And this is straight from an 80s girl....me!

You know the lyrics to every 80s song.
You have a deep fondness and love for bright colors.
When you were a kid, you watched cartoons on Saturday and after school.
If you're a lady, you're really into anything pink!
You can still style your hair like the 80s and make it look authentic.


I'll be back to post more!

You had a Nintendo Entertainment System.

In the 1980s, I was under 10 years old, unemployed & broke. The struggle was real.

You ate sugared cereals in front of the TV screen.


How is this different from people who ate sugared cereals in front of the TV screen in the 60s, 70s, 90s, etc? I'm not sure this is 80s-specific.

How is this different from people who ate sugared cereals in front of the TV screen in the 60s, 70s, 90s, etc? I'm not sure this is 80s-specific.

It was the promotion of those cartoon cereal characters during the 1980's.

It was the promotion of those cartoon cereal characters during the 1980's.


It was the same in the 70s and 90s, bro. For heaven's sake, I remember the cartoon character of Captain  Crunch on TV in the 1960s.  What you meant to say was it's what YOU did growing up in the 80s, not that it was ONLY done in the 80s. Everybody else did too in the other decades.

And this is straight from an 80s girl....me!

You know the lyrics to every 80s song.
You have a deep fondness and love for bright colors.
When you were a kid, you watched cartoons on Saturday and after school.
If you're a lady, you're really into anything pink!
You can still style your hair like the 80s and make it look authentic.

I'll be back to post more!


I agree with just two of these - will elaborate as follows:


You have a deep fondness and love for bright colors.


I'm not sure this can be tied to the 1980's - kids have loved bright colors forever.


When you were a kid, you watched cartoons on Saturday and after school.
If you're a lady, you're really into anything pink!


These are not uniquely 80's either - they can apply in the 60's, 70's, 90's, etc.  Same with eating sugary cereals and the associated commercials hawking them.


You had a Nintendo Entertainment System.


I'm no expert, but this one may indeed be indicative of growing up 80's.

What about things like loving the Cosby Show and Family Ties, being a fan of E.T. or Alf, playing with Cabbage Patch kids, stuff like that?

I agree with just two of these - will elaborate as follows:

I'm not sure this can be tied to the 1980's - kids have loved bright colors forever.

These are not uniquely 80's either - they can apply in the 60's, 70's, 90's, etc.  Same with eating sugary cereals and the associated commercials hawking them.

I'm no expert, but this one may indeed be indicative of growing up 80's.

What about things like loving the Cosby Show and Family Ties, being a fan of E.T. or Alf, playing with Cabbage Patch kids, stuff like that?


I agree with you about this. Most of the things listed were general to kids growing up in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Even "you know the lyrics to every 80s song". Just substitute the name on one of the other decades. There wasn't a kid in the 60s that didn't have  transistor radio (remember those?) pressed up to their ear. And the color pink has never been decade specific. I'd say that CHILDHOOD in those three decades was essentially the same. Maybe in the 80s video games factored into the equation a bit more. Adolescence, on the other hand, was very different in each those three decades mentioned. I don't lump the 1950s in with these decades, because television in the 1950s was not nearly as big a thing for kids as it was in the subsequent decades.

What we are seeing here is people thinking things they did in their childhood in a particular decade is unique, just because that's when they happened to be doing them.

And speaking of those kids with the transistor radios plastered to their ear in the 60s, they were waiting breathlessly for the next Beatles hit, no doubt. We all were. There were a lot of them and they were always different. The same band that did "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" in 1964 did "Hey Jude" in 1969. That's a huge leap. The same band that did "Yesterday" did "I Am the Walrus". "Day Tripper". "Baby, You're A Rich man". "Magical Mystery Tour". "Strawberry Fields Forever". "Lady Madonna". "Here, There & Everywhere". Oh, the joy!

And speaking of those kids with the transistor radios plastered to their ear in the 60s, they were waiting breathlessly for the next Beatles hit, no doubt. We all were. There were a lot of them and they were always different. The same band that did "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" in 1964 did "Hey Jude" in 1969. That's a huge leap. The same band that did "Yesterday" did "I Am the Walrus". "Day Tripper". "Baby, You're A Rich man". "Magical Mystery Tour". "Strawberry Fields Forever". "Lady Madonna". "Here, There & Everywhere". Oh, the joy!


O0 Tried to karma this, but hit the 24-hour rule.  Yes!!! regarding the Beatles.

O0 Tried to karma this, but hit the 24-hour rule.  Yes!!! regarding the Beatles.


:)  :)  :)  :)

I was just trying to point out that kids knew all the words to this vast array of songs in the 60s, just as Jess knew all the words to her 80s songs.

In the ‘60s, kids were all listening to the same songs on big AM Top 40. By the time I was a teenager in the nineties, music listeners had fragmented among many different radio formats.

