The Daily Dot
Millennials and Zoomers blame the "COVID pause" for feeling younger than they a…
“I don’t feel like I’m pushing 40 years old, y’all.”
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"Covid Pause" Resonates: Millions Feel Years Lost to Pandemic
**The "Covid Pause" Phenomenon: A Generation's Lost Years**A recent social media trend, dubbed the "Covid pause," is gaining significant traction, particularly among individuals who were in their late twenties when the pandemic began. The phenomenon suggests that many people feel as though several years of their lives were "stolen" by the pandemic, leading to a disconnect between their chronological age and their perceived emotional or social development.TikTok creator Himmothy Chalamet, in a video uploaded on September 2, 2025, articulated this sentiment, stating, "This post is so real and I feel like this stems from Covid pause... it basically means because Covid stole so many years from us, a lot of people still feel like they're closer to the age that they were when Covid first started." Chalamet, who was 27 when the pandemic hit, expressed that he and others in his age group feel they "didn't get five to six years older."The video, which garnered over 375,000 views, 28,000 likes, and nearly 1,000 comments, resonated deeply with viewers. Comments flooded in, reflecting similar experiences. One user wrote, "I was 23.... I do not feel 29 now." Another shared, "I’ve been unintentionally lying about my age for years. I was 35 when Covid happened and my mind has been stuck at that age since." A 31-year-old at the time of Covid, now 36, commented, "it’s like a blank page the last 5 years. I feel robbed of that time!"Chalamet also addressed the criticism often directed at older content creators on platforms like TikTok, who are sometimes told to "go get a job" or "start a family." He posits that this increased participation from "30+" individuals in activities like dancing on TikTok is a direct consequence of the "Covid pause," as they are "no longer ashamed of doing certain things, experiencing things" that they might have felt were age-inappropriate before the pandemic. This perspective highlights a generational shift in how age and social expectations are perceived in the post-pandemic era, with many seeking to reclaim lost time and experiences.
