People Are Revealing The Things That They Think Instantly Age Someone, And Some Of These Are Just Out Of People's Control

One of the most popular internet topics of the last several years is just how much older people — relative to their age — looked back in the '80s and '90s (and every decade before then). An often cited example of this is Rue McClanahan, who was 51 when The Golden Girls premiered in 1985; by comparison, Jennifer Lopez is 54 today. And it's safe to say nobody would think of casting J.Lo as a Florida retiree and grandmother on a TV show. However, it's easy to think of Rue as someone who could play that role based on the hairstyle and clothing she wore because it aged her more into someone we would think of in their 60s or 70s.

Closeup of Rue McClanahan

Now, to be fair, Rue was dressed the way women in her age group would have dressed at the time.

Nbc / NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Of course, there are lot of factors both in and out of our control that can make us look much, much older than we are. And recently, Reddit user sabletoothtiger_ posed this question: "What instantly ages someone?"

A man with old man eyes in front of his face
Dimitri Otis / Getty Images

Well the thread got over 13K comments — from very serious ones to frivolous ones that have to do more with life choices — about the things people feel instantly age someone. Below are some of the top and best responses:

1."Lack of sleep."

A tired bunny

2."Definitely children. I got my first gray hairs just after I had kids."

Screenshot from "Modern Family"

3."Bad plastic surgery."

A doll with surgery markings on its face

4."I was gonna say the way you dress."

Women in mom jeans

5."Stress."

A man looking stressed at work

6."Cigarettes will absolutely age a person incredibly efficiently, both visually and health-wise."

Ryan Gosling smoking a cigarette

7."Working in stressful environments."

Screenshot from "Office Space"

8."Reminiscing about the show Dinosaurs."

The family from "Dinosaurs"

9."Troubleshooting printer problems. I swear these devilish machines only exist to trigger me to smithereens."

An error message on a printer

10."Asking young people to make a phone gesture with their hand."

A kid making a phone gesture with their hand

11."Finding out a band you listened to when they first came out is getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame."

Nirvana

12.And lastly: "Back pain. You can't move like a young person if your back hurts."

A man with back pain

You can read the full thread of responses on r/AskReddit.

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.