I’m an old fucker and can remember my earliest memories still. You have to do it though, because memories become less clear over time if unused. Unfortunately, we spend less time recalling memories because of our current over-stimulation in this entertainment rich world. Most of us do not let ourselves be bored (almost ever) now.

Tonight I played a game I hadn’t played since the early 90’s and just the graphics and sounds really brought back nostalgic feelings.

The way memory works, your brain constructs the memory based on stuff from the last time you thought about it, mixed with other random shit.

You’re never remembering “the” event. You’re retelling yourself a story like a game of telephone. The past is gone.

I spent a lot of time with my grandfather in his final days, and he was hitting me with stories from when he was like 4-on. A lot of good memories and a lot of bad memories.

I’m 31 and remember a ton from my childhood. Which makes sense bc I have to remind myself that I’m a grown man and not a kid in social situations all the time. (like when I have to go to my child’s school and my brain flips where I’m overly respectful to the teachers and almost raise my hand to speak to them)

My wife had a rough childhood and can barely remember anything from those years due to mental blocks I guess.

Tldr idk it depends I guess

I’ve lost a lot of my memories, but can remember the general vibe. There are a handful of crystal clear memories though. I’m only mid-30s though

Keep your memories by recalling them frequently. Every time you remember something, you make a new copy in your brain. Recalling memories is like making a backup. I’m 45 and I still remember things from as early as 3. I remember the feeling of the orange shag carpet in the house I grew up on my toes. I remember going down a waterslide on my uncle’s lap and my cousin teaching me how to ride a bike. I remember the feeling of bass in my stomach when the marching band practiced across the street. Keep recalling your memories.

I remember bits and pieces from my childhood. I think most of the memories are there, it just requires something to trigger the memory to load. Like a name or a place etc. (Sometimes watching nostalgia videos can help haha.)

Like I still remember my teachers names and how friendly or strict they used to be. And I also remember some friends and drama. And Video games are also a big core memory for me haha.

In general, I think we all have memory of our childhood. We just need help to trigger our brains to remember. And if we can’t find the trigger, we end up forgetting. Like installing a program on your PC but then deleting the shortcut to it.

I’m almost 50 and I remember a lot of my childhood. I remember riding in a car with my mother down the main street in town and not being able to read signs. So like 1983-84. I remember a bunch of other things from that far back. Sights, sounds, feelings. More the later you go. A lot of the late 80s and beyond.

My dad almost died recently (he got better). The experience lead to several vivid memories from my childhood resurfacing. Memories I forgot I forgot. I would have remembered them if I had a reason to I think, but I had no reason to and so I didn’t until then.

It also made me realise that while previously I thought of my life as a continuous experience, I now feel like there’s a gap in there somewhere. The child me and the present me are separated my more than just time filled with stuff. And there may be more gaps, breaking my life into even smaller pieces now that I think about it.

It’s all still in threre, I don’t think I’ve really forgotten anything, but I don’t have a reason to remember a lot of stuff from the past so I just don’t.

My 90yo grandmother tells me stories of her childhood all the time. Her earliest memories are of when she was around 2-3yo, and she absolutely hasn’t lost her sense of self at all. She’s sharp as a tack, honestly. I think it just really depends on the person

I can hardly remember anything before 16. Not sure if thats normal. I remember certain things if theyre triggered by a photo or a song etc but I cant remember what I was doing on x year.

How old?

I don’t feel like I’ve forgotten more and more. It’s more like I have only ever had a few memories from being a little kid.

Sense of self gets deeper, not lost. All those years of experience add up to more self, not less. I was, though, for sure more self-centered when young, less aware of others, more selfish.

For me I have only some memories from before I got my fist smartphone. From that my brain can recall much more when I look at old pics that from before that age.

I think kids born after say 2005 will have so many photos that they will remember much more than any of the previous generations.

Like usual with us humans and our fickle minds, YMMV.

There are many factors that can impact this, though I would clarify - you aren’t losing memories, they’re there, just harder to access. You aren’t losing your sense of self, it’s evolving - who you are as a person is constantly changing.

For me personally, as someone with aphantasia I’ve never really been in touch with my memories in the first place. I’ve been very much a “in the moment” person - despite that my past experiences do define me, even if I don’t know why.

This is a good question and I’ll be interested to see what others have to say. One thing I’ve noticed is that memories can transform into ‘memories of memories’. What I remember is not the felt impression of something but what I subsequently told or showed myself about it. And it doesn’t even just apply to childhood - I have same thing for big events in my life from last couple of years.

I do find that it’s possible to consciously dig deeper and unearth forgotten memories though.

I’ll also add that I think what constitutes a sense of ‘self’ is more than just memory.

I don’t really but have always been bad at that. My wife on the other hand has countless memories I think from as early as 3-4. I mostly forget everything before grade 5 or 6.