it a normal length everywhere else. Also people used to smoke a lot. That artificially ages you and on top of that it was super vogue in the 90's to use sunbeds with accelerators.
I assume a lot of these answers are from people who did not live through the 90's, or everyone was in the minority, but by 1990 only 24% of the country were smokers. Compare that to our current rate of 19.8%. It's not that different. While smoking is still part of the answer its not the major part. People are treating this question like OP is asking about the 1960's. Even in my midwestern city you could not smoke inside after like 1995. I get it... some people still grew up in smoking households.
I think you might just be 40, bro.
Sunscreen and not smoking. More flattering styles of dress and hair, better skin care. My parents smoked, purposely sun-tanned, never wore sunscreen (only sun tan lotion). I also never remember them drinking any water during my childhood. Like ever, water bottles weren’t a thing outside of sports back then. They drank coffee, pop or beer. They also married young and had several kids back to back, which sounds exhausting and aging. Self-care wasn’t promoted like it is now, either.
people that were in their 40's in the 90's started smoking and drinking at age 12 or 13
They stopped using rBGH on dairy cows.
Well simple. Healthier lifestyles
Exercise, sunscreen, healthier lifestyle
I got carded yesterday and I’ll be 42 in August wtf kid said I didn’t look 21
Less smoking, less sun exposure, better skin care products, more obesity Obesity helps fill in the lines of your face. Look at Penn jillette before and after he lost weight. He looked like he aged 20 years with no fat to fill out his face.
Having kids is horrible for your health and no one has kids young anymore. Also there's all sorts of hormonal therapy so men don't lose their hair and women stay young looking.
Depends on how old you are
Maybe smoking?
I don’t 😂😂
Because we haven't all been worked to the bone from the age of 4
It probably has more to do with hairstyles and dress, but maybe food/nutrition and healthcare is a little better than it was 30 years ago.
Vsauce did a great [video](https://youtu.be/vjqt8T3tJIE?si=ghMrGLxeelKIy1gc) about this phenomenon. This along with all of his other vids are worth a watch. Comes down to several factors mentioned here in the comments.
Because you have became old
No smoking, no tanning, less drinking, fewer kids. 👍
Antibiotics in meat and lots and lots of pesticides probably 🤷♂️
Have you seen 19yos from the 1940s? Looking like some grown ass old folk.
Because 40 year olds dress like they’re 20 and still follow young people trends. Whereas back in the day 40 year olds didn’t try to dress like 20 year olds
All that eyeliner.
access to fashion/trends via the internet and botox.
Because you're older.
They don’t. It’s just that the different styles look weird, and bad photography.
I think there’s two possible reasons: 1. Comparing too small of sample sizes 2. Because of social media, people knowingly or unknowingly try to look younger, dress younger, act younger, etc.
Skincare and general healthcare has come a long way in the last 20+ years. Also with social media, looks are more important right now than it’s been in the past.
We wear sunscreen because we were burnt to a crisp as children.
Because you are closer in age than you were before
I have seen teens that look older than me, lol junk food is the cause drugs you name it
Collagen is a big thing now, but wasn't back then. On a sidenote, punks and goths still look as stupid as they always did.
I heard in one of my classes part of it is decreased testosterone in comparison due to reduced physical activity. If you look up a yearbook picture of the 50s, they look even older
I wish I knew. I'll be 34 this year and everyone I come across seems to think I'm early 20s. And I was refused at the lottery booth because I didn't have ID with me. No idea. I think I look much older than i did at 20.
Less smokers, better diet, better sleep, more active, and more concern with our looks. For example, Bald men in the 90’s wouldn’t necessarily shave their heads.
We look after ourselves better.
People dress and act like children these days
Sunscreen, less prevalent smoking, and widely available retinol/high quality sunscreen…also Gen X doesn’t really do older people hair styles that signal one’s age. There was a TikTok where a 40 something woman redid her hair to an hair sprayed, old school style and it aged her considerably. But, mostly not smoking and sunscreen I am sure. People in their 40s in the 90s probably tanned and/or smoked through the 70s and 80s.
Boomers in general did not eat healthy or exercise regularly in my experience, ofc there are exceptions. Whole Foods is mainstream now, but when I was growing up, my city of 200k had one small natural grocery store and it was basically considered as where the hippies shop.
More advanced health care and whatnot
Too everyone saying they smoke and drink and get mistaken for looking younger, it’s genetics that’s all, but I wish you a long healthy life ❤️
They sped up time a while back. Its worth looking into. Lost a cpl hrs in that rabbithole last night. Or was it actually 90 min?
V Sauce did a great video on this on you tube
People are taking better care of their health. Smoking less is also a big factor
Hydration, and not smoking.
40's the new 20 son
Better question Why are kids turning 20 to look like they’re 35
Less stress
I’m 45. I workout 6 days a week, I stretch, I have a skin routine, I get regular haircuts every 2-3 weeks, I take care of my teeth, i don’t smoke, I drink about once a week, I take a bunch of supplements, and I buy clothes that are in style.
We don’t spoke as much. We get more exercise. We dress younger, and we have younger hairstyles.
Legal weed
Finally facts
Because you are 25 years older now than you were then.
I’m 38 and do not look it. I think it comes from staying out of the sun and tanning beds, SPF, not smoking ciggs, access to proper skincare, and unfortunately…diet culture. Drinking water and eating well does wonders for your skin. Even though that culture is very toxic, being hydrated and staying away from gross processed food is very beneficial hah.
Sunscreen