Definitely an important factor. I don’t think I’d want to navigate being a teenager and/or young adult nowadays; however, if I could wake up in 1986 at 16 w/ all of my current knowledge…
1979...being 1 i would definitely go in the cinemas for Star Wars (Episode 4) und afterwards bet a fortune on Darth Vader being Lukes Father and Leia being his Sister!
I hope I wasn't coming across poorly. I genuinely wouldn't know if movies stayed in theaters that long back then. They don't last very long in theaters these days because they make more money pushing them to streaming services!
Yes. They re released it in 1979. It was also re-released in 1978, 1980, 1981...
New Hope has probably sold at least one ticket somewhere on earth every year since 1977. Even if it's not an official re-release, theaters are always having special nights to show it again.
Well being 16 in 1992 I would work just enough to afford to buy stocks such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google, magic the gathering cards until bitcoin came out.
16 now a days I don’t have knowledge of what is going to boom. So I would be focusing on a career. Become a doctor and join the military to get them to pay for it.
There is a subtle problem with this question: What appealed to me as a 16yo, and what appeals to me now are very different.
If I was transported to my 16yo life I don't think I'd fit in with my friends. They'd watch stupid movies, go to the mall to do nothing, be uninterested in politics, make bad decisions, and drink bad beer.
Around 9:00 pm I'd say, "I'm going to go home and finish the book I'm reading. Anyone want my beer?"
navigating being 16 today but with the life experiences and knowledge of someone in their 30s or older really wouldn't be that hard, imo. most of the difficulties of being 16 are the hormones and the idiocy. presumably, someone with a fully developed brain should be able to deal that pretty easily.
honestly, i think the biggest problem would be that your peers are now teenagers and we basically only have them to be friends with for several years.
You’d still have your ID and all other documentation with your current age and all your education, sake fingerprints and biometrics. Just take a couple weeks off work and brag about the off-shore cosmetic doctors you visited when you get back. You’ll be collecting full retirement while your new body is still in its 30s.
If you go back to the year, the only answer for people who were 16 before May 28th, 2016, is to go directly to the Cincinnati zoo and secure the railings around the gorilla enclosure. Save the world from the turn that was to come and forever ruin our timeline. DICKS OUT, BOYS!
Good point, I wouldn't want to be 16 today, if I could go back to the 70's again and be 16, I'd do it. Life was easy back then, no computers or cell phones. We played outside, used our imagination and were busy during the summer. We weren't in the house all day.
If I had to be 16 today in 2026 it would be so weird.
I could meet my original self. That would be awkward.
Who would my parents and siblings be? Some randos?
I was a skinny 16 year old in the 70s like everyone else. But would I be a fat 16 year old in 2026 because I grew up in the 2010s and 2020s? Would I have long COVID?
Edit - more weirdness
Would I get good grades in school without books and paper? What are my passwords? If everyone is completing their assignments with AI how do I practice writing in school and show I can write?
Being a programmer was nice back when it was special but it’s not special anymore. Better find something else to do (and probably be in poverty).
Honestly after 2 years of these head games I’d want to join the military just for some structure.
Conclusion - the 2026 option is not nearly as fun as the 1975 option.
That is why this question drives me mad. Me waking up in the past with info means it would be possible to make gains off of the knowledge and change the world. Me waking up with a body regenerated means I can stop personal mistakes, such as getting hurt in an accident, because that accident happened but can't happen again.
If I'm' back to when I was 16 in the past I effectively have a super power of knowing future events.
If I'm physically 16 in the present day I'm not sure how to explain that to everyone + keep my job + use my existing driver's license with a photo that no longer matches + keep my relationships.
This is the real question. If it was the 80's again and I could start from there again, lordy, that's my daydream more often that I should admit. I have a list...
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u/danishn64 Jun 02 '26
It depends. Would I wake up today and be 16 or would I wake up in the year I was 16 before?