Internet Discusses How Remembering PAN Number By Heart Is A ‘Sign Of Adulting’, We Can't Agree More

While growing up, one might think that being an adult comes with limitless freedom and power. However, adulthood’s supposed freedom and power comes with a barrage of responsibilities that often involve doing mundane but important tasks again and again. People often refer to this drudgery of undertaking everyday tasks and responsibilities as “adulting”. The Oxford Dictionary defines “adulting” as “the practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks.” The Merriam-Webster dictionary also offers a similar but shorter definition: “the act or practice of attending to the ordinary tasks required of a responsible adult.”

Recently, an X user named Vivek Raju shared an odd but relatable ‘sign of adulting’ that is raking in likes. On Thursday, he posted on X, “Sign of adulting: You know your PAN number by heart.” This post soon attracted a slew of replies with people agreeing with Vivek Raju’s observation. So far it has over 3,100 likes and hundreds of reposts.

A permanent account number (PAN) is a ten-character alphanumeric number given by the Indian Income Tax Department. The PAN card is necessary for several finance-related tasks including, for filing income tax. Many people also use a PAN card as an identifier alongside an ADHAAR card or driver’s license.

Replying to this post, an X user wrote that memorising PAN number is especially useful for stock traders and asserted, “If you are trading on stocks then you have must PAN number by heart, Bcoz all reports from the NSE/BSE pdf file passwords set a PAN number.” A person voiced a dated advantage of memorising PAN numbers and remarked, “in pre upi era.. people who remembered their card details used to have the upper hand while booking tatkal tickets.”

In response to Vivek Raju’s post, an X user mentioned, “100% true. I still remember the time when I wondered why my father knew his PAN number without looking into his notes. Now I know too.” Someone joked, “Prove you are a real adult by remembering to drop your debit card number, expiry date, and CVV in the replies.”

A person observed that remembering PAN numbers by heart is a classic sign of being a chartered accountant and wrote, “sign of a CA: knowing PAN of family, few clients by heart.”