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I like watching CHiPs reruns which originally aired from 1977 to 1983. It was just a TV show but I think watching these old episodes is one nice way to get a sense of how the streets, neighborhoods, cars and people looked like from this time period. It's like looking back in time. You gotta love all those big boxy American cars from then.
While not as intense as in the fifties or sixties, the Cold War was still going on. Early in the Nixon administration the Anti-Ballistic Missile program was proposed. A treaty with the USSR aborted that. Nike meant small missile bases, not shoes. Under Reagan, a big increase in military spending included "Star Wars" defense strategy.
I'm curious as to what daily life was like during this time period (roughly 1975-1984). Reading through various threads on this forum and hearing stories from relatives, I have this general image in my head, i.e., clunkier cars, lots of smoking, children always playing outside, going out to dinner was a rare treat, colorful appliances and interior decorating, etc. I knew smoking was allowed in restaurants (heck, the ban is relatively recent), but I was surprised to read that people also smoked in the grocery store. Overall it seems like it was a less sterile, dirtier, grittier time compared to the present. I mean that literally and metaphorically. How did the food taste? Was it better, worse, or on par with today? Did a cup of coffee or a cheeseburger in 1980 taste the same as it does in 2012? I'm especially interested in what was life was like in the early 80s since it doesn't seem to be discussed much for some reason. When did the 80s become distinct from the 70s? Was 1982 really that different from 1978? Was the disco era confined to the mid-to-late 70s or was there any spill over into the early 80s? I understand this was a rough time economically with high unemployment, inflation, etc. What was it like when the economy came roaring back (I ask that considering we're still in a malaise from the most recession)? Economically, politically, and culturally, how would you compare this time period in the US to the present?
I know this is a hodge-podge of both specific and broad questions, but I've been thinking about this for a while and would like to hear your thoughts.
Great idea for a thread.
Smoking was much more pervasive back then, especially in the homes. Almost every home had a smoker, and there was no problem with smoking in the house. Every house was full of smoke. It was just accepted. Smoking was allowed in restaurants, but I specifically remember it was not allowed in grocerty stores even in the 1970s.
I'd say the biggest thing that changed in the early '80s was the advent of the VCR. It was the first time that we could actually watch something on demand, and not have to make sure we were home when the network chose to air it. It was amazing at the time. At the beginning, people could not own movie tapes, but rental places started sprining up and for the first time, you could rent a movie. That was a pretty big change from before. That started happening around 1982.
The other big thing from 1982 was the advent of home gaming systems. Atari debuted then, and it was again amazing. Previously, the only way to play games was to go to an arcade.
As for food, there were fewer ethnic restaurants. I don't think food at home has changed that much, at least not for me (my mom was a progressive cook who cooked a lot of ethnic cusine starting in the '70s), but if you live in a relatively cosmopolitan area, there are a lot broader restaurant choices today than back in the '70s. Chinese food was considered a big deal back then, but it was usually through takeout.
Cars were much worse. Always breaking down, and they drove poorly by today's standards even when they worked. But we didn't know any better, so it didn't matter to us.
Another big thing that started in the '80s was call waiting on the phone. Previously, if a phone line was engaged, another caller just got a busy signal and had to keep calling back until they got a ring. As kids, we were not allowed to talk on the phone at certain times because my dad might need to call for a ride from the train station coming home from work. There was generally only one phone line per house, though well-off people sometimes had a separate line for their children.
In terms of the culture in general, everything was a lot looser and less uptight. People didn't worry about offending others every second, and kids had a lot more freedom. In my state, the drinking age was 18, and even that wasn't really enforced. Most kids started drinking in high school and had little trouble getting into bars, buying from supermarkets and liquor stores, etc. Drunk driving was not taken as seriously. Often, if an officer caught a person driving drunk, he simply offered him a ride home. Schools generally did not have security guards unless they were in a really bad area, and nobody outside the inner city gave much of a thought to school violence or the potential that somebody could bring a weapon into school. In college, drinking was pretty much a given, and with a lower drinking age, it was pretty much assumed that anybody there could drink. It was surely a different time.
Smoking was much more pervasive back then, especially in the homes. Almost every home had a smoker, and there was no problem with smoking in the house. Every house was full of smoke. It was just accepted. Smoking was allowed in restaurants, but I specifically remember it was not allowed in grocerty stores even in the 1970s.
