Why did young people in the 50's look so old? (influence, 70s)
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I look at pictures of high schoolers from the 50's, and they look like old people to me. Maybe women's hairstyles were all short back then and this is the main reason why. It's sad how little in common their generation has with the young people of today. I think the teens of today will never really get old, and the baby boomers were the generation that thought they were the first "cool" generation, but now a lot of them seem old anyway.
I think there are several reasons for this!
#1-Most were not overweight like the chubby/baby looking ones we've produced today through idleness and boredom.
#2-So many had to work before and after school. There was a lot of stress present. Mother and fathers of that generation were from the Era of The Great Depression. Consequently, many insisted that their children work and help the family out.
#3-Because of the above, they were in all points more mature than most of today's youth who are coddled and given way too much.
#4- They probably spent many many days in the sunshine when they were children and beyond>>> while much of today's youth are held up inside playing video games, computering, or watching the boob tube.
#5-There was more emphasis on dressing for success and not the sloppy crap fashion of today's youth. Females wore skirts, dresses, pearls, neatly ironed big shirts over neatly rolled up jeans, bobby socks, and saddle shoes/loafers. Males wore neck ties, blazer, pressed dress shirts (rarely tees), etc. The school dress codes of the day were much more strict on both male and female alike.
P.S. There are also a lot of everyday teens nowadays (as well as adults) who get plastic surgery of some kind which youthens them up (big boobs, botox, laser, etc.).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by picklejuice
I think there are several reasons for this!
#1-Most were not overweight like the chubby/baby looking ones we've produced today through idleness and boredom.
#2-So many had to work before and after school. There was a lot of stress present. Mother and fathers of that generation were from the Era of The Great Depression. Consequently, many insisted that their children work and help the family out.
#3-Because of the above, they were in all points more mature than most of today's youth who are coddled and given way too much.
#4- They probably spent many many days in the sunshine when they were children and beyond>>> while much of today's youth are held up inside playing video games, computering, or watching the boob tube.
#5-There was more emphasis on dressing for success and not the sloppy crap fashion of today's youth. Females wore skirts, dresses, pearls, neatly ironed big shirts over neatly rolled up jeans, bobby socks, and saddle shoes/loafers. Males wore neck ties, blazer, pressed dress shirts (rarely tees), etc. The school dress codes of the day were much more strict on both male and female alike.
P.S. There are also a lot of everyday teens nowadays (as well as adults) who get plastic surgery of some kind which youthens them up (big boobs, botox, laser, etc.).
Yes wearing a white T-shirt with a leather jacket marked you out as a 'rebel' a 'gang member' or a bad boy in general.
The idea for kids that age was to look older, not have the permanent adolescence we have today.
People didn't take good care of themselves. People smoked, ate badly, and didn't get much exercise.
Most the photos were in black and white.
Very True. In the 1950s all the way until 1963, younger individuals worked to act like those that were older than them. Life in general was much more formal. Nowadays, young people believe they are on a first name bases with adults, even their elders. Back then even adults addressed one another by saying; Yes Sir, No Sir, etc.
Young people truly did aspire to look, act, and talk like those much older than themselves.
One interesting example is seen in Rod Serling's May 12, 1961 episode: The Mind and the Matter.
I have posted some pictures from the episode. Take a look at the main character, Mr. Archibald Beechcroft. He is portrayed by actor Shelley Berman who was born February, 3 1925, meaning he was 36 years old at the time. To me, he looks as though he were much older than 36. He looks like someone in his late forties or early fifties.
Another thing to consider, think about how those who are 36 years old today dress and act.They certainly do not look or act like this character. Today you see people approaching fifty and sixty years old who try to act "young again". People today simply do not want to grow up! The youth movement of the mid/late 1960s continues to live on through the actions of teenagers, and young adults today. Some people simply won't admit their mature and "grown up" until they start developing wrinkles and health problems!
#1-Most were not overweight like the chubby/baby looking ones we've produced today through idleness and boredom.
#2-So many had to work before and after school. There was a lot of stress present. Mother and fathers of that generation were from the Era of The Great Depression. Consequently, many insisted that their children work and help the family out.
#3-Because of the above, they were in all points more mature than most of today's youth who are coddled and given way too much.
#4- They probably spent many many days in the sunshine when they were children and beyond>>> while much of today's youth are held up inside playing video games, computering, or watching the boob tube.
#5-There was more emphasis on dressing for success and not the sloppy crap fashion of today's youth. Females wore skirts, dresses, pearls, neatly ironed big shirts over neatly rolled up jeans, bobby socks, and saddle shoes/loafers. Males wore neck ties, blazer, pressed dress shirts (rarely tees), etc. The school dress codes of the day were much more strict on both male and female alike.
P.S. There are also a lot of everyday teens nowadays (as well as adults) who get plastic surgery of some kind which youthens them up (big boobs, botox, laser, etc.).
Sure glad I didn't grow up then. Dressing casually and being coddled rock.
