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Did life revolve around the fear of unemployment like it does now? Were families more intact (people more loyal to one another)? What would you say the general feeling during the time was? Did the fear of the soviets grip the nation?
I spent my teen years in the 80s. I feel that it was more carefree, less cynical than now. People weren't as hung up on things. You remember that scene from the movie "Internship" where Vince Vaughn asks Owen Wilson what was a seatbelt back in the 70s? It was your mom holding her arm in front of you so you wouldn't hit your head against the dashboard. Well, that type of attitude still was around in the 80s. I never used a bicycle helmet, kids played out in the streets and got scraped and hurt and parents didn't freak out about it. I feel the overall feeling of the 80s was pretty optimistic and fairly laid back, despite the fact that there were two ongoing "crises" in the 80s: AIDS, and the Cold War. Despite these, there still seemed to be more of a happier, less jaded vibe. You see this reflected in the fashion, the color of the clothes, the music.
one of the good things now versus then is the lack of smoking. Back in the 80s, you could smoke anywhere: inside bars, etc. Nowadays, at least here in California, I see almost NOBODY smoking
The only "meat heads" were people like Lou Ferigno/Arnold who everyone knew were on steroids and noone wanted to be like. Weightlifting was for football players/wrestlers as opposed to all athletes. In some respects from a sports perspective, baseball and tennis players were healthier because their bodies were more naturally shaped instead of carrying an extra 30 lbs of muscle which caused joints to wear out sooner.
Aerobics was a new fad with spandex and those fuzzy jazzercise like calf warmers that women wore.
Actually where I grew up everyone wanted to be like Arnold or a pro wrestler or a beefy football player. They just didn't care about a low body fat. A lot of guys were naive and genuinely believed that you could end up like the Hulk just by drinking extra milk. I went to a pretty redneck high school and all the jocks tried to look like "The Boz". That was another 1980s thing - mullets with spiked hair on top, and "blade" style sunglasses.
one of the good things now versus then is the lack of smoking. Back in the 80s, you could smoke anywhere: inside bars, etc. Nowadays, at least here in California, I see almost NOBODY smoking
Not sure about California, but in NJ smoke-free buildings started in the 80's. My current employer has always had a smoke-free building (I started here in 1988) and my previous employer went smoke-free around 1987.
The anti-drunk-driving crackdown and national seat belt laws also started in the 80's.
Another thing I remember about the 80s, a lot less truckers on the interstate! You could drive for quite awhile before seeing a truck driver. In fact, I seem to remember it was a rare treat to pass a truck driver and then pump your arm out the window up and down. If he was a cool driver, he would honk his horn back at ya. CB radios were really popular and a lot of people had them installed in their cars.
I also remember that it was fairly common to ride in the back of a pickup truck bed. I never see that anymore.
As far as music, there would be a section in the store where you could buy a small record containing a single song and B side. Single cassettes came out in the mid-80s and it was about $3 for a hit song. CDs were pretty new and they sold in ridiculously long cardboard boxes.
I remember that very well! I was so excited - I was anxious for the market to crash so everyone would be in the same circumstances, rather than the rich getting richer and the poor (like me) getting poorer. The gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' was really growing in the 80's, especially after the tech boom.
For us, personally the 80s was a great time. We were financially secure, our kids were doing well, both in high school and college and the country was happy with the new President. I am sure there were many issues too many of us closed our eyes too.
as for policies and attitudes, non smoking movement was just starting and those of us who did smoke thought it was crazy to ban smoking anywhere. There was also more awareness regarding drunk driving, both ended up to be positive movements.
The best part of the decade, in my opinion was the pride America was seeing again in our country and around the world we were gaining respect. The world loved us and we were again a patriotic country.
I remember that very well! I was so excited - I was anxious for the market to crash so everyone would be in the same circumstances, rather than the rich getting richer and the poor (like me) getting poorer. The gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' was really growing in the 80's, especially after the tech boom.
Wow, you sound really messed up. I bet you really had a blast with the crash of 2008-09, huh?
Instead of wishing for everyone to be poor, why not work for everyone to be well-off?
The whole concept of this thread is amusing. Treating the 80's as history? That was just yesterday to many of us, very modern times.
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Treating the 80's as history? That was just yesterday to many of us, very modern times.