This is something I've had in my mind for years, and in many respects I think it was.

Yeah, there were presages of it as far as the early Twentieth Century. Kids in the '40s and '50s collected baseball cards and other sports memorabilia. Radio shows also seemed pretty popular for everyone. Then, The Beatles in their early days c. 1964 or bands like The Monkees also had a large younger fanbase. Novelty toys like Stretch Armstrong and even pinball machines were surfacing in the '70s. Based on old footage and things I've heard, lots of kids dug KISS. They were one of the most marketable, image-oriented bands of the pre-MTV era.

However, I get the impression this was more of a casual fandom and didn't really apply to everyone. Even kids who liked those things probably somewhat abandoned it in favor of what came around in their teen or twentysomething years. This seems like it changed from 1982+, especially in the mid-late '80s, when different forms of entertainment became more widespread. Like, arcades and videogame consoles (hey, who didn't have an NES then? ;) ), music videos, the advent of Cable TV and VCRs giving people more choices of what to watch. There was also activities like skateboarding or mountain bikes.

Maybe all that stuff helped make kids more observant than before, I don't know?

I'm partially basing this on myself, as well as peers/friends or anyone else I may have talked to about it. Lots of people on this board also seem to favor their childhood life or pop culture the most. For example, I was born in 1981 and I heavily grew up on Eighties music, Nintendo games, or TV and movies from the earlier '90s. That was also the very beginning of me getting a bigger grasp on the world, yet I still was more innocent about it (around age 9-13). I also look back on early school or family experiences with more sentimentality than, like hitting adolescence or the things that go along with becoming an adult. I guess because the core of what would influence me and who I am was formed already. While I like some things from my high school years and my current life, it doesn't "define" me the way the time up to c. 1996 did.

I don't think anyone under their early 30s today is quite as easy to pigeonhole for things like that, so it just varies by the person from my experience.

Honestly, I think you find the same appeal for "their" decade in people who were born at any time. It isn't just an '80s thing. My dad is nostalgic for the early 50s when he was in his 20s. My sister-in-law is still jonesing for the '60s when she was a teenager. You and I yearn for the '80s. It is all relative.

I would say, yes. As you say, even back in early 1900's, and certainly around the '30s and '40s, alot more stuff that appealed to kids started to appear. But I do agree that the '80s was the first decade to have a wide appeal to kids.

There were video game consoles on the market back in the '70s, but none of them had anywhere near the appeal that the NES had in the '80s, not even the Atari 2600. Also MTV was pretty popular with kids, and VCR's were huge for the sales of kids videos. You also cant forget that the '80s was the first decade that you started to see TV networks specifically for kids. Nickelodeon started in 1979, and was pretty popular during the '80s, and the Disney Channel started in the '80s as well.

I agree with your other point as well. And I have noticed alot of this among my friends as well. Most people, once they reach there twenties, start to become nostalgic for there teen days, but it seems that alot of those born in the '70s and '80s simply miss there childhood days more. I just turned 20, so my teen years haven't been over that long, but I don't think I will ever really fell the same way about them as I do the 1991-2001 time period.

Good observation and question.  I was born in the 70's and grew up in the 80's.  I think kids of the 80's are different than kids of the 50's - 70's in general because of technology and the different family structure (at least in the US).  In the 50's, 60's, and part of the 70's, generally speaking, the husband worked and the mother stayed home with the kids.  In the 80's, both parents (in most families) worked so the kids had more television and video games.  Technological advances such as cheaper televsions, radios, and video games combined with both parents working gave kids more access to television, videogames, music videos, and music.  Plus, with the explosion of cable television, there were more cartoons which appeal to kids.

Also, the 80's were innocent because technology was advancing but did not consume us like it did in the 90's.  People worked 8:30 - 5 and did not have email and blackberries to track them down.  A person could swipe a pack of gum from a convenience store or run a red light without having their actions recorded on a video camera. And the bad guys had knives not guns........

Plus, the 90's just seemed so boring.  Just my thoughts.

Honestly, I think you find the same appeal for "their" decade in people who were born at any time. It isn't just an '80s thing. My dad is nostalgic for the early 50s when he was in his 20s. My sister-in-law is still jonesing for the '60s when she was a teenager. You and I yearn for the '80s. It is all relative.

But my childhood and very early adolescence is what I miss the most...NOT my high school and early adult years, which seem to be what the older generations favor. There seems to be an almost stereotypical view of this from them, but I've come to understand this is probably because it was what they experienced themselves. I'm basically talking about Boomers and early Xers.

Like I said, I was born in 1981 and most of my favorite music was made from the early '80s to 1996. I miss personal memores of this time dearly too.


I would say, yes. As you say, even back in early 1900's, and certainly around the '30s and '40s, alot more stuff that appealed to kids started to appear. But I do agree that the '80s was the first decade to have a wide appeal to kids.

