It doesn’t come as a surprise that we and our parents at our age are light-years apart. When it comes to our lifestyles, choices, and values, it seems like we were born on different planets. But there’s only one way to find out what exactly was so different for them than it is for us now, and it’s looking at hard evidence, aka photo albums.
With so much free time on our hands during this festive season in quarantine, the chances are you'll stumble upon one or two great pics that will bring out a blast from the past. And people on Twitter are all in for the "My Parents Vs. Me" challenge, posting snaps of family members where age is the only parallel you’ll find.
We have selected some of the cutest, funniest, and most illuminating posts that show how generations have changed. And after you’re done, don’t forget to check out Bored Panda’s previous post with "Me Vs. My Parents" memes that put a comical spin on these generational differences.
This post may include affiliate links.
To find out more about the Me Vs. My Parents Challenge, Bored Panda reached out to a social media influencer who goes by the handle @Bloody5Iveezy. Iveezy’s post with the caption “My parents at 24 vs. me at 24” went viral, amassing 637.6K likes and 67.8K retweets.
“In my opinion, a big difference is how relaxed we are. We don’t care what people will say, it’s not all work. We have a big emphasis on living life, being happy, and having fun.”Iveezy also said that so many people related to the challenge because “we are all tired of the assumption that everyone wants to get married and have kids.”
For him, being a first-generation Mexican American, it’s almost taboo not to want a big religious wedding with lots of kids. “And my picture says the complete opposite: 'I’m just a 24-year-old Mexican that likes whiskey dressed like a unicorn and I’m not worried about anything.'”
When asked what kind of challenges Iveezy’s generation has to face, the social media influencer said it’s information. “In my parents' day, you were limited to who you knew and what you knew about them. Relationships are so hard now because someone will always tell your partner 'oh yeah, I’ve seen them before with so and so' or 'yeah, I’ve heard of 'em, have you seen his tweets?'”
“Besides the social aspect, our parents didn’t know what depression or anxiety was. They felt the symptoms, but didn’t recognize the condition,” Iveezy explained. Meanwhile, “my generation does and if I know I’m depressed, the last thing I’m worried about is marrying someone, so yeah, information is our double-edged sword,” he concluded.
The feeling that our millennial generation and our parents are worlds apart is not just all in our heads. In fact, the generational differences can be even bigger than one would expect.
Over the past 50 years, cultural, social, and economic shifts have paved the way to the modern day, where the youngest millennials have now become adults. Today, they make up the second-largest generation in the US electorate, hence the Democratic leanings compared to previous generations.
According to Pew Center, “Today’s young adults are much better educated than their grandparents, as the share of young adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher has steadily climbed since 1968.” 4 in 10 millennials have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
However, the financial well-being of millennials is very complicated. “The individual earnings for young workers have remained mostly flat over the past 50 years. But this belies a notably large gap in earnings between millennials who have a college education and those who don’t.”
Pew Research showed that millennial workers with some college education made $36,000, lower than the $38,900 that baby boomer workers made in 1982 when they were the same age.
And since millennials were hit hard by the great recession, they are much slower in forming their own households. As a result, many still can’t afford their own houses and are forced to live with their parents or in flat-shares. The young generation is also forming families much later than older generations, as the “Me vs. My Parents” challenge has shown.
Pew Center suggests that the share of adults who have never married is increasing with each successive generation. “If current patterns continue, an estimated one-in-four of today’s young adults will have never married by the time they reach their mid-40s to early 50s—a record high share.”
why is it that our parents all were married or having children in a house while we're all stuck maybe havin an apartment and if we're lucky a gf or bf
why does the mother look like "uegh why the hell did i even date him"
the parents look like they just realized they have to live together with the other's weirdness for the rest of their life
Haha I love the zoomed up photo of her face in this one! Bit tipsy much?!
Probably not too different. The parents look like their in a photo shoot of some sort, so they are going to look more formal. The "me" side is them just goofing around. I am sure that the parents goofed off like that when they were in their 20's too, just obviously not in a formal photo.
This happens for everyone worldwide. My grandma was a grandma at my age. My mom had a child in college. And I am single with a beautiful cat :)
Sooooooooooo many kids use to get married & have babies. I'm glad that we wait now. I'm almost 50 & never got married or gave birth.....it doesn't HAVE to be done. I'm in a long term relationship raising kids that needed parents. It all works out in the end. HAVE FUN & STAY YOUNG!!!
Heck ya! Best thing my Nana ever taught me: Age is just a number the moment you start "acting" your age is when you start feeling your age. Be responsible, get your adult s*** handled, after that love what you love. 😂Nana wasn't "forced" to watch anime with her grandkids, she loved it too! (This was advice given when I was deciding I was "too old" for my dolls... I wasn't really ready to give them up. 😅)
Load More Replies...I've heard too many comments from baby-boomers and others moaning about how later generations don't acieve anything to find these funny, I'm afraid. The cost of living Vs. wages (particularly those of young adults) has skyrocketed in most countries. Education is frankly unaffordable for most, in many western countries. Not to mention house prices. Don't get me wrong, I like self-depreciating humour in the right places and doses, but this hits a little close to reality.
This. My partner and I make SIGNIFICANTLY less, dollar for dollar, than either of our parents at our age, even though we are both more/better educated than either of our parents. And that's not even adjusting for inflation.
Load More Replies...I want to know if all these 'my parents at <25' getting married/having kids are still together and dont regret it.
So. ..people aren't getting married and starting families as young as they used to I gather. Perhaps the current generation doesn't view being married with kids and a white picket fence as the symbol of happiness or the goal anymore?
I'd say that they don't but is there a correlation between skyrocketing depression and todays society?
Load More Replies...Most of the pictures are like "...And that's why you should use a condom every single time..." 😅
I dunno how I feel about this. Parents behaving like adults, adult offspring behaving like self-indulgent children... I just wonder if today's world doesn't need a little more responsibility and maturity and a little less frivolity and self-absorption.
Thing is, a bet most of those current adults actually have responsibilities they take care of, and most of those parents still had social lives back then. This is more about the narative we tell ourselves to justify not making new people, not an honest depiction of our actual productivity level.
Load More Replies...I waited until I was in my early 30's to get married and am very grateful. My 20's were a blast and I wouldn't trade them for anything.
All I have to say is that you will have a lifetime of working, paying bills and being serious so, if you can afford it, delay it as much as you can.
I see all of these pictures of mere babies getting married and having children and just find it sad, not productive. I don't think anyone should get married before 25 and no kids until your late 20's. Gives your brain a chance to finish growing. Lets you know yourself before you try to share your life with another person. Lets you gain a little wisdom before you have kids to try to pass it down to. There a ton of problems that would be skirted in society by people being ready for marriage. Divorce rate would certainly go down. And people being mature and deliberate in their raising of children. I had really young parents, I saw first hand the consequences. And the therapy needed in the aftermath.
Yep. I felt myself settle into my identity around 23.
Load More Replies...Omg, I feel old. I graduated HS in 2000 and it feels like yesterday. Most of the parents pics look like they could be my age. I however waited... awhile to have kids.
I'd like to see how my grnadparents would compare their lives to those of *their* grandparents. ... Before electricity, indoor plumbing, etc., were available to most, let alone demanded as a basic necessity. (That'd be my great-great-grandparents.)
I love how most of these people chose pets over partners. F**king smart move, folks.
this is just "haha, lol, im not productive and my parents are lol!" it's okay to get married at 25, just as it's okay to stay single your entire life, but some of these are just ridiculous. it's people getting drunk or making faces at a camera while their parents have jobs and stuff. live your life the way you want, but please, actually be useful!
Im just like: So your parents never did anything silly or had fun with friends at you age? (on film, specifically.)
Load More Replies...Same at 34. My parents had 5 kids when my mom was my age...I make coloring books for adults from a tiny camper with a dog and three cats. Bhahaha!
Load More Replies...I feel the pressure of settling down and having kids in your twenties lift up as less and less people are doing that. And frankly, I love it! Most of my friends who were married at that age are now either divorced or miserable together.
Well, good for you. However, I feel bad for your friends. Go give 'em a hug!
Load More Replies...Why are they mostly wedding photos? I could definitely find photos of my mom drunk in her 20s. It would be more interesting if they were similar life things. Like comparing hobbies and vacations or something.
My parents at 20: *have the power to rule the world* Me when I'm gonna turn 20: oh no scary bee gonna sting me
I am assuming that I must be a freak. I am 27, got married at 21. I now have 3 kids. That was my dream and it works for our family.
your parents at 50 looking at your antics: smdh you at 50 looking back at your antics: smdh
These are sad. The younger parents, regardless of the challenges they faced, were together and doing something real. The kids were usually alone (or with a pet) and busily doing nothing.
Speak for yourself. Just because you don't have any friends to have fun with doesn't mean everyone should sit and moan at home like you
Load More Replies...This happens for everyone worldwide. My grandma was a grandma at my age. My mom had a child in college. And I am single with a beautiful cat :)
Sooooooooooo many kids use to get married & have babies. I'm glad that we wait now. I'm almost 50 & never got married or gave birth.....it doesn't HAVE to be done. I'm in a long term relationship raising kids that needed parents. It all works out in the end. HAVE FUN & STAY YOUNG!!!
