A millennial man’s viral post on Threads is challenging stereotypes about aging and prompting thousands of people to proudly share images of themselves past the age of 38.
On November 9, Threads user @david_wilson_mola posted a photograph of himself in a stylish jumper, sitting on a couch, along with a caption that read: “If you are over 38, please post a picture. People need to see that we are not old, and our hair is not gray. This is what 40 is like.”
The post has struck a chord with viewers across the platform, garnering more than 13,600 likes and generating over 4,900 shares. It quickly inspired a wave of responses, with users in their late 30s and 40s posting selfies to counter perceptions that millennials are prematurely aging.
“Just turned 41 on the 8th…And then two nights ago, I got carded while buying alcohol,” one viewer said.
“42 years young here. Hello from Ireland,” another added.
“But even if you do have gray hair, that’s okay,” another shared.
“What a cool thread. 42 here,” another viewer commented, attaching a mirror selfie of themselves in trendy workout gear.
Online discourse, particularly from younger social media users, has frequently painted millennials as older than they appear. Over the last few years, a recurring trend across social media has portrayed millennials as looking unusually mature for their age, in part due to their styling, fueling jokes and generational jabs in memes and viral videos.
However, that same online culture has also produced plenty of praise, that has perhaps been louder than the critical comments. Many posts on TikTok and Instagram have countered the criticism by suggesting millennials age especially well, with social media users pointing to healthy lifestyles and skincare routines as contributors to their youthful appearance.
This creator’s post has become a lightning rod for that ongoing debate. Instead of engaging with sarcasm, he prompted peers to respond with lightness. The replies showcased confident users, looking happy and carefree, each declaring their age with a sense of pride.
What emerged was a crowd-sourced portrait of millennial aging, far from the stereotypes. Women and men in their 40s appeared polished and self-assured, often captioning their photos with variations of “this is what 40 looks like,” echoing the creator’s original sentiment.
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