People who lived the 80s, are the 80s really as stagnant or homogenous as people make the decade out to be

People who lived the 80s, are the 80s really as stagnant or homogenous as people make the decade out to be


Not sure what aspects you refer to exactly, but the early-80's, mid-80's and late-80's were all quite different.  I lived the decade as primarily a 20-something and can say for certain things were moving and shaking throughout the decade.

Music-wise I'll give one example.  Take a song like Laura Branigan's Gloria.  The song was a big smash hit in the summer of 1982.  It was the sound of the times - for then.  I surmise had that song hit the airwaves in 1988, it would've died a quick death, as the sound of the time had moved on by then.

Here's the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNEb2k_EmMg

I don't recall it as particularly stagnant. Things moved right along.

Considering how long ago that decade was and how much technology has advanced since then, it may seem quaint now but I always thought that the 1980's had a futuristic and high tech vibe to them.

It was in the 1980s the mobile phone was introduced, and then things got moving.

Considering how long ago that decade was and how much technology has advanced since then, it may seem quaint now but I always thought that the 1980's had a futuristic and high tech vibe to them.


The thing that is quaint now is that it was still the days of the monoculture. Especially due to MTV. MTV were kingmakers. MTV made Michael Jackson a king even though his career had existed since the late 60s. He was never the mega superstar he became until MTV. MTV made Madonna a king. They made Prince a king. They made Duran Duran a king. Everybody was tuned into the same thing. Or at least KNEW what was going on. Everybody was on the same page. Everybody knew the same hits. It's beside the point whether they liked them or not, they at least knew of them. The internet ended that and social media REALLY ended it. None of the aforementioned superstars would have the level of fame they achieved in the 80s if they were just coming along today. Absolutely not. The world is not set up that way anymore. I think the monoculture aspect is what the OP meant by "homogenous".

The thing that is quaint now is that it was still the days of the monoculture. Especially due to MTV. MTV were kingmakers. MTV made Michael Jackson a king even though his career had existed since the late 60s. He was never the mega superstar he became until MTV. MTV made Madonna a king. They made Prince a king. They made Duran Duran a king. Everybody was tuned into the same thing. Or at least KNEW what was going on. Everybody was on the same page. The internet ended that and social media REALLY ended it. None of the aforementioned superstars would have the level of fame they achieved in the 80s if they were just coming along today. Absolutely not. The world is not set up that way anymore.


O0 Agreed about the monoculture - although not a complete monoculture in regards to music (the fragmentation had started during the 70's Disco era - but not nearly the fragmentation as would happen later, as MTV helped perpetuate that monoculture to a great extent).

O0 Agreed about the monoculture - although not a complete monoculture in regards to music (the fragmentation had started during the 70's Disco era - but not nearly the fragmentation as would happen later, as MTV helped perpetuate that monoculture to a great extent).


No, the disco fragmentation was still part of the monoculture. EVERYBODY knew about it. They didn't have to LIKE it. They just knew about it. I knw the whole "disco vs. rock" fragmentation was going on, but it was going on WITHIN the monoculture. Monoculture doesn't mean everybody FELT the same way or liked the same things. It just means they KNEW about it.

No, the disco fragmentation was still part of the monoculture. EVERYBODY knew about it. They didn't have to LIKE it. They just knew about it. I knw the whole "disco vs. rock" fragmentation was going on, but it was going on WITHIN the monoculture. Monoculture doesn't mean everybody FELT the same way or liked the same things. It just means they KNEW about it.


O0 Fair enough.

It was in the 1980s the mobile phone was introduced, and then things got moving.


In 1980 a "personal computer" being owned by an individual was barely more than a pipe dream.  It was during the 1980's that this technology "grew up" enough that by 1989, many people owned computers - even if they were as "toy-like" as a Commodore 64, that was computing power in the home.  It was during the 1990s that real personal computers began to invade most households in the U.S. - but that groundwork was no question laid in the 1980s.

