Life Timeline

For those born September 9, 1993.

Not your birthday? Find your timeline here.

1992
Before you were born

You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without texting.

In August 2011, Jamie Holmes wrote about how SMS is the driving force behind technology-enabled changes in commerce, crime, political participation, and governing in the developing world.

1993
Beginnings

Around the time you were born, the trading card game Magic: the Gathering was released.

In fall 2011, Spencer Kornhaber wrote about the controversy that erupted when a man was publicly insulted for being a Magic: the Gathering champion.

1993
Year 29

You were born in September of 1993. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 6 times as old as you.

The year you were born, Stanley Fish wrote about the American political vocabulary and "racism" being detached from its historical conditions.

2001

Jason Redmond / AP

The 9/11 Attacks

At 8 years old, you were part of the generation most shaped by 9/11.

The conflicts and displacements touched off around the world by the attacks have been reverberating for the majority of your life. “This ‘war’ [on terrorism] will never be over,” wrote James Fallows, a few years after the towers fell.

2004
Half a life ago

Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after Facebook.

In May 2012, Stephen Marche wrote about how Facebook and other social-media platforms were making people lonely, even as they connected them to others more than ever before.

2006

Fred Hayes / Disney Channel

The teenage years

This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.

High School Musical was released in 2006.

2010

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

The Arab Spring

When you turned 17, you witnessed the revolutionary fervor that transformed the Arab world in 2010, a movement led by your generation.

When 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire, he ignited a tinderbox of protests that continue to roil the Middle East, and kindled the beginnings of democracy in Tunisia.

2011
Coming of age

Around your 18th birthday, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. military forces in Pakistan.

In May 2011, Nicholas Jackson provided an infographic breakdown of the assault on bin Laden's Abbottabad compound.

2014

Brendan McDermid / Reuters

Contemporaries

In 2014, Ariana Grande, who was born the same year as you, released the Billboard Hot 100 songs "Problem," "Break Free," and "Love Me Harder."

In August 2014, Kevin O'Keeffe wrote about which emojis would represent celebrities.

2050
Forecasts

By the time you turn 56, China is predicted to be the world's largest economy.

In February 2012, Charles A. Kupchan wrote about the world's emerging economies, and how the world will look by 2050.

Today
History in the making

History is happening all around you, every day.

The Atlantic is here to help you process it, in stories like these: