hello everyone I am new here. I am 23 years old and although I can only remember back to 1986-87 around the time when i began kindergarden those last years of the decade are still strongly in my mind and i miss those times so much, the music, the tv shows, the whole culture. Anyone feel the way i do... we need to bring back the 80's! :-[ :\'(

I TOTALLY feel the way that you do, but thank god for websites like this and all the others that exist.  Today's technology allows us to relive the 80's in a way we wouldn't be able to otherwise.  I often say i'd give anything to relive just one day back then.  But I miss it so much, and think about it all the time, especially when I'm bored at work.  Well at least we have Ebay where we can buy all the things we used to have when we were kids that were lost over time.  ;D

There is a science fiction book called "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons.  In this book, there is a drug called "Flashback" that basically allows you to "relive" the past by making your memory of the past seem real, as if you are living it in the present.  Sometimes, I wish that could take a drug like that, and relive selected memories from the 1980's:  road-tripping with my buddies to New Braunsfels following graduation from high-school, staying up late eating pizza and watching "The Terminator" for the first time, feeling proud to be American with Reagan as president, playing Photon, and so many others.  I don't think that I'd be willing to sacrifice my present life (I couldn't bear to live without my wife and daughters), but it would be soooooo nice to take a "vacation" back to the 80's!

8) I Really miss the 80s too..Some parts though..Its wierd but..I wish I was my age now..38..but living then..The time then seemed so much more FUN..the music..the times.. I guess it really wouldnt be fun if I was 38...but..I wouldnt want to be a teenager again either...Maybe for a little while ..kinda like BIG...Am I confusing anyone yet..LOL...I am really happy with my life now..My husband and kids but..it would be fun to go back..say for a week..a month??  Someone asked me this before a long time ago..if you could pick a time to go back in the past..when would it be??  Back then..in the 80s..LOL..I said..I would go back to Woodstock...because my parents were there and said how great it was...But NOW..I would go back to the 80s...Prob..1983...That year was a BLAST!!..funny how time changes you

The 80's were the feelgood years... tv was made to be specifically feelgood, music was made to be feelgood... even 80's rock was feelgood! There was just a general happy vibe going round. Things in the 90's and 00's tend to be so serious, depressing and mundane - and the trouble is people jump on the bandwagon, and then it becomes reality!  ::) Of course I'm generalising a lot, but that's how it looks in the overall picture.

There is a science fiction book called "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons.  In this book, there is a drug called "Flashback" that basically allows you to "relive" the past by making your memory of the past seem real, as if you are living it in the present.  Sometimes, I wish that could take a drug like that, and relive selected memories from the 1980's:  road-tripping with my buddies to New Braunsfels following graduation from high-school, staying up late eating pizza and watching "The Terminator" for the first time, feeling proud to be American with Reagan as president, playing Photon, and so many others.  I don't think that I'd be willing to sacrifice my present life (I couldn't bear to live without my wife and daughters), but it would be soooooo nice to take a "vacation" back to the 80's!

If that drug existed I'd be a total addict!!!

I'm 22 and while the 80s were nice, maybe you miss them not so much of the actual years, but because you miss the simpler times of your early childhood?

I'm 22 and while the 80s were nice, maybe you miss them not so much of the actual years, but because you miss the simpler times of your early childhood?


I couldn't have said it better myself. :)

I totally know how he feels, as a born in 1981-er who is pretty nostalgic for the decade I was born in. Yet, I was just thinking how, what I recall from the 80's is: Nintendo games, songs, movies, places we lived, family trips we took, being with my parents, going to school, etc etc.

On the other end of the spectrum, there also were things like Black Monday 1987, the Cold War, inner city poverty, a recession at the end of the decade, etc. Me being 8 when the 80's ended, I had very little (if any) knowledge of these things as they were going on.

Maybe kids of the 80's like myself, tend to automatically associate it with the "happier" things since that's all we remember? It automatically feels more innocent to us, since WE were more innocent??

