Growing up alongside technology
Nothing dates a person quite like the technology they remember arriving. Someone born in 1975 grew up before the web and saw it appear in their late teens; someone born in 2000 has never known a world without Google; someone born in 2010 has had touchscreens since before they could talk. The chart above lines up your life against the things most of us now use every day, so you can see at a glance which ones you are older than and how old you were when each one arrived.
Use the buttons to show only the technologies that are younger than you, which is often a surprisingly long list, or only the ones that were already around when you were born.
How we calculate it
Each technology has a date when it first became available to the public, or when the company behind it was founded. We compare that date with your birthday to see which came first, then work out your exact age on the day each newer one arrived. The bars show how old each technology is today on the same scale as your own life.
| Technology | Arrived | Age in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| The World Wide Web (public) | August 1991 | 35 |
| September 1998 | 28 | |
| February 2004 | 22 | |
| YouTube | February 2005 | 21 |
| iPhone | June 2007 | 19 |
| October 2010 | 16 | |
| ChatGPT | November 2022 | 3 |
Worked example. Someone born on 12 April 1990 is older than the public web by about a year and four months. They were 17 when the iPhone went on sale, 14 when YouTube was founded and 32 when ChatGPT was released. Of the 32 technologies on this page, 9 are older than them.
The pace of change
Each new technology spreads faster than the last. Telephones took decades to reach most homes; smartphones took about ten years; ChatGPT reached an estimated 100 million users within about two months of launch. Whatever your age, the list of things younger than you will keep growing.
Questions people ask
How did you choose the dates?
We use the date each product or service first became available to the public, or the founding date for companies. For example, the World Wide Web opened to the public in August 1991, the first iPhone went on sale in June 2007 and ChatGPT was released in November 2022.
Why is the mobile phone listed twice?
The first call from a handheld mobile phone was made in April 1973, but the first handheld phone did not go on sale until 1983. Both moments matter, so both are included.
Can I suggest something to add?
Yes, please write to us through the contact page. We add technologies that most people use or remember.
Is anything saved?
Your birthday is remembered on this device so other pages can use it. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Sources. Company histories and contemporary reports; dates are first public release or founding. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.