In 1980 a "personal computer" being owned by an individual was barely more than a pipe dream.  It was during the 1980's that this technology "grew up" enough that by 1989, many people owned computers - even if they were as "toy-like" as a Commodore 64, that was computing power in the home.  It was during the 1990s that real personal computers began to invade most households in the U.S. - but that groundwork was no question laid in the 1980s.



I remember hearing about a survey back in the late '80s about people with computers. What do you use your computer for? Some of the answers were finances, learning etc. But, the number one answer what people used their computer for? You guessed it. Playing games. Some things never change.


Cat

The 80s were quite different from the decades before then and the decades that followed, they were unique in a sense. Like AL-B said, there was something futuristic about it. Also, I found the 80s to be quite materialistic compared to previous decades, and somewhat shallow, but also very modern-like. 

The 80s were quite different from the decades before then and the decades that followed, they were unique in a sense. Like AL-B said, there was something futuristic about it. Also, I found the 80s to be quite materialistic compared to previous decades, and somewhat shallow, but also very modern-like.


Absolutely. I've said it here since the very first day I signed on to this site. Maybe that's what the OP was looking for us to say, but we've said it hundreds of times.



I remember hearing about a survey back in the late '80s about people with computers. What do you use your computer for? Some of the answers were finances, learning etc. But, the number one answer what people used their computer for? You guessed it. Playing games. Some things never change.

Cat


Aside from the primitive games, those early computers, pre-internet, were little more than encyclopedias. I remember a demonstration of a very early Radio Shack (of all places) computer, and the big selling point was it could tell you the name of any state capital.

Even the supposedly even more "stagnant" 1950s had a lot of progress through it, from the proliferation of television, more affordable travel by plane, and the first satellite launches. The Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 was the launching pad for the Civil Rights era, even if the progress wouldn't be felt until sometime in the next decade. Although only people of a certain age liked it, rock 'n roll finally gave them their distinct type of music instead of the crooners that they listened to with their seniors.

When I watch my collection of videos from the 1980s and come across 1950s nostalgia references, I can sense how within just a few decades progress had been made. The ability to record/watch anything off of TV or watch a movie over and over again was a pipe dream before the '80s, and those portable Walkmen/Discmen was a vast improvement over those tinny transistor radios whose batteries barely lasted a weekend. Even the concept of a "fitness and exercise healthclub" was pretty novel in the '80s with lots of electronic exercise equipment with those early readouts. Video games went from single-screen games to battery-operated epics on hundreds of different screens with a distinct storyline. There was also a boom in a lot of ethnic cuisine offerings in a lot of places, and sushi really became big as well. Chinese food had come a long way from being the place for Chop Suey. It was truly an exciting decade to witness firsthand. Progress has simply rendered the 1980s as just another chapter in history that continues to get increasingly genteel as the years/decades march on.

In 1980 a "personal computer" being owned by an individual was barely more than a pipe dream.  It was during the 1980's that this technology "grew up" enough that by 1989, many people owned computers - even if they were as "toy-like" as a Commodore 64, that was computing power in the home.  It was during the 1990s that real personal computers began to invade most households in the U.S. - but that groundwork was no question laid in the 1980s.



I remember hearing about a survey back in the late '80s about people with computers. What do you use your computer for? Some of the answers were finances, learning etc. But, the number one answer what people used their computer for? You guessed it. Playing games. Some things never change.

Cat



Absolutely. I've said it here since the very first day I signed on to this site. Maybe that's what the OP was looking for us to say, but we've said it hundreds of times.

Aside from the primitive games, those early computers, pre-internet, were little more than encyclopedias. I remember a demonstration of a very early Radio Shack (of all places) computer, and the big selling point was it could tell you the name of any state capital.


For we who were actively learning computer software/programming (i.e. Geeks), having computing power at home (as little as it was) was pretty nice - considering my other available computing power was either at college or at work, each having availability restrictions.  The Commodore 64, sans any special software, offered little in the way of serious computing power - but using a command line interface and the BASIC programming interpreter, I could still put it to work.  The handiest program I put on our C64 using BASIC was a time accumulator program used to help lay out cassette tape sides while recording.  I fed the time of each track into the program, then the total time would spit out once I entered "=".  Pretty rudimentary - but fun, and I did use it, it was helpful.  Something not practical for me to do at school or work.

