The video features students in a classroom and others leaving class, pulling funny faces as they pass by. Playing over the footage is Tears for Fears' timeless hit "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," alongside the classic Ferris Bueller line: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” The combination of candid moments and iconic cultural touchstones has sparked a mix of nostalgia and curiosity about how much has changed—and how much has stayed the same—since those days.
High school footage from 1987 goes viral — viewers baffled by how old the teenagers look
The found footage shows a day in the life and fashion choices from a different era.
Looking at videos and pictures from the 1980s can feel like stepping into a different world—one of teased hair, vibrant fashion, and analog technology. A viral video from 1987, shared on X by @LIHpics, has sparked a wave of nostalgia, leaving viewers to ask: why did high schoolers back then look so much older? The clip, simply titled "High school in 1987," has already racked up over 5 million views, captivating audiences with its raw snapshot of the era.
Many X users couldn't believe that these students were from high school. @berner41668312 commented, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” @somefunandjames commented, "It truly never makes sense to me how teenagers in any decade before Y2K, always looked VASTLY older than what we looked like growing up. Like we(born in the early 90s)looked like kids. These people are adults. I’m sure their faces look the same today. We went thru stages, and still are." @pennytweets97 commented, "I think it's mainly the hairstyles. and they wanted to look older I think ppl weren't trying to look young." @ShinMadero commented, "Why do they all look at least 27 years old?" @jbrower73 commented, "I was a freshman in 1987. Our makeup was different. We didn’t use concealer/bronzer/highlighter/etc. It was basically a liquid foundation, pressed powder, blush, eye shadow, eyeliner, and mascara. No blending, primer, etc, or YT videos to teach us how ;)"
Reflecting on students and earlier times, a 1977 interview with Carl Sagan on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson offered timeless insights about children. Sagan remarked, "The thing that I find striking is the enormous remarkable capability of virtually every small child for learning. They start out eager, intellectually wide-eyed asking extremely clever questions about the world."
He says that often "something happens which discourages them." "Tremendous waste of natural resources, for example, a kid asks mommy why is the grass green and very often you get an answer, 'Don't ask dumb questions or who knows.' When the fact is that it is an extremely profound question."
He adds, "How much better would it be to say to the child that's a good question, I don't know the answer, maybe we can look it up or nobody knows maybe you will be the person to find out." Sagan also says that kids who get discouraged end up learning the wrong lessons. "I think kids who are discouraged from asking those questions, wind up learning the lesson that there is something wrong in using the mind we lose those resources and we need those intellectual resources because we are in very perilous times."
So it is pivotal to encourage children. "And I think the complex and subtle problems that we face can only have complex and simple solutions and we need people able to think complex and subtle thoughts. I believe that many children have that capability if only they are encouraged."
This article originally appeared 1 year ago.
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