Millennials And Gen X'ers Are Sharing Facts That Make Them Feel Ancient

    Well...the math is mathing on these.

    Yes, I am a geriatric millennial! And while I'm very much aware that the early 2000s weren't 10 years ago, there are times I don't process how truly far removed we are from some things. For example, the movie Clueless was released closer to the moon landing than today.

    Elderly man smiling, seated on an orange bean bag and using a laptop

    Then there are other times when I have "WTF, how did time fly so quickly?!" moments. For example, my friend sent me this tweet, and I seriously did not realize Big Little Lies premiered seven years ago...because if you asked me, I would have guessed four:

    ‘BIG LITTLE LIES’ premiered 7 years ago. pic.twitter.com/vpyDmeqHKN

    — Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) February 19, 2024
    HBO / Via Twitter: @FilmUpdates

    It was with that idea in mind that I searched through Reddit for threads about things/facts that make us feel old. And I came across three posts (one from two years ago, one from three years ago, and one from two months ago) where millennials and Gen X'ers shared facts that make them feel OLD.

    closeup of Kenan Thompson

    The threads had all sorts of responses, from 9/11 now being something kids learn in history class to kids today referring to the '80s and '90s as the "1900s." Below are the top and best comments (that will probably have you feeling old as dirt):

    1. "The age of music is starting to bother me. The contemporary songs I loved in high school are as old to current teenagers as the Beatles were to me. Now I get why teachers and older people looked so wistful when I would talk about the 'oldies' and 'classics' I liked. I know I laughed the first time I heard a teenager use the phrase 'classic Linkin Park' circa 2007; it's a completely accurate phrase now. 🤷‍♀️"

    2. "The amount of time between Oasis being at the height of their fame and now is greater than the time gap between the Beatles breaking up and when Oasis were popular in the '90s."

    Oasis

    3. "I was watching Freaks and Geeks on Hulu with my family when I realized that if it were made today, it would be set in 2005."

    Group of six actors from "Freaks and Geeks" posing in front of school lockers

    4. "That '70s Show would be That '00s Show and take place in 2001. It's been 25 years since it premiered."

    Donna Pinciotti and Eric Forman characters sitting in a large red bowl chair, in casual 70s attire, from "That '70s Show."

    5. "The teens in Dazed and Confused would be partying in 2007."

    Movie poster for "Dazed and Confused" with four characters imitating a scream

    6. "If they remade Back to the Future today, Marty McFly would go back in time to 1994."

    Marty McFly stands on a street in "Back to the Future", wearing a denim jacket, vest, and holding sunglasses

    7. "I've seen the transition from video tapes to DVDs to Blu-ray to streaming."

    Close-up of a smartphone screen showing entertainment app icons like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, and others

    8. "My wife had a music awards program on. I did not know any of the performers or presenters and only recognized the name of the lifetime achievement award winner."

    Teddy Swims in a pink suit with styled beard and pink sunglasses sticking out tongue at a themed event

    9. "I saw my first 'What is 9/11?' comment recently. Prepare yourself, it will only get more common."

    People evacuate as smoke billows from Twin Towers in the background during 9/11 attacks

    10. "I teach high school seniors. I’m now teaching kids who weren’t born when 9/11 happened. To them, 9/11 is like the Vietnam War to me. Just something in the history books."

    Soldiers walk in a field with helicopters flying overhead, embodying a historical military scene

    11. "I was born in '72. For me 20 years ago is always the 1960s and 40 years ago was WWII. Back in the '90s, I worked at a retirement community where we had residents that were born in the 1890s, and many in the early 1900s that still drove. My own grandfather was born in 1915."

    Soldiers disembark from a boat onto a shore, gear in hand, during an historical military operation

    12. "The fact that 1980 is closer to the end of WWII (35 years) than to today (44 years)."

    Flip clock-style numbers showing the year 1980

    13. "I hear '90s music on 'classic rock' radio stations now."

    Nirvana onstage

    14. "Songs that were released when I graduated high school are already being bastardized into prescription pill jingles. I'm 29."

    Four friends holding hands and jumping into a lake, with text for Skyrizi, an advertised medication

    15. "Here is a fact that makes me feel old: Give a kid a rotary phone and watch them stare at it like it's a relic in a museum."

    Vintage black rotary dial telephone on a white background

    16. "That Home Alone came out 33 years ago."

    Movie poster of "Home Alone" featuring Kevin with a shocked expression and two burglars behind him

    17. "Toy Story was in cinemas 28 years ago, and I went to see it."

    Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story are shaking hands, implying friendship or agreement

    18. "Frozen came out 10 years ago. My cousin was born after Frozen came out. It’s gonna be an old movie for her."

    Elsa from Frozen creating snowflakes with her magic powers

    19. "My teenage son likes some of Fall Out Boy's 'early' music. You know, from their 2005 album. He asked me if I remembered those 'old' songs. I think I'm still wearing some clothes that I owned in 2005."

    Four members of the band Fall Out Boy posing casually in front of a truck

    20. "I was a substitute teacher. A girl asked me if the Berlin Wall was a real wall, or a metaphor like the Iron Curtain. It was an excellent question, but damn I'm old."

    Crowd gathers by the Berlin Wall near the Brandenburg Gate during German reunification events

    21. "Here is a fun/depressing game I like to play where you find events that happened closer to the fall of the Berlin Wall than to now. A few examples of things that ended closer to the fall of the Berlin Wall than to now: the release of the original Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and the Nintendo DS."

    22. "The Nintendo 64 release was closer to the moon landing than to today."

    Vintage Nintendo 64 packaging with console and controllers for a retro gaming article

    23. "Having to scroll further and further down the list to find my year of birth when signing up for things online."

    Smiling person sitting and using smartphone, focus on phone with blurred background

    24. "That 2015 was nine years ago."

    Counter display with the year 2015, indicating a past event or highlight

    25. And lastly, "My boyfriend's son is 11, and he says things like, 'Is that (show/song/etc.) from the 1900s?' Meaning is it from the '80s or '90s, and I'm just like, 'Now listen here you little shit...'"

    The Spice Girls

    You can read the original Reddit threads here, here, and here.