It was in the 1980s the mobile phone was introduced, and then things got moving.

I can remember those brick phones when they were used in films and television sitcoms.

I can remember those brick phones when they were used in films and television sitcoms.
https://medias.spotern.com/spots/w640/75/75210-1532336916.jpg

For we who were actively learning computer software/programming (i.e. Geeks), having computing power at home (as little as it was) was pretty nice - considering my other available computing power was either at college or at work, each having availability restrictions.  The Commodore 64, sans any special software, offered little in the way of serious computing power - but using a command line interface and the BASIC programming interpreter, I could still put it to work.  The handiest program I put on our C64 using BASIC was a time accumulator program used to help lay out cassette tape sides while recording.  I fed the time of each track into the program, then the total time would spit out once I entered "=".  Pretty rudimentary - but fun, and I did use it, it was helpful.  Something not practical for me to do at school or work.


When my life did it's 180 and I found myself living on a mountain which was something I never expected in 1990, I "invested" in a computer. Well, I didn't realize at the time it was really a word processor and I bought it second hand and it came with a printer (dot matrix) & paper. Little did I know, it was pretty much obsolete by then but I was determined to start my career as a writer.

That was when I started my journal and I started many stories but never finished. That word processor got me through college. My teachers hated the fact that my printer was so light. I probably should have gotten a new ribbon for it but what did I know.

When I moved in with Carlos, he had a computer "on loan" from the college but they never asked for it back. It was never online. We then entered into the REAL WORLD when we bought a Windows XP in 2002.   

I still kept the old dinosaur mainly so I could read my old writings but then it stopped working and I couldn't retrieve my files. I found a place online that would transfer my old files and I now have a copy of all my old writings-my journal, my school work, letters, and stories/poetry that I wrote. In fact, one story that I started way back when, I revisited. I really should get back to it because maybe it could actually be finished. But, I really don't know what to do with the old dinosaur.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51716670950_fd47ab3d0d.jpg


Cat

When my life did it's 180 and I found myself living on a mountain which was something I never expected in 1990, I "invested" in a computer. Well, I didn't realize at the time it was really a word processor and I bought it second hand and it came with a printer (dot matrix) & paper. Little did I know, it was pretty much obsolete by then but I was determined to start my career as a writer.

That was when I started my journal and I started many stories but never finished. That word processor got me through college. My teachers hated the fact that my printer was so light. I probably should have gotten a new ribbon for it but what did I know.

When I moved in with Carlos, he had a computer "on loan" from the college but they never asked for it back. It was never online. We then entered into the REAL WORLD when we bought a Windows XP in 2002.   

I still kept the old dinosaur mainly so I could read my old writings but then it stopped working and I couldn't retrieve my files. I found a place online that would transfer my old files and I now have a copy of all my old writings-my journal, my school work, letters, and stories/poetry that I wrote. In fact, one story that I started way back when, I revisited. I really should get back to it because maybe it could actually be finished. But, I really don't know what to do with the old dinosaur.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51716670950_fd47ab3d0d.jpg


Cat


That looks like the computer we got in the mid-80s at the job I was at. It's funny to think now that companies had ONE computer (if any) and only certain people were allowed to use it. I might also point out that these computers were not immediately embraced by everybody in the workplace. There was some grumbling that they were unnecessary and "there was nothing wrong with the old way".

That looks like the computer we got in the mid-80s at the job I was at. It's funny to think now that companies had ONE computer (if any) and only certain people were allowed to use it. I might also point out that these computers were not immediately embraced by everybody in the workplace. There was some grumbling that they were unnecessary and "there was nothing wrong with the old way".
Those were the days when floppy disks were truly floppy?

Those were the days when floppy disks were truly floppy?

When you could put a floppy disk in the computer and letting the computer handle the rest.