You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without fiber-optic communication.
In May 2015, Nicole Starosielski wrote about the underwater network of fiber-optic cables that supports the internet.
You were born in November of 1971. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 3 times as old as you.
The year you were born, Sara Davidson wrote about the Rolling Stones' Grand Tour of Europe, shortly after the Beatles broke up.
Around the time you were born, the American spacecraft Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit Mars.
In April 2013, Alan Taylor did a pictorial piece about solar system history.
Everett Collection
This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.
Revenge of the Nerds was released in 1984.
Around your 18th birthday, East Berlin opened its border.
In August 2011, Lane Wallace wrote about how the Berlin Wall symbolized the failure of Communism.
Patrick Hertzog / AFP / Getty Images
At 18 years old, you saw the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
“It was thought that all borders between men had similarly disintegrated, and we were all destined to be free and empowered individuals in a global meeting place,” wrote Robert Kaplan 20 years later.
Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after graphical web browsers.
In September 2010, Niraj Chokshi noted how little the browser interface had changed since 1993.
Goran Tomasevic / Reuters
When you turned 39, you saw the rise of the Arab Spring.
People across the world rediscovered the power and peril of revolutions, as Laura Kasinof found in Yemen.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
In 2015, Justin Trudeau, who was born the same year as you, was sworn in as the 23rd prime minister of Canada.
In October 2015, David Frum wrote about what Justin Trudeau's victory means for liberalism.
By the time you turn 49, scientists estimate it will no longer be possible to keep global temperatures from rising at least 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In December 2015, Robinson Meyer wrote about why scientists had accepted this fact.
History is happening all around you, every day.
The Atlantic is here to help you process it, in stories like these:
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