Sure glad I didn't grow up then. Dressing casually and being coddled rock.
I was just a small one in the 50's but I remember I wore dresses, not pants and tshirts, unless I was playing in the yard. My mom kept my hair done. In school, until highschool in the late 60's we didn't wear pants to school. I think the year I graduated, 1970, was the first year it was allowed on a daily basis.
The thing about parents of the generation mine were of, who had their first kids a few years after the war, was that for both childhood had been compromised by the great depression. So they wanted their dear dauthter to get all I wanted. Today that would no doubt be a lot more but I had nice clothes and lots of toys and hordes of books and never had to ask, they just came. I'm thinking the present generation of kids who's parents are in stressful ways economically, will grow up a bit more like my parents than me.
I think that one of the reasons why the kids in the 50's looked older too, given they were born before the war, was they shared experiences with their parents that also made them look a lot older. If I was ten years older, I would have known Dad was gone and Mom was quiet about it and the atmosphere of that time would have made a difference in my manner. I don't think when you look at the High School pics its that they physically look aged, but the dress and the manner and the rest which came from being the ones who grew up a little early like mom and dad.
One thing was that people had to really work and much of that work was outside. Cigarette smoking was a large part of accelerated aging. Most people of he fifties did not get cosmetic procedures so common today and were usually reserved for the elites and movie stars. If you look at a lifelong farmer you will see a harden look with a lot of muscle development and will look older than his years and yet he is still capable of doing a full hard days work at farm labor.
One poster cites an old black and white film. With B&W photos or film much of the accents and moods were set with shadow adding an age factor that was not true.
Then the other side of the coin. The OP must be watching way too much TV. Get out in public and check out the crack users with rotten teeth and sores and other dope users. No one in the fifties looked like that. Children today will be the first generation in history not to outlive their parents. The main reason they look young is because of all the fat and the only muscle they manage to develop is the one that controls the TV remote.
There is also an environmental concern that is feminizing males. Today we have far more males with softer feminine features and less body hair. The real concern here is the declining sperm counts in males. The thought is that the estrogen getting into our drinking water is the main culprit. However, the use of certain plastics have proved to be estrogen mimickers and contributing this feminization of males.
Get out in public and check out the crack users with rotten teeth and sores and other dope users. No one in the fifties looked like that.
There were about as many skid-row winos back then who didn't look a whole lot different. I don't buy all that claptrap about feminization of males. If that's the case why are high school athletes so much better now than in the 50s? I also think it't great that women now are more athletic. Perhaps you've never had kids that age? The reason kids looked older back in the 50s is merely due to cosmetic factors. It was a square time when teens were expected to dress and wear their hair like their elders. I'm sure if you put them in today's clothes and hairstyles you couldn't tell the difference.
There were about as many skid-row winos back then who didn't look a whole lot different. I don't buy all that claptrap about feminization of males. If that's the case why are high school athletes so much better now than in the 50s? I also think it't great that women now are more athletic. Perhaps you've never had kids that age? The reason kids looked older back in the 50s is merely due to cosmetic factors. It was a square time when teens were expected to dress and wear their hair like their elders. I'm sure if you put them in today's clothes and hairstyles you couldn't tell the difference.
I saw an interesting interview once about casting tv shows and movies set in the 50's and 60's. The biggest problem is finding women who don't have developed muscles. Women then did not work out, didn't much hike or exercise for strength. The woman with muscles was to be found on the beach showing off. Normal women were 'soft'. I remember a friend mom say when you were her age, and it was maybe the late 40's or early 50's, you had to wear sleves since the upper arms 'drooped'. Not too much of that now.
I'd never get by with dressing out of the junior department back then but it doesn't look all that different now. And no 'droop'...
I saw an interesting interview once about casting tv shows and movies set in the 50's and 60's. The biggest problem is finding women who don't have developed muscles. Women then did not work out, didn't much hike or exercise for strength. The woman with muscles was to be found on the beach showing off. Normal women were 'soft'. I remember a friend mom say when you were her age, and it was maybe the late 40's or early 50's, you had to wear sleves since the upper arms 'drooped'. Not too much of that now.
We have Title IX largely to thank for that. I think it's great now that girls and women are as involved in sports as guys.
I have read that kids mature earlier now and they think it may have to do with hormones in our food.
Another thing to consider, think about how those who are 36 years old today dress and act.They certainly do not look or act like this character. Today you see people approaching fifty and sixty years old who try to act "young again". People today simply do not want to grow up! The youth movement of the mid/late 1960s continues to live on through the actions of teenagers, and young adults today. Some people simply won't admit their mature and "grown up" until they start developing wrinkles and health problems!
Perhaps if people acted younger from an activity standpoint, they wouldn't have so many health problems. I engage in most of the same activities I did as a teen (swim, bike, surf, play tennis or beach volleyball). Older people back in that day often didn't know how or didn't care to do those things. My dad didn't.
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