You Know You're Old If...

At some point in your life, you will be reminded of your age. Getting older doesn’t always have to be a drag, but being reminded that you’re old can sometimes come as a shock to you and make you start dreading the future.

Instead of worrying about your age, embrace it. And if you’re not entirely sure if you’re actually old, you will know you’re old if…

You side with the parents on TV shows and movies.
Back when you were a kid, you always sided with the kid when you watched a TV show or a movie. When a young girl confessed that she was in love with a boy and the parents didn’t want her to see him, kids thought the parents were being mean. However, if you find yourself telling that same girl in that TV show or movie that she’s just a child and doesn’t know what love is, then you’re siding with the parents—so you’re old.

You remember the original Michael Jackson.
When young Michael Jackson first came out onto the scene, he was a cute little African American boy with a chubby little face and an enormous amount of talent. As he grew, though, that chubby little face became skinnier and skinnier and completely overdone by too much plastic surgery. And that cute little African American boy seemed to be getting paler and paler as he aged. If you can remember the changing faces of Michael Jackson, then you’re old.

You still have a cassette player or 8 track player.
Over the years, musical devices have changed dramatically. Today, if you want to listen to music, all you need to do is grab your iPod, smartphone or computer and the music suddenly appears. And if you want to hear a specific song, you simply need to download it or locate it on Pandora. If you still own a cassette player or an 8 track player, and you remember having to rush to the stereo to hit the record button when your favorite song came on the radio, then you’re old.

Your hangover lasts for days.
When you were young, you could go out drinking, get an hour or two of sleep, and start drinking again without any consequences. You were never nauseated, you never had a headache, and you certainly weren’t constantly tired. And if you were, it all lasted for a few hours and was gone. When you’re old, your hangover not only includes nausea, migraines and exhaustion, but these feelings last for multiple days instead of multiple hours. If you purposely don’t drink much because you don’t have days to tend to a hangover, then you’re old.

You either don’t understand or become annoyed by slang.
Younger generations are constantly using slang words to describe feelings, things or ways of life. There was once a day when you used words like “groovy”, “tight” and “tubular” in your everyday vocabulary, and you thought you were cool. As you get older, though, you start to ditch the slang words and replace them with, well, real words. And when you hear a younger individual use a slang word, you either don’t understand what they mean or become completely annoyed when they use it. If this happens to you, you’re old.

You remember life before the Internet.
Today’s generation will never know what life was like without having access to every piece of information at their fingertips. They’ll never remember a time when every thought, idea, or meal wasn’t shared with others via social network. They’ll never know the agony of having to read through an encyclopedia or handwrite a research paper. However, you do. You remember what life was like before the Internet, when you couldn’t access the Internet if someone was on the phone, and how exciting it was to hear, “You’ve Got Mail”. Guess what? But because you remember this, you’ll be able to one day tell your grandkids that you’re older than the Internet, and you’ll really freak them out.

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About Today's Contributor
Guest Author: Lizzie Lau is a freelance writer and online marketing consultant with SEOMap.com. Lizzie combines personal opinions and research to create appealing and informative articles on various topics.