I'd say the biggest thing that changed in the early '80s was the advent of the VCR. It was the first time that we could actually watch something on demand, and not have to make sure we were home when the network chose to air it. It was amazing at the time. At the beginning, people could not own movie tapes, but rental places started sprining up and for the first time, you could rent a movie. That was a pretty big change from before. That started happening around 1982.
The other big thing from 1982 was the advent of home gaming systems. Atari debuted then, and it was again amazing. Previously, the only way to play games was to go to an arcade.
As for food, there were fewer ethnic restaurants. I don't think food at home has changed that much, at least not for me (my mom was a progressive cook who cooked a lot of ethnic cusine starting in the '70s), but if you live in a relatively cosmopolitan area, there are a lot broader restaurant choices today than back in the '70s. Chinese food was considered a big deal back then, but it was usually through takeout.
Cars were much worse. Always breaking down, and they drove poorly by today's standards even when they worked. But we didn't know any better, so it didn't matter to us.
Another big thing that started in the '80s was call waiting on the phone. Previously, if a phone line was engaged, another caller just got a busy signal and had to keep calling back until they got a ring. As kids, we were not allowed to talk on the phone at certain times because my dad might need to call for a ride from the train station coming home from work. There was generally only one phone line per house, though well-off people sometimes had a separate line for their children.
In terms of the culture in general, everything was a lot looser and less uptight. People didn't worry about offending others every second, and kids had a lot more freedom. In my state, the drinking age was 18, and even that wasn't really enforced. Most kids started drinking in high school and had little trouble getting into bars, buying from supermarkets and liquor stores, etc. Drunk driving was not taken as seriously. Often, if an officer caught a person driving drunk, he simply offered him a ride home. Schools generally did not have security guards unless they were in a really bad area, and nobody outside the inner city gave much of a thought to school violence or the potential that somebody could bring a weapon into school. In college, drinking was pretty much a given, and with a lower drinking age, it was pretty much assumed that anybody there could drink. It was surely a different time.
I generally agree that political correctness has gone overboard, but at the same time, it seems like there are also a lot of people out there who simply don't give a blank about others. Many are rude and self-centered. I guess it's always been like that though.
I generally agree that political correctness has gone overboard, but at the same time, it seems like there are also a lot of people out there who simply don't give a blank about others. Many are rude and self-centered. I guess it's always been like that though.
Another big change in the early '80s was the advent of the personal computer in 1981. By the mid 80s, people started ti have computers in their homes, and office life was revolutionized. Gone was the clanking of typewriters, which was a ubiquitous office sound previously. And the ability to edit documents without completely redoing them was a major change.
Another big change in the early '80s was the advent of the personal computer in 1981. By the mid 80s, people started ti have computers in their homes, and office life was revolutionized. Gone was the clanking of typewriters, which was a ubiquitous office sound previously. And the ability to edit documents without completely redoing them was a major change.
That's true. I'm sure productivity increased exponentially (as it often does with technological change). Must have been interesting to experience such a major change.
That's true. I'm sure productivity increased exponentially (as it often does with technological change). Must have been interesting to experience such a major change.
Productivity did increase but on the whole but it also made a big change in the workforce.
In the 80ies the computer was still used mostly by the sectary as 80’s computer systems are not easy to use. They are used by a very limited number of people at work. There use was increasing but nowhere near as common as today where you would expect anyone with an office or works in one to have a computer of their own and they are limited in functions (often just a terminal into a company main frame system) than a general purpose office machine. Typewriters were still a viable means of doing work. Computers did cause some sectaries to lose jobs in the 80ies because a computer is much more efficient at producing documents than a typewriter and companies began to hire only sectaries that could use word perfect(and later the microsoft clone Word). Some sectaries esp. older ones left work rather than learn the new computers. However it was not quite the carnage that would happen over time.
By the 90ies the ease of use of computers has greatly increased such that you needed fewer sectaries. Management began to type its own memos, letters, ect… There are more skilled office worker positions (i.e. the accountant with degree) and fewer low skilled ones like sectary (where you just had to be very good at working a typewriter---i.e. typing was a skill unto itself but not something you went to college for.).
Today there are far fewer sectaries than there once were. To give an idea of the change look at the movie 9 to 5 vs. today. Today we don’t have as many people who are purely a sectary and we don’t have typing pools. Another change in the 80ies is the fax machine; it reduced the demand for messenger services. E-mail for the most part not used by companies outside of financial ones in the 80ies. However the first spread sheet programs on the PC were making a huge impact. Cell phones, car phones and increased use of pagers was also making changes to they way people worked(for some jobs).
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