“This hit me HARD”: Author brutally nails what getting older actually feels like in viral video
53-year-old Jeff Pearlman, @jeffpearlmanauthor, shared what it feels like to get old with youth-obsessed TikTok. Pearlman admitted that the topic of aging makes for “the least TikTok video ever,” but he made the PSA anyway. He explained that getting old isn’t about how you feel, it’s about how you’re viewed by others. Although the body changes with age, the person inside is still the same, even as they become old in relation to others and their familial and societal roles shift with time.
"'Inside every old person is a very surprised young person.'"
Pearlman’s June 29, 2025, post has 549,000 views and over 4,000 comments on TikTok. Many commenters related to the TikTok creator’s thoughts and shared their own wisdom about aging. Younger people in the comments expressed gratitude for their youth, as well as a desire to stay present in their lives.
"Here is what it feels like to get old. In very real terms"
Pearlman captioned his post, “Here is what it feels like to get old. In very real terms.”
“It is so weird getting old. It is so freaking weird getting old,” he said. “One day you're, you know, over here and your friends are getting married and you're at the wedding and you're with the friends who are getting married, so you're all dancing with the people getting married and you're all getting drunk, and then one day you blink and it's your friends' kids who are getting married and now you're the old people at the wedding.”
Pearlman explained the really bizarre part is that “you don’t feel old”—but you are. Because other people are younger than you.
@jeffpearlmanauthor Here is what it feels like to get old. In very real terms.
Commenters discussed how, in some ways, age is about perception.
“It’s not the loss of youth, it’s the loss of perception of limitless potential. Heavily influenced by the ageism of our society.”
“I understand because my 25-year-old self, 35-year-old self, 45-year-old self are still very present and relevant in my head. I’m 61.”
The weird, disorienting shift from young to "the old person"
@Mappy6984 shared the video on X where it has 1 million views and 900 comments. The X user wrote, “This hit me HARD. I'm the old guy now.”
Men in the comments echoed @Mappy6984’s comment, “I look in the mirror and just see an old man. Ngl,” and complained about the physical aspects of getting old. Some discussed how aging translates to irrelevance. But here’s some wisdom that sounds like it could have only come with age:
“It’s an honor to grow old, not everyone gets to do that. Enjoy life and think less.”
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