These Old Photos Suggest That People Used To Age A LOT Faster Than We Do Today

Brandon McCarthy used to pitch in the majors, but lately he has been watching something else entirely, the way people seem to age on camera. The former baseball player, now a Texas Rangers front office executive, kicked off a conversation on Twitter after wondering whether people from earlier decades looked older at younger ages.

That question opened the door to a flood of side-by-side comparisons, jokes, and a few strong disagreements. Some replies pointed to fashion, hairstyles, and hard living, while others argued that certain old photos just capture people at the wrong moment.

A question is posed to the public:

BMcCarthy32

People began to respond: yes.

rockiepie258

People did not hold back.

I'm sorry, 42!? Wow. Have you seen Jennifer Aniston lately? (She's 50.)

DickBuffman213

Grandma looks like she's 70.

AndyLChapmanLA

Excuse me? This is a full-grown man.

jadande

Not everyone was convinced, though.

However, not everyone agreed, which is fair; this 19-year-old totally looks 19!

KeahiKaiwi

Okay, but she is eternal.

Meredithc

Yo, this 21-year-old looks 50.

jareddjohnson

Doth my eyes deceive me?

dbrydodg

Well, the occasion is pretty cool at least.

WillNotBDanide

The Great Depression can definitely do this to you.

pklinkne

Oh, wow.

CerowB

I blame the mustache.

nthomasrios

The 30s never looked older.

stefanielaine

Get this man a time machine to reclaim his youth.

_JVera

I'm laughing because the younger they are, the older they look. Who did this? They sold their Hollywood souls to the wrong demon.

eckhaus

Wild.

Solvang84

The thread kept rolling with more examples.

That “eternal life” claim also mirrors a biohacker using GLP-1 and sharing body changes.

These are all extremely good points that explain the rapid aging in adulthood.

CogitoErgoJokes

These days, they might.

KevinKlussier

No. Way.

ThatShaneBua

Where did his hair go?

zamartin

You really can't argue with this logic.

Kids today may be applying makeup to look older, but in the past, they were making life choices that aged them very quickly.

DTMattSmith

Knowing the ages of The Golden Girls makes the show a whole different story sometimes.

BaseballReba

Is this a game to you?

Yeah, the jokes were rolling in, too.

JohnOttavio

It's getting hot in here.

airwin_nl

LMAO, no.

MadHominem

Keanu Reeves is also eternal.

MRipley13

Well, you know what they say about your insides.

Grova

Fair enough.

Reynaldo_8

So, did people really age faster back then, or do old photos just make it look that way?

What are your thoughts on this phenomenon? Share in the comments now!

Want more “built different” reactions, see 77 vintage photos of grandparents who look nothing like today.