Heck ya! Best thing my Nana ever taught me: Age is just a number the moment you start "acting" your age is when you start feeling your age. Be responsible, get your adult s*** handled, after that love what you love. 😂Nana wasn't "forced" to watch anime with her grandkids, she loved it too! (This was advice given when I was deciding I was "too old" for my dolls... I wasn't really ready to give them up. 😅)
Load More Replies...I've heard too many comments from baby-boomers and others moaning about how later generations don't acieve anything to find these funny, I'm afraid. The cost of living Vs. wages (particularly those of young adults) has skyrocketed in most countries. Education is frankly unaffordable for most, in many western countries. Not to mention house prices. Don't get me wrong, I like self-depreciating humour in the right places and doses, but this hits a little close to reality.
This. My partner and I make SIGNIFICANTLY less, dollar for dollar, than either of our parents at our age, even though we are both more/better educated than either of our parents. And that's not even adjusting for inflation.
Load More Replies...I want to know if all these 'my parents at <25' getting married/having kids are still together and dont regret it.
So. ..people aren't getting married and starting families as young as they used to I gather. Perhaps the current generation doesn't view being married with kids and a white picket fence as the symbol of happiness or the goal anymore?
I'd say that they don't but is there a correlation between skyrocketing depression and todays society?
Load More Replies...Most of the pictures are like "...And that's why you should use a condom every single time..." 😅
I dunno how I feel about this. Parents behaving like adults, adult offspring behaving like self-indulgent children... I just wonder if today's world doesn't need a little more responsibility and maturity and a little less frivolity and self-absorption.
Thing is, a bet most of those current adults actually have responsibilities they take care of, and most of those parents still had social lives back then. This is more about the narative we tell ourselves to justify not making new people, not an honest depiction of our actual productivity level.
Load More Replies...I waited until I was in my early 30's to get married and am very grateful. My 20's were a blast and I wouldn't trade them for anything.
All I have to say is that you will have a lifetime of working, paying bills and being serious so, if you can afford it, delay it as much as you can.
I see all of these pictures of mere babies getting married and having children and just find it sad, not productive. I don't think anyone should get married before 25 and no kids until your late 20's. Gives your brain a chance to finish growing. Lets you know yourself before you try to share your life with another person. Lets you gain a little wisdom before you have kids to try to pass it down to. There a ton of problems that would be skirted in society by people being ready for marriage. Divorce rate would certainly go down. And people being mature and deliberate in their raising of children. I had really young parents, I saw first hand the consequences. And the therapy needed in the aftermath.
Yep. I felt myself settle into my identity around 23.
Load More Replies...Omg, I feel old. I graduated HS in 2000 and it feels like yesterday. Most of the parents pics look like they could be my age. I however waited... awhile to have kids.
I'd like to see how my grnadparents would compare their lives to those of *their* grandparents. ... Before electricity, indoor plumbing, etc., were available to most, let alone demanded as a basic necessity. (That'd be my great-great-grandparents.)
I love how most of these people chose pets over partners. F**king smart move, folks.
this is just "haha, lol, im not productive and my parents are lol!" it's okay to get married at 25, just as it's okay to stay single your entire life, but some of these are just ridiculous. it's people getting drunk or making faces at a camera while their parents have jobs and stuff. live your life the way you want, but please, actually be useful!
Im just like: So your parents never did anything silly or had fun with friends at you age? (on film, specifically.)
Load More Replies...Same at 34. My parents had 5 kids when my mom was my age...I make coloring books for adults from a tiny camper with a dog and three cats. Bhahaha!
Load More Replies...I feel the pressure of settling down and having kids in your twenties lift up as less and less people are doing that. And frankly, I love it! Most of my friends who were married at that age are now either divorced or miserable together.
Well, good for you. However, I feel bad for your friends. Go give 'em a hug!
Load More Replies...Why are they mostly wedding photos? I could definitely find photos of my mom drunk in her 20s. It would be more interesting if they were similar life things. Like comparing hobbies and vacations or something.
My parents at 20: *have the power to rule the world* Me when I'm gonna turn 20: oh no scary bee gonna sting me
I am assuming that I must be a freak. I am 27, got married at 21. I now have 3 kids. That was my dream and it works for our family.
your parents at 50 looking at your antics: smdh you at 50 looking back at your antics: smdh
These are sad. The younger parents, regardless of the challenges they faced, were together and doing something real. The kids were usually alone (or with a pet) and busily doing nothing.
Speak for yourself. Just because you don't have any friends to have fun with doesn't mean everyone should sit and moan at home like you
Load More Replies...