In the ‘60s, kids were all listening to the same songs on big AM Top 40. By the time I was a teenager in the nineties, music listeners had fragmented among many different radio formats.


Correct. It was a monoculture. AM radio was the monoculture of the 60s, MTV was the monoculture of the 80s. In the 90s all that fragmented, largely due to the internet. The gatekeepers blew away. Now, especially with social media, everybody is in their own silos all the time. There is no center.

There can never be another Beatles. Or Elvis. Not even because of whatever talent they possessed or the great timing of when they came along. But simply because the world is not set up that way anymore.

Even in the eighties, MTV didn’t play everything in the way AM Top 40s had twenty years before. 93 KHJ played Frank Sinatra if he had a top 40 hit while also playing the Beatles. MTV would not have done that.

Even in the eighties, MTV didn’t play everything in the way AM Top 40s had twenty years before. 93 KHJ played Frank Sinatra if he had a top 40 hit while also playing the Beatles. MTV would not have done that.


Correct. MTV had a rather narrow window. In the 60s people like Dean Martin had hits like "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime" alongside hipper fare by The Beatles and Stones. Also, with MTV, God help you if you weren't good looking, or at least striking looking. In the 60s, it didn't really matter what you looked like. In the 50s, even less so. There's a famous story of Buddy Holly being booked to play at the Apollo Theater in Harlem because it was assumed from the way he sounded that he was Black.

Correct. MTV had a rather narrow window. In the 60s people like Dean Martin had hits like "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime" alongside hipper fare by The Beatles and Stones. Also, with MTV, God help you if you weren't good looking, or at least striking looking. In the 60s, it didn't really matter what you looked like. In the 50s, even less so. There's a famous story of Buddy Holly being booked to play at the Apollo Theater in Harlem because it was assumed from the way he sounded that he was Black.



I don't know. When you look at Steve Tyler, Mick Jagger, and George Thorogood...


Cat

I don't know. When you look at Steve Tyler, Mick Jagger, and George Thorogood...


Cat


But they were all already established long before MTV. You could say MTV needed them more than they needed MTV. Stars that were essentially made by MTV were all good looking. Like Duran Duran,  A Ha (remember THEM?), Madonna, etc. Or at least, as I said, memorable looking like a Cyndi Lauper or a Billy Idol or a Boy George. There was a lot of fashion and visuals involved with those last three.

It was the same in the 70s and 90s, bro. For heaven's sake, I remember the cartoon character of Captain  Crunch on TV in the 1960s.  What you meant to say was it's what YOU did growing up in the 80s, not that it was ONLY done in the 80s. Everybody else did too in the other decades.


It was something to do on a Saturday morning as a kid growing up.

You thought Hulk Hogan was your favorite wrestler.

But they were all already established long before MTV. You could say MTV needed them more than they needed MTV. Stars that were essentially made by MTV were all good looking. Like Duran Duran,  A Ha (remember THEM?), Madonna, etc. Or at least, as I said, memorable looking like a Cyndi Lauper or a Billy Idol or a Boy George. There was a lot of fashion and visuals involved with those last three.



Yeah, that's true that they were established before MTV.


Cat

You thought Hulk Hogan was your favorite wrestler.


This, I suspect, is indicative of growing up in the 1980s...

This, I suspect, is indicative of growing up in the 1980s...


He was mine too along with The Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man Randy Savage.

You knew what The 2XL Robot was.

You knew what The 2XL Robot was.


I only know of it because it gets mentioned on here. Not a toy that was popular in the U.K. as far as I recall.


You thought Hulk Hogan was your favorite wrestler.


This is more an American thing I would say.

You collected scented erasers

Read Smash Hits to learn the lyrics to your favourite songs and NME to be cool

You wore shirts with a grandad collar

It was something to do on a Saturday morning as a kid growing up.


So, Howard, what were some of the popular shows on Saturday mornings in the 1980's?  Some of them were probably unique to the 1980s...

So, Howard, what were some of the popular shows on Saturday mornings in the 1980's?  Some of them were probably unique to the 1980s...

The Smurfs
Care Bears
ALF
He-Man
Jetsons
Muppet Babies

Those are some that I can remember from my childhood.

I only know of it because it gets mentioned on here. Not a toy that was popular in the U.K. as far as I recall.

This is more an American thing I would say.

It was more of a here in the states robot during The early part of the 1980's.

The Smurfs
Care Bears
ALF
He-Man
Jetsons
Muppet Babies

Those are some that I can remember from my childhood.


Remember though that the Jetsons was first on the air in prime time from September 23, 1962 to March 17, 1963 on ABC, then later aired in reruns via syndication. New episodes were produced from 1985 to 1987 as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera block.

You remember when Entertainment Tonight first aired on TV 40 years ago.

