As hard as it might be to believe, the 80's are now half as old as the 50's!  :o In fact, the beginning of the 80's is almost as close to the end of World War 2 as it is to now.

Do you think 30 years seems as long now as it did then though? After all, the 50's pre-dated the hippie movement and had a lot of Victorian values, television was a novelty and most of the globe was pre-modern. By the 80's, the majority of people living on Earth probably had at least semi-modern lifestyles, there were a billion TV sets by the time the 80's ended and more people with than without electricity I'm pretty sure.

Parents also had their children a bit younger in the 50's so the generation gap between the 50's and 80's is larger than between the 80's and now.

On the other hand though, there was for all intents and purposes no Internet in the 80s, and computers while common in developed countries were still only used by certain kinds of people. They were a major part of the infrastructure though. Cell phones were rare and personal communications were in many ways more like the early 20th century than like today. But the people themselves seemed about as modern and liberal as today's people except maybe on the issue of gay rights. The Civil Rights movement was over by 1980 and society had settled into its current neo-conservative status quo. And the world population started to slow in its growth by 1990.

Do you think on the whole the world of 1982 more closely resembles the contemporary world, or the world of 1952?

Post-1960s is post-1960s.  Marty McFly going back to 1982 form 2012 would feel at a loss without the Internet or anywhere to charge his Smartphone.  He wouldn't have too much trouble socially.  In fact he might have more fun.  1982 was less politically correct than today!
8)

Post-1960s is post-1960s.  Marty McFly going back to 1982 form 2012 would feel at a loss without the Internet or anywhere to charge his Smartphone.  He wouldn't have too much trouble socially.  In fact he might have more fun.  1982 was less politically correct than today!
8)


Very true! When did society become stiflingly politically correct? I mean it wasn't over night, but if you had to give a year.

Social trends as a whole haven't changed drastically since the late 1960s, when the Civil Rights Era reached its zenith and different forms of expression started to become accepted. So with that in mind I have to think the difference between 1982 and 2012 would feel pretty minor compared to the difference between 1952 and 1982.

Hey, there's no option for:

"The 50s seem more closer to today than the 80s were"  :D

'Do you think the 80's seem as old today as the 50's did then?', I'd answer "no", but I think you would get a better answer from someone presently in their 80s or 90s who have experience both decades as adults.

For some reason for me, no. And I think for a lot of people too. I think like Maxwell said, post 60s is post 60s. I think the 60s changed SO MUCH in our culture that it was one of those periods in history where the 10 year change was like a 30 year change in just 10 years! That's why people talk about the 60s all the time, because it was such a big time everywhere in the world.

Well I don't remember what the 50s seemed like in the 80s, but my guess would be no.  Like other people have said, the social progress in the 60s was much bigger than anything that's happened between the 80s and today in that regard.  As far as popular culture goes, I'd again say more changed between the 50s-80s (largely because of the social changes), although it has changed a lot since the 80s.  Technologically, I think more has changed in the last 30 years.

I think socially and culturally, like others have said, there's post-late '60s/'70s and before, now technologically(especially in regards to information technology), I think there's post late '90s/'00s and before. 1982 is still very retro though in terms of music, fashion, graphic design, ect.
I think the neo conservative paradigm that emerged in the very late '70s/early '80s is coming to an end as of the late '00s, economically I think we're moving into a liberal era(like the one from 1933-1969-ish), so government will probably grow a lot bigger(which kind of disgusts me).

I think the time period from around the early '70s to the late '00s will be looked at as a period of great individualism come circa 2030.

I'm just going to say, yes.

...When did society become stiflingly politically correct? I mean it wasn't over night, but if you had to give a year.


I'd call it a mid 90's phenomenon.  During the first Clinton term.  That's when the term Politically Correct became used a lot, along with the associated cultural shifts - some of which were good.

I'll add this caveat: although "politically correct" wasn't part of the culture during the 80's, there was undoubtedly an expansion of opportunity for both women and racial minorities throughout the decade.

Post-1960s is post-1960s.  Marty McFly going back to 1982 form 2012 would feel at a loss without the Internet or anywhere to charge his Smartphone.  He wouldn't have too much trouble socially.  In fact he might have more fun.  1982 was less politically correct than today!
8)


That's why they should make a Back To The Future 4 one day.

I'd call it a mid 90's phenomenon.  During the first Clinton term.  That's when the term Politically Correct became used a lot, along with the associated cultural shifts - some of which were good.

I'll add this caveat: although "politically correct" wasn't part of the culture during the 80's, there was undoubtedly an expansion of opportunity for both women and racial minorities throughout the decade.


Maybe the mid 90's was just when it went from equality into the territory of revenge.

That's why they should make a Back To The Future 4 one day.


There already is a Back to the Future 4

There already is a Back to the Future 4


Wow when did that come out?  ???