Older Than The First Text Meme
Birthday math that makes SMS feel young.
A talking-head and animation wave built on one punchline: plenty of adults are older than the first text message.
By RTTA TeamLast updated 2026-08-24
What it is
The "older than the first text meme" is an age-flex audio format. Creators ride a monologue, widely credited on remakes to @taylormakesvideos, that stacks things they outrank by birth year and lands on a simple fact: the first SMS went out on December 3, 1992. Neil Papworth typed "Merry Christmas" from a computer to Richard Jarvis's Orbitel 901 on the Vodafone network. If you were born before that day, you are literally older than texting as a shipped technology. That punchline is what people film. Talking-head versions stare at the camera and list the timeline until the first-text beat hits. Animation remakes do the same with a character reaction; Under Studio's Mushie cut titles the bit "Older Than The First Text Message" and tags the Taylor audio in the description. Soft cousins that only joke about texts in general do not count. The CSI search wants the first-text age line. Why it is peaking now is calendar math meeting short-form. Plenty of millennials and elder Gen Z are mid-career and still surprised SMS is younger than they are. The audio does the work: no props, no choreography, just a cut on the reveal and a face that looks faintly insulted by history. Some posts add a quick B-roll of a brick phone or a "Merry Christmas" text mockup; others keep it as a deadpan list. Format recipe is tight. Use the original sound or a clean remake, mouth the list or animate a character through it, and hold the reaction for a beat after "first text message." Search tags cluster around #OlderThanTheFirstText, #FirstTextMessage, #SMS, and the creator handle. Skip harassment angles. This one is self-roast nostalgia, not a dunk on someone else's age. If you cannot name the 1992 SMS beat in one sentence, keep researching. Adjacent "I'm older than Google" tech timelines are cousins, not this exact CSI phrase.
How to try it
Find the @taylormakesvideos "older than the first text message" sound (or a clear remake) and film a talking-head list that ends on the SMS punchline.
Hold a half-second reaction after the line. Optional B-roll: brick phone, Merry Christmas text mock, or a calendar flash to December 1992.
Animation angle: lip-sync or timed captions on a mascot remake the way Under Studio's Mushie cut does.
Search pack: #OlderThanTheFirstText #FirstTextMessage #SMS #1992 #taylormakesvideos plus the CSI phrasing "older than the first text meme."
older than the first text meme — YouTube clip
Under Studio Mushie remake titled Older Than The First Text Message, crediting @taylormakesvideos audio.
older than the first text meme — YouTube clip
Second clip that uses the exact "Older than the first text message" phrasing.
Common questions
- What is the older than the first text meme?
- A short-form audio format where creators list things they outrank by age and land on being older than the first SMS, sent December 3, 1992.
- When was the first text message sent?
- Neil Papworth sent "Merry Christmas" to Richard Jarvis on the Vodafone network on December 3, 1992.
- Whose audio started the trend?
- Remakes commonly credit @taylormakesvideos as the original sound behind the "older than the first text message" line.
- Do I need a fancy edit?
- No. A clean talking-head on the sound works. Animation remakes are optional flavor.
- Is this the same as older-than-Google jokes?
- Related idea, different punchline. This CSI phrase is specifically about the first text message, not a generic tech timeline.