There were video game consoles on the market back in the '70s, but none of them had anywhere near the appeal that the NES had in the '80s, not even the Atari 2600. Also MTV was pretty popular with kids, and VCR's were huge for the sales of kids videos. You also cant forget that the '80s was the first decade that you started to see TV networks specifically for kids. Nickelodeon started in 1979, and was pretty popular during the '80s, and the Disney Channel started in the '80s as well.

I agree with your other point as well. And I have noticed alot of this among my friends as well. Most people, once they reach there twenties, start to become nostalgic for there teen days, but it seems that alot of those born in the '70s and '80s simply miss there childhood days more. I just turned 20, so my teen years haven't been over that long, but I don't think I will ever really fell the same way about them as I do the 1991-2001 time period.

Yeah, like I'll probably miss the present later on too, but more because of personal memories, or the fact that it's "closer to the past" than, say 2015 or the 2020s will be. Not for the Zeroes culture themselves.

Yeah, logically that could've been around earlier, but I guess most kids had limited exposure or at least choices of what they could be exposed to in the pre-1982 years. I always got the impression from movies, television shows and accounts from people, that when you got into high school, that's when the world was kinda all unleashed on you all at once...both with entertainment, and life things (i.e. driving, going on dates, gaining independence). Which is probably why older generations think everyone would feel the same way.

Good observation and question.  I was born in the 70's and grew up in the 80's.  I think kids of the 80's are different than kids of the 50's - 70's in general because of technology and the different family structure (at least in the US).  In the 50's, 60's, and part of the 70's, generally speaking, the husband worked and the mother stayed home with the kids.  In the 80's, both parents (in most families) worked so the kids had more television and video games.  Technological advances such as cheaper televsions, radios, and video games combined with both parents working gave kids more access to television, videogames, music videos, and music.  Plus, with the explosion of cable television, there were more cartoons which appeal to kids.

Also, the 80's were innocent because technology was advancing but did not consume us like it did in the 90's.  People worked 8:30 - 5 and did not have email and blackberries to track them down.  A person could swipe a pack of gum from a convenience store or run a red light without having their actions recorded on a video camera. And the bad guys had knives not guns........

Plus, the 90's just seemed so boring.  Just my thoughts.


I completely agree....although I'd replace '90s with '00s. :)

But my childhood and very early adolescence is what I miss the most...NOT my high school and early adult years, which seem to be what the older generations favor. There seems to be an almost stereotypical view of this from them, but I've come to understand this is probably because it was what they experienced themselves. I'm basically talking about Boomers and early Xers.

Like I said, I was born in 1981 and most of my favorite music was made from the early '80s to 1996. I miss personal memores of this time dearly too.



Yeah, I feel the same way, and it seems like alot of those born in the '70s and after do too. I've noticed that alot of kids that grew up in the '80s and '90s seem to miss there childhood days much more than those born before that do. For example, my parents were both born in the '60s, and even though they do sometimes talk about there childhood, they are almost always nostalgic for there teen years in the '70s and '80s.

I'm not really that way though. It's not that my teen years weren't fun, I've just always felt more nostalgic about my life before I turned 13.

I think that the 80s belong to children, preteens, and teenagers.  I'm so glad that I was a child (ages 3-9) and preteen (ages 10-12) in the whole 80s decade because I had a lot of good times in that era.  Saturday Morning Cartoons and toys made a huge amount of money in the 80s, and I was a part of it.

I think that the 80s belong to children, preteens, and teenagers.  I'm so glad that I was a child (ages 3-9) and preteen (ages 10-12) in the whole 80s decade because I had a lot of good times in that era.  Saturday Morning Cartoons and toys made a huge amount of money in the 80s, and I was a part of it.


me too! There was nothing like watching cartoons on Saturday morning...it was the BEST!  My dad would buy us Hubba Bubba bubblegum (remember that stuff?)...and I would sit there and blow the biggest bubbles while watching, The Smurfs, The Snorks, The Littles, and all the rest of the great cartoons from that time period!!! :D

me too! There was nothing like watching cartoons on Saturday morning...it was the BEST!  My dad would buy us Hubba Bubba bubblegum (remember that stuff?)...and I would sit there and blow the biggest bubbles while watching, The Smurfs, The Snorks, The Littles, and all the rest of the great cartoons from that time period!!! :D


I know.  I remember when Smurfberry Crunch first came out.  That cereal was the bomb.  Trix (sorry Rabbit, Trix are for kids), Froot Loops (follow your nose that always knows), Cookie Crisp, Cap' N Crunch( regular and with Berry and Chocolate)  Fruity and CoCo Pebbles (even though I liked Fruity Pebbles better), Apple Jacks, Smacks, Donkey Kong cereal, Lucky Charms, Frosty Flakes, HoneyComb, and all that.  Cartoons and toys was what made the trademark of the 80s for kids.  Smurfs, Alvin and The Chipmunks (my father and my mother, both Baby Boomers, grew up on the old-school Chipmunks, The Alvin Show, The Chipmunk Song, and The Witch Doctor), Munchichis, Dungeons and Dragons, The Littles, Foofur, Kissyfur, Gummie Bears, Punky Brewster, Mr. T, Muppet Babies, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, Care Bears, Pound Puppies, Pound Purries, Furrever Friends, Barbie and The Rockers, Jem,Transformers, Woody Woodpecker, Heathcliff, Garfield, Garfield and Friends, The Peanuts, Maxine's World, Inspector Gadget,  The fake Ghostbusters, The Real Ghostbusters, Looney Tunes, Popeye, Heman, She-Ra, The Cabbage Patch Kids (dolls), Rubik's Cube, Slinky, etc.