The Smurfs
Care Bears
ALF
He-Man
Jetsons
Muppet Babies

Those are some that I can remember from my childhood.


Nice!  This list, with the exception of the Jetsons, sounds like what someone would watch who grew up in the 80's.  (Not sure if some of these extended into the bookend decades, though.)  For instance, if I'd written this list of my fave Saturday morning cartoons, it would literally scream I was someone who grew up in the 60's:

Jonny Quest
The Herculoids
Tennessee Tuxedo
Quick Draw McGraw
Hoppity Hooper
Wacky Races
Magilla Gorilla

Nice!  This list, with the exception of the Jetsons, sounds like what someone would watch who grew up in the 80's.  (Not sure if some of these extended into the bookend decades, though.)  For instance, if I'd written this list of my fave Saturday morning cartoons, it would literally scream I was someone who grew up in the 60's:

Jonny Quest
The Herculoids
Tennessee Tuxedo
Quick Draw McGraw
Hippity Hooper
Wacky Races
Magilla Gorilla

Sure was

Top cat, Secret Squirrel, Atom Ant, Underdog, Mighty Mouse, Peter Potamus.

Nice!  This list, with the exception of the Jetsons, sounds like what someone would watch who grew up in the 80's.  (Not sure if some of these extended into the bookend decades, though.)  For instance, if I'd written this list of my fave Saturday morning cartoons, it would literally scream I was someone who grew up in the 60's:

Jonny Quest
The Herculoids
Tennessee Tuxedo
Quick Draw McGraw
Hoppity Hooper
Wacky Races
Magilla Gorilla

I sworn Magilla Gorilla aired on WPIX Channel 11 during The early 1980's. ???

I sworn Magilla Gorilla aired on WPIX Channel 11 during The early 1980's. ???


Oh, I'm sure that it did. A lot of cartoons from the 60s and 70s, even the 50s, were still running on local TV stations in the 80s. Syndication was lucrative and the local stations had time to fill. That is why a lot of these cartoons cannot be considered decade-specific. Like The Jetsons. Even though there was a new Jetsons in the 80s, the original first aired in 1962-1963 and has been running ever since! So I would be inclined to call The Jetsons a 60s cartoon even though you may have first encountered it in the 80s.

Oh, I'm sure that it did. A lot of cartoons from the 60s and 70s, even the 50s, were still running on local TV stations in the 80s. Syndication was lucrative and the local stations had time to fill. That is why a lot of these cartoons cannot be considered decade-specific. Like The Jetsons. Even though there was a new Jetsons in the 80s, the original first aired in 1962-1963 and has been running ever since! So I would be inclined to call The Jetsons a 60s cartoon even though you may have first encountered it in the 80s.



It’s always interesting seeing vintage VHS recordings of a local TV station in the 1980s showing to their viewers a scratchy, faded, and knackered 16mm film print of a Looney Tunes short when I have that short in pristine form on Blu-ray!

You can remember push button and rotary dial telephones.

You can remember push button and rotary dial telephones.



Rotary and push button phones existed before the 80s as well.

Rotary and push button phones existed before the 80s as well.

Think to get my brain going and I wish I remember the first push button phone I ever saw, I believe it was early 1970s but , hmm,  :( can't remember anymore.  I know I didnt see any at friends houses during the 1960s.

Think to get my brain going and I wish I remember the first push button phone I ever saw, I believe it was early 1970s but , hmm,  :( can't remember anymore.  I know I didnt see any at friends houses during the 1960s.


I first saw a push button phone in a family member's house circa 1968. It was built right into the wall. I don't mean just a wall phone, it was FLUSH with the wall. I couldn't find a photo of one online, but I found the exact same model with a rotary dial, so I'm posting it here so you can see what I mean. Picture this with push buttons. Another interesting fact is that the push button phone had the pound sign and the star just like all push button phones, but back then there was no use for them. They didn't do anything, there was no reason to ever press them. It fascinated me back then because I wondered why they were there. I guess the manufacturer knew that one day there would be a use for them.

http://i.pinimg.com/originals/fe/0e/e8/fe0ee87b00ef76e46cbe0de79fe62e37.jpg

I first saw a push button phone in a family member's house circa 1968. It was built right into the wall. I don't mean just a wall phone, it was FLUSH with the wall. I couldn't find a photo of one online, but I found the exact same model with a rotary dial, so I'm posting it here so you can see what I mean. Picture this with push buttons. Another interesting fact is that the push button phone had the pound sign and the star just like all push button phones, but back then there was no use for them. They didn't do anything, there was no reason to ever press them. It fascinated me back then because I wondered why they were there. I guess the manufacturer knew that one day there would be a use for them.

http://i.pinimg.com/originals/fe/0e/e8/fe0ee87b00ef76e46cbe0de79fe62e37.jpg


Going off on a tangent.

