Why Everything Looks So Old Now

Author

Luisa Odulio
August 13, 2025

Morning Time Travelers!

Ever watch a movie from 2006 and think…

Zoom.

Ya, exactly what I was thinking.

The blousy-under-thing.

Used to be hot, now it’s ancient.

Or maybe you’ve seen the new GTA VI Trailer:

Compared to the old one…

Ya, something WEIRD is happening to your brain.

And, trust me, it's not just nostalgia…

So let's go back to the year 2000.

You're 5 years old, and you just got a PlayStation 2 for Christmas:

This is literally the most realistic thing you've ever seen in your life.

Now fast forward to 2006...

Disney Channel drops High School Musical.

You know this feeling.

You think movies will probably never look better than this.

But then 2008 happens...

2010...

2015...

2020…

2025…

Actually just click and watch this, it’s mind-numbingly nuts:

(sorry it’s sideways)

But is that 8,000,000k resolution? WTF?

Okay, so now it's 2025.

You're an adult.

You decide to rewatch High School Musical:

And you fire up that old PS2...

The files didn't change. High School Musical is the exact same movie.

But YOUR BRAIN changed!

It’s called:

Over the past 25 years, your brain has been unconsciously cataloging every single improvement in visual technology.

It's like having a time machine built into your eyeballs.

Your brain doesn't just watch shows and games..

It studies them.

Building a massive database of what "good" looks like every year.

Like frosted tips and baggy jeans in 2000:

Side-swept bangs and low-rise everything in 2006:

Skinny jeans and early smartphones in 2010:

High-waisted jeans and curtain bangs now:

So when you see Troy's epic hair swoop:

Your brain doesn't just detect 2006 camera technology.

It detects 2006 EVERYTHING!

Which causes a serious problem.

Because this phenomenon – perceptual drift – is accelerating at unprecedented rates…

Stay Cute,
Henry & Dylan 🌈

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