8) I Really miss the 80s too..Some parts though..Its wierd but..I wish I was my age now..38..but living then..The time then seemed so much more FUN..the music..the times.. I guess it really wouldnt be fun if I was 38...but..I wouldnt want to be a teenager again either...Maybe for a little while ..kinda like BIG...Am I confusing anyone yet..LOL...I am really happy with my life now..My husband and kids but..it would be fun to go back..say for a week..a month??  Someone asked me this before a long time ago..if you could pick a time to go back in the past..when would it be??  Back then..in the 80s..LOL..I said..I would go back to Woodstock...because my parents were there and said how great it was...But NOW..I would go back to the 80s...Prob..1983...That year was a BLAST!!..funny how time changes you


I agree -- 1983 was a good year, as was 1984 (probably my favorite year from the 80's, both from a pop culture perspective, and from a personal experiences perspective).  I wish that I could gather my previous "selves", the "me" from ages 7, 10, 13, 18, 22, 25, 30, and my present-day 34 year self, and let all of them have a conversation with each other.  I would hope that my previous selves would not be too disappointed with my present self, and the way my life has turned out.  Likewise, I would love to see firsthand how I have changed over the years -- how my attitudes and values have changed, my goals and dreams, my fears and anxieties.  A philosopher named Daniel Dennett compared the personality to a club that meets periodically.  Some members leave the club, some new peole join, and others are regular participants.  Anyways, don't know how I got of on this tangent...

I couldn't have said it better myself. :)

I totally know how he feels, as a born in 1981-er who is pretty nostalgic for the decade I was born in. Yet, I was just thinking how, what I recall from the 80's is: Nintendo games, songs, movies, places we lived, family trips we took, being with my parents, going to school, etc etc.

On the other end of the spectrum, there also were things like Black Monday 1987, the Cold War, inner city poverty, a recession at the end of the decade, etc. Me being 8 when the 80's ended, I had very little (if any) knowledge of these things as they were going on.

Maybe kids of the 80's like myself, tend to automatically associate it with the "happier" things since that's all we remember? It automatically feels more innocent to us, since WE were more innocent??


I agree that everyone tends to have exaggerated memories of the decade surrounding their youth, when parents shielded you from the pressures and responsibilities of life, and you could relax, have fun, and enjoy the innocence of being a kid.  However, I'm 34, and have vivid memories from 1976 through the present day.  I honestly believe that the 80's had qualities that made it superior to the 70's, 90's, and 00's.  The 80's had real economic prosperity (once double-digit inflation and the recession ended around 1982), as compared to the illusion of prosperity in the 90's (I personally believe that the Internet boom of the 90's was a sham, a mere shifting of wealth from one group to another, as compared to genuine internal growth).  Ronald Reagan was a president with integrity (regardless of your opinion of his intelligence or economic policies).  He made you feel proud to be an American.  Yes, the Cold War was still going on, but it wasn't something that most people really "feared" on a personal level (once again, I'm speaking in gross generalities  :)  Society still had a general attitude of personal responsibility, as compared to the "the government/taxpayer is responsible for fixing all of my problems for me" attitude that dominates politics today).  The streets were safer;  as kids, we could stay out late playing with friends (unsupervised), without our parents fearing for our safety.  Pop culture had a "fun" spirit to it -- listen to the songs, look at the fashions that were popular back in the 80's.  T.V. shows still had at least some morals to them -- look at "The Cosby Show", "Full House", "Family Ties", etc.  (I believe that it is important for children to hear moral stories on a regular basis, either at church/synagogue/temple, or from mass media).  Anyways, this is all my personal opinion -- sorry to ramble on so much -- I guess it comes from being an "old fogey"  :D

T.V. shows still had at least some morals to them -- look at "The Cosby Show", "Full House", "Family Ties", etc.  (I believe that it is important for children to hear moral stories on a regular basis, either at church/synagogue/temple, or from mass media).  Anyways, this is all my personal opinion -- sorry to ramble on so much -- I guess it comes from being an "old fogey"   :D
Yes I miss the TV shows from the 80's. Witness my username.

Yeah kids NEED morals in their tv programmes, but the powers that be deem that as "cheesy" now, which is a shame for our little kids.

