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Did People Used to Look Older?

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Re: Did People Used to Look Older?

#2
The most important thing one can do to avoid looking old is to avoid the sun. Sun makes skin wrinkly: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trucker-accumulates-skin-damage.... Folks today generally spend less time in the sun than they did a few decades ago. The smoking also probably played a part in people making look old long ago.

I wonder whether the more physical lifestyles (farming, more manual labor, more physical housework) increasing testosterone levels played a part too in making folks look older/bigger.

Re: Did People Used to Look Older?

#3
post #2

The most important thing one can do to avoid looking old is to avoid the sun. Sun makes skin wrinkly: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trucker-accumulates-skin-damage... . Folks today generally spend less time in the sun than they did a few decades ago. The smoking also probably played a part in people making look old long ago. I wonder whether the more physical lifestyles (farming, more manual labor, more physical house…

People are a lot better about sunscreen too (and it's a lot more available). As a kid in the 80s we'd run around without even a thought to sun exposure, or go to the pool for hours, and come back red as lobsters; nobody thought anything of it.

Re: Did People Used to Look Older?

#5
I keep noticing this, and then keep reminding myself that it's cliche for seniors like me to see adults as kids. But then I watch, say, an episode of Dragnet, and the feeling comes back. Jack Webb was 35 in 1955, in that show's prime. He looks normal for the times, but so much older, or perhaps mature is a better word, than a modern 35 year old. Multiply this observation by a large number of cases.

You could test the theory with photos of class graduations and reunions for various years, with faces extracted, normalized and pasted into a standard setting. I'd bet it's real.

Re: Did People Used to Look Older?

#6
post #5

I keep noticing this, and then keep reminding myself that it's cliche for seniors like me to see adults as kids. But then I watch, say, an episode of Dragnet, and the feeling comes back. Jack Webb was 35 in 1955, in that show's prime. He looks normal for the times, but so much older, or perhaps mature is a better word, than a modern 35 year old. Multiply this observation by a large number of cases. You could test the…

I’ve always thought there’s a psychological effect as well. Baseball players who were old when I was a kid look (way) older than same-aged players today. Like 20 years different, and it can’t be the sun and smoking. I’ve always felt I just knew what they looked like. And what was older then is now “damn near college” for me now. But typing this, maybe it’s just the presence or absence of crows feet at the eyes? The hands certainly show peoples age (still).

Re: Did People Used to Look Older?

#7
post #2

The most important thing one can do to avoid looking old is to avoid the sun. Sun makes skin wrinkly: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trucker-accumulates-skin-damage... . Folks today generally spend less time in the sun than they did a few decades ago. The smoking also probably played a part in people making look old long ago. I wonder whether the more physical lifestyles (farming, more manual labor, more physical house…

Lack of enough sun exposure is also a major health concern. We may look younger but we are far more obese.

Re: Did People Used to Look Older?

#10
post #2

The most important thing one can do to avoid looking old is to avoid the sun. Sun makes skin wrinkly: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trucker-accumulates-skin-damage... . Folks today generally spend less time in the sun than they did a few decades ago. The smoking also probably played a part in people making look old long ago. I wonder whether the more physical lifestyles (farming, more manual labor, more physical house…

Lack of enough sun exposure is also a major health concern. We may look younger but we are far more obese.

This comment didn't deserve all these downvotes, the majority of human beings on the planet likely do not need sunscreen and benefit from more sun exposure.
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