In the '70s, we had a rotary dial phone. We had a pen holder with a pen attached to it. The holder had an adhesive that was attached to the phone. The idea was if you needed to take a message, you would have a pen handy. You know what EVERYONE did with that pen when they were on the phone. You couldn't SEE the cover of the phone book because everyone doodled on it. When the front was full, someone turned it around and started going after the back. At one point, my sister wrote: "DO NOT WRITE ON THIS BOOK!" But of course it was too late. People even drew on the phone. All the numbers had circles drawn around them as someone traced the dials. And the thing was, it wasn't just us. When we had friends over and they called home for whatever reason, I would see them with that pen doodling on the phone book. That poor phone book.

The moral of this story is, don't attach a pen to your phone.  :D ;D ;D ;D


Ok, back to the topic.


Cat

Going off on a tangent.

In the '70s, we had a rotary dial phone. We had a pen holder with a pen attached to it. The holder had an adhesive that was attached to the phone. The idea was if you needed to take a message, you would have a pen handy. You know what EVERYONE did with that pen when they were on the phone. You couldn't SEE the cover of the phone book because everyone doodled on it. When the front was full, someone turned it around and started going after the back. At one point, my sister wrote: "DO NOT WRITE ON THIS BOOK!" But of course it was too late. People even drew on the phone. All the numbers had circles drawn around them as someone traced the dials. And the thing was, it wasn't just us. When we had friends over and they called home for whatever reason, I would see them with that pen doodling on the phone book. That poor phone book.

The moral of this story is, don't attach a pen to your phone.  :D ;D ;D ;D


Ok, back to the topic.


Cat
You remind me of this.

https://external-preview.redd.it/hqDlFxUZDteJ2fe55niXo3JayapYgIPlbgi3BI_Si8c.jpg?auto=webp&s=b2cb24d46f771803d1e1c672bcca4a801ceb065d

Think to get my brain going and I wish I remember the first push button phone I ever saw, I believe it was early 1970s but , hmm,  :( can't remember anymore.  I know I didnt see any at friends houses during the 1960s.

What did that push button phone look like?

You remind me of this.

https://external-preview.redd.it/hqDlFxUZDteJ2fe55niXo3JayapYgIPlbgi3BI_Si8c.jpg?auto=webp&s=b2cb24d46f771803d1e1c672bcca4a801ceb065d


;D

Hiscock is an actual surname, eg Grange Hill actress Melanie Hiscock. Must be difficult.

There were far more candidate songs for a general appeal oldies radio format from earlier eras. '80s music is more niched and therefore not as adaptable to a non-niche format.

you knew most of the family sitcoms you watched.
It is the same for many a decade.

It is the same for many a decade.


Correct. Sitcoms are not exclusive to the 80s. In the 60s I watched "Bewitched", "I Dream Of Jeannie", "The Lucy Show", "Green Acres", "Beverly Hillbillies", "My Three Sons", "The Munsters", "The Addams Family", "Gilligan's Island", even some lesser known ones like "Love On A Rooftop" and "He & She".

Correct. Sitcoms are not exclusive to the 80s. In the 60s I watched "Bewitched", "I Dream Of Jeannie", "The Lucy Show", "Green Acres", "Beverly Hillbillies", "My Three Sons", "The Munsters", "The Addams Family", "Gilligan's Island", even some lesser known ones like "Love On A Rooftop" and "He & She".

It was during the 1980s my interest in sitcoms began to fade, having liked the one of the late 1960s and 1970s.

Correct. Sitcoms are not exclusive to the 80s. In the 60s I watched "Bewitched", "I Dream Of Jeannie", "The Lucy Show", "Green Acres", "Beverly Hillbillies", "My Three Sons", "The Munsters", "The Addams Family", "Gilligan's Island", even some lesser known ones like "Love On A Rooftop" and "He & She".


Also, many of those classic sitcoms got a new following thanks to cable, led by Nick at Nite's launch in 1985, but also from reruns on channels like SuperStation WTBS, and even some stations aired old '50s stuff on a package called "Golden Age of Television". The '80s were probably better for standup and satire than traditional sitcoms with shows like An Evening At The Improv, Not Necessarily The News, and Bizarre. Most '80s sitcoms on the major networks were basically just reworkings of old concepts from previous decades. But you still had great, Emmy-worthy shows with the traditional format like Cheers, Family Ties, and The Golden Girls.

WqF5M7IK7I0

WqF5M7IK7I0

Yes, I do remember that theme song and I might remember the character too.

You grew up a child of the eighties if you know that a child’s voice can play a powerful part in bringing peace to the world:


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51750459766_768c81a520_z.jpg

remember when Bob Barker had jet black hair before it went white.