I agree that everyone tends to have exaggerated memories of the decade surrounding their youth, when parents shielded you from the pressures and responsibilities of life, and you could relax, have fun, and enjoy the innocence of being a kid.  However, I'm 34, and have vivid memories from 1976 through the present day.  I honestly believe that the 80's had qualities that made it superior to the 70's, 90's, and 00's.  The 80's had real economic prosperity (once double-digit inflation and the recession ended around 1982), as compared to the illusion of prosperity in the 90's (I personally believe that the Internet boom of the 90's was a sham, a mere shifting of wealth from one group to another, as compared to genuine internal growth).  Ronald Reagan was a president with integrity (regardless of your opinion of his intelligence or economic policies).  He made you feel proud to be an American.  Yes, the Cold War was still going on, but it wasn't something that most people really "feared" on a personal level (once again, I'm speaking in gross generalities  :)   Society still had a general attitude of personal responsibility, as compared to the "the government/taxpayer is responsible for fixing all of my problems for me" attitude that dominates politics today).  The streets were safer;  as kids, we could stay out late playing with friends (unsupervised), without our parents fearing for our safety.  Pop culture had a "fun" spirit to it -- listen to the songs, look at the fashions that were popular back in the 80's.   T.V. shows still had at least some morals to them -- look at "The Cosby Show", "Full House", "Family Ties", etc.  (I believe that it is important for children to hear moral stories on a regular basis, either at church/synagogue/temple, or from mass media).  Anyways, this is all my personal opinion -- sorry to ramble on so much -- I guess it comes from being an "old fogey"   :D


I think you've hit the nail on many areas. I also feel like growing up in the 80's there was less worry for children. I mean, there was still kidnapping which seemed to become an epidemic in the mid-80's, but in general it seemed things were still innocent. I loved playing in my front yard with my friends until dusk, listening to the radio and being creative. Kids just don't do that today. Even though we had computers and video games, to me they weren't like what they are today. TV was also way higher qaulity. Any kid today that wants to deem the 80's as cheesy will never know because they didn't live it - so they just don't know what they missed. I am proud to have been born in the 80's now, as before I use to be embarassed. Now I embrace the year I was born - 1982 :0) For some that seems like a long time ago - and guess what, it was!

I miss all the good family oriented sitcoms of the 80's.  Nowadays, it's all reality tV.  I hate it  >:(

Whatever became of the simpler times with wholesome comedies like Newhart, Full House, Too Close For Comfort, Perfect Strangers ...  :-\\

Apart from one or two shows I enjoy, TV today really sucks  :(

Yeah kids NEED morals in their tv programmes, but the powers that be deem that as "cheesy" now, which is a shame for our little kids.


We get our morals from what we see and hear when we are children.  As a kid, my morals were shaped by Mr. Rogers, Different Strokes, Happy Days, the novels of Judy Blume and Lloyd Alexander, the pastors and teachers at my church.  The underlying lesson from all of these sources was "treat yourself and other people with respect".  If today's kids aren't getting "healthy" morals from TV, religion, or books, then where are their values coming from?  I'm reminded of an episode of Star Trek-TNG, when one of the characters describes a totalitarian society: "Their bellies may be full, but their souls will be empty".  When I see the reality shows on TV, or hear rap music on the radio, I get very fearful for my daughters.  My wife and I try to create a healthy environment for them, but we won't be able to shield them from mass media forever (nor do I think that it would be healthy to try).

I agree -- 1983 was a good year, as was 1984 (probably my favorite year from the 80's, both from a pop culture perspective, and from a personal experiences perspective).  I wish that I could gather my previous "selves", the "me" from ages 7, 10, 13, 18, 22, 25, 30, and my present-day 34 year self, and let all of them have a conversation with each other.  I would hope that my previous selves would not be too disappointed with my present self, and the way my life has turned out.  Likewise, I would love to see firsthand how I have changed over the years -- how my attitudes and values have changed, my goals and dreams, my fears and anxieties.  A philosopher named Daniel Dennett compared the personality to a club that meets periodically.  Some members leave the club, some new peole join, and others are regular participants.  Anyways, don't know how I got of on this tangent...
  Thats Excellent...I love that ...Also..on your topic of morals...I def. think I was shaped and formed as were my children of Mr Rogers...and Sesame St... and on your mention of Judy Blume...I just gave my Daughter the books Blubber...because kids were making fun of a classmate...and I gave her Are you there GOD its me Margaret?...great reads for young girls...

Sometimes I wish I had been born 10 years earlier so I would have been a teenager in the 80s.

decade are still strongly in my mind and i miss those times so much, the music, the tv shows, the whole culture. Anyone feel the way i do... we need to bring back the 80's! :-[ :\'(


I miss the 80's too.

Even though i love 80's but i don't MISS 80's i think it was Good for Time being, I like 2005 's i think we all CAME LONG way, i even like music today its different but still has its own style.
"LIFE Changes we ve got to moooove forward, there is got to be a better way".
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