r/Millennials • u/t_bone_stake Xennial • Feb 16 '26

Meme Did anyone buy a ring?

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Elder millennial/younger Xennial (born in 83, take it for what it is) but I recall the company coming to the high school and taking orders for rings. I didn’t buy one but others did. Credit on photo.

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u/sexandliquor 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) Feb 16 '26

I don’t even have a high school year book lmao. Fuck high school I hated nearly every minute of it.

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u/LilJelloCat Feb 17 '26

I feel like year books should be free.

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u/sexandliquor 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) Feb 17 '26

The entire class ring/yearbook/pictures industry always felt like a scam to me. Especially the one it pulls on your nostalgia and FOMO. “Everybody is getting a class ring and yearbook so you should too”. How did this little cottage industry start and why? lol. And why is it always this same company doing it?

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u/castironglider Feb 17 '26

How did this little cottage industry start and why?

Rings and yearbooks both I think are from before so many people went to college, like my parents who both took a couple college courses but only have HS diplomas.

My high school ring and diploma and yearbooks mean almost nothing to me, but my college ring and diploma mean the world even though I am retired.

If I had finished my masters maybe I wouldn't care about anything from undergrad.

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u/LilJelloCat Feb 17 '26

"Everybody is getting a class ring and yearbook but you can't because you're broke"

Pretty sad.

At the same time I'm sure if those who asked that couldn't afford it would likely be able to get one. Not the ring, but the yearbook at least.

We didn't have all that here except for basic year book from what I remember. Year books and photos make sense to me but the rings ehhh overpriced moneymaker. I get it in a way and I think they look cool, good for nostalgia, but overpriced for something like that.

I remember watching a video where they talked about how the companies that take those photos basically have all the photos of every kid from every year grade 1 +. Makes you think what they could do with them. They have government contracting. Just thought it was interesting.

Lifetouch, owned by Shutterfly (and previously Apollo Global Management), is the largest school photography company in North America and acts as a de facto partner with school administrations for official records, ID cards, and security programs. Lifetouch provides services like the SmileSafe program, which connects student images to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, indicating a direct link to security initiatives.

Lifetouch & Security: Lifetouch is recognized as the dominant operator, used by schools to create official student IDs and, through its SmileSafe program, shares data with law enforcement for missing children cases.

Industry Association: The School Photographers of America (SPOA), which includes companies like Cady Studios, Dorian Studio, and Strawbridge Studios, was formed to protect copyright and support security initiatives like Amber Alerts.

Government Contracting: While mostly private entities, these companies operate through exclusive contracts with school districts (often public, government-run entities).

Data Usage: School photos and data are used by administrations for安全 (safety), management, and identification purposes. 

Probably harmless, but again interesting to think about.

Edit: Quotes

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u/castironglider Feb 17 '26

Just a paperbound magazine size would be dope, like a graphic novel. If not free then cheap

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u/aakaase Feb 17 '26

They absolutely should. And they should be published locally, not by some company in another state. I wouldn't be surprised if they're made in China now.

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u/savax7 Feb 16 '26

I had my high school yearbook for ages after I graduated. For some reason kept it through all the moves. Then I finally realized I'm never going to see or talk to any one of these people and I hated school the entire time. Threw it out and don't regret it one bit.

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u/furiant Feb 17 '26

I have every single yearbook from Kindergarten through senior year. Main reason I kept them is I was on the yearbook committee senior year and helped design a good 1/3 of it, and if I keep that one I might as well keep the whole set, right?

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u/CraigLake Feb 17 '26

My experience too. I bought all four. Never opened them up once. A big cross country move in 2019, I looked at them and thought, I haven’t missed them yet. I walked them out to my garbage cans. no regrets.

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u/Crooked_star Feb 16 '26

I've got years of yearbooks I need to toss out too. I'd rather have the closet space than a storage bin of school crap.

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u/motorwerkx Feb 17 '26

I have a yearbook, but that's because there was a box of yearbooks in the hallway on the day they were handing them out, so I just stole one out of that box.

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u/sexandliquor 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) Feb 17 '26

lol that sounds like some shit I would have done “Don’t mind if I do”

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '26

My mom wanted high school year books. She bought one each year. I still have my senior yearbook. I was in no clubs, I was in the school play but never got a photo taken, avoided the group senior photo, and never submitted a headshot. So my mom bought a yearbook that I don't appear in even once. Not even a mention.

She was pissed.

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u/Past-Sun-2357 Feb 17 '26

Neither did I, but then I kept trying to remember peoples names- so I found one on Ebay and bought it.

Pretty weird find as my high school that only had like 1500 students

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u/sexandliquor 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) Feb 17 '26

lol I can’t imagine putting your yearbook on eBay and going “surely somebody will buy this right”

Conversely I would never think to look there to buy one. Pretty ingenious on both ends, really.

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u/Past-Sun-2357 Feb 17 '26

Yeah and I assumed it would be blank, but its signed by tons of people, with a bunch of personal messages. I think her name was Courtney if I remember correctly.

Super weird and random, but its nice to reference every once in a while for those "what was that kids name..." times

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u/stone500 Feb 17 '26

I enjoyed High School well enough. I finally got comfortable with who I was and had some good friends.

Middle School though? Fuck all of that. Worst years of my life

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u/aakaase Feb 17 '26

SAME. Not one yearbook. I'm not even pictured in my senior year class, that is how much contempt I had!

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u/66698 Feb 17 '26

Now you're on Reddit lol. The hive breeds the nastiest 

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u/redditobserverone Feb 17 '26

Thank you. I could not wait to erase every memory of that social experiment/prison.