A common misconception is that an antique photograph of a youngster clutching what looks to be an iPad is “proof of time travel.”

Some internet users are busy examining the past, especially a decades-old photograph that has generated contentious debates regarding time travel, while Apple may be concentrating on influencing the future with its state-of-the-art technology.

The resurgence of a 1941 black-and-white shot by photographer Edwin Rosskam on Reddit has created quite a stir.

The image offers an intriguing glimpse into a bygone period as it shows a group of kids standing in line outside a Chicago movie theater.

However, a fascinating element seen on the far right side of the frame is what has people talking the most, not the image’s historical significance.

A young youngster wearing a suit and cap is seen there carrying what some people think is an iPad.

This peculiarity has prompted some paranormal enthusiasts to suggest an odd explanation: the youngster must have somehow obtained the tablet in the present and then went back in time with it, since Apple didn’t produce the first iPad until 2010.

The peculiar sighting has captivated social media users, with one person writing: “How is the first kid in line holding an Apple iPad in 1941[?] (Time for the theme from The Twilight Zone.)”

Another observer added: “If you zoom right in close, that is too big to be a ‘book’ or ‘notepad’ plus you can see what looks like the iconic Apple logo on the back of it.”

“You can literally see the Apple logo,” a third commented.

Other commenters pointed out another possible contradiction in the picture, which further muddled the mystery.

A girl in a white hat standing close to the middle seems to be clutching something that strikingly resembles a contemporary plastic water bottle.

One person questioned this detail, penning: “I can’t work out what that actually is. I would say that is more suspect than the ‘iPad.’”

This revelation simply stoked more conjecture, since plastic water bottles weren’t commercially available until 1947, six years after the shot was taken.

Not everyone, though, is certain that the picture offers unmistakable evidence of time travel.

More rational explanations for the abnormalities have been proposed by numerous Reddit users.

Others contended that the purported iPad is more likely to be a notebook or possibly a religious text, while one person speculated that the so-called “water bottle” might actually be a “clutch purse held on its end.”

“It’s most likely The Holy Bible. [The children] have their Sunday best on, bless their wee souls. Yes, I definitely think that’s what it is,” one person commented.

Another user brought up the fact that, in the early days of cinema, ushers would frequently search patrons for writing equipment in order to stop unauthorized efforts to copying movies.

This may help to explain why the youngster in question seems to be carrying a notebook instead of a cutting-edge device.