I know.  I remember when Smurfberry Crunch first came out.  That cereal was the bomb.  Trix (sorry Rabbit, Trix are for kids), Froot Loops (follow your nose that always knows), Cookie Crisp, Cap' N Crunch( regular and with Berry and Chocolate)  Fruity and CoCo Pebbles (even though I liked Fruity Pebbles better), Apple Jacks, Smacks, Donkey Kong cereal, Lucky Charms, Frosty Flakes, HoneyComb, and all that.  Cartoons and toys was what made the trademark of the 80s for kids.  Smurfs, Alvin and The Chipmunks (my father and my mother, both Baby Boomers, grew up on the old-school Chipmunks, The Alvin Show, The Chipmunk Song, and The Witch Doctor), Munchichis, Dungeons and Dragons, The Littles, Foofur, Kissyfur, Gummie Bears, Punky Brewster, Mr. T, Muppet Babies, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, Care Bears, Pound Puppies, Pound Purries, Furrever Friends, Barbie and The Rockers, Jem,Transformers, Woody Woodpecker, Heathcliff, Garfield, Garfield and Friends, The Peanuts, Maxine's World, Inspector Gadget,  The fake Ghostbusters, The Real Ghostbusters, Looney Tunes, Popeye, Heman, She-Ra, The Cabbage Patch Kids (dolls), Rubik's Cube, Slinky, etc.



wow..karma to you for bringing back so many awesome memories of mine! :) I think we are the same age..I heard you say that you graduated in 1995...so did I. I will be 31 in January. :)

I think the '80s did cater to children in a lot of ways. Like what Nicole mentioned, the cereals were aimed at children. Also, cartoons and kid-friendly live-action shows. Probbaly people who are not from the Bay Area know this show, but it was called Buster & Me, and it was a woman with two monkey (or gorilla?) puppets - there were many shows out there like this, as well. I think in the '80s people had a better understanding of how children worked more than ever before, so they focused on kids as almost being "little adults" rather than just "kids."

^ I agree (I remember alot of those cereals, and of course I'm another Bay Areaian too). :)

Yeah I know what you mean about the kids themselves seeming kinda different. In some ways I felt like a "really really little adult" when I was, say 7 years old as well, just because I was aware of things people older than me liked or paid attention to. Even if it was confined to things I cared about, like local stuff in town, car trips, things at school...or in a pop culture sense, mostly music and Nintendo games.

I wonder if things like arcades, an abundance of advanced toys, music videos and stuff did make them seem "older" than sone previous generatons of kids did. Although the irony is, I think it also is making people seem young for a longer time too!


While we're on the subject, I think the age appeal also worked the other way too. Like there were alot of casual adult fans of '80s culture. Especially the music, probably because it was so poppy and catchy. It probably depended on what it was, but I remember lots of people in their 30s and 40s who liked Phil Collins, Lionel Richie and Bruce Springsteen.

I really couldn't see anyone hating on the popular radio music, unless they were just completely an old grump or something. ;) I had a sixtysomething babysitter around then, and she fit into that category pretty well when it came to things like that, lol (she was something of a nice lady, but not the least bit fun or "cool" - at all).

It seems that perhaps the 80's were unique in that it appealed to people who were born in the 80's, as well as those who were in there 20's. I was born in the 60's, had my childhood in the 70's, mid to late teens in the 80's, and only miss the 80's. I do find it impressive that a lot of people on this web-site were born in, and luv, the 80's.

It seems that perhaps the 80's were unique in that it appealed to people who were born in the 80's, as well as those who were in there 20's. I was born in the 60's, had my childhood in the 70's, mid to late teens in the 80's, and only miss the 80's. I do find it impressive that a lot of people on this web-site were born in, and luv, the 80's.


That's true, like me lol.

Irony is, I was far from the only one too. My parents had some really good friends at the time, who had three kids around my age (I think 1980, '82 and '85ish born - the oldest was a girl who I was fairly close with as kids). I remember they all liked at least an extent of video games, songs and just generally other things that permeated the culture. It was so cool when we'd play a mixtape at home or in the car and I got to share it with them.

Yet the parents (just like mine) enjoyed it too. In fact, the guy even looked a bit like John Oates, with the mustache to boot too (he was something of a Hall and Oates fan as well). ;D