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Original poster

To think the 70s/80s/90s were better?

163 replies

alienbaby · 21/11/2021 18:47

Okay, so I was born in 1987 so missed the 70s. But I've always kind of fetishised this decade. It seems like it was a great time to be young. Same with the 80s and 90s. Freedom and opportunities but without the more rigid feel we have now.

It was 2006 when I went off and travelled and started living alone, and it was great because we had the internet of course, but it wasnt as pervasive. It meant there was still a kind of mystery about things, like you still had to engage and improvise whereas now you can just sort things out online ahead of time.

Am I just romanticising or do you think too that in a lot of ways the 70s/80s/90s were kind of a "sweet spot" where we had progress but not so much progress that we felt disconnected?

OP posts:
Saysama · 21/11/2021 19:25

If you were straight and white, sure. If you were black, brown or gay, you were pretty much fucked. It wasn’t a particularly good time to be a woman or disabled, either. Or have mental health issues.

So, I think I’ll pass. Not being spat on in the street (this actually happened to someone I know, in London, circa 1983) has a certain charm.

Obsidiansphere · 21/11/2021 19:17

70’s a child, 80’s a teenager, by far my favourite decades!

A580Hojas · 21/11/2021 19:16

I think on balance the internet is a bad thing for society. For all the plus points there are multiple minus points.

The trouble is people who were born since, say, 1995, cannot imagine life without it. They don't understand that life was slick and comfortable and modern (in the first world at least) pre the internet, they think of it as some sort of hopeless backwater.

romany4 · 21/11/2021 19:13

I agree with you.
I was born early 70s. Childhood was idealic.
Teenager in 80s. Again, fab years. Enjoyed it all.
90s I married and had my kids. I was early 20s.
Wonderful years and lovely memories.

Original poster
alienbaby · 21/11/2021 19:10

@AliceAldridge
I agree :) on your bike drunk at 2am in the pissing rain thinking "it was turn left after the church and you should get to the river...right?!"

OP posts:
Aprilx · 21/11/2021 19:09

I as born in 1970. I don’t have a favourite decade, I think there are upsides and downsides.

AliceAldridge · 21/11/2021 19:08

Yes, I got lost a LOT during the 2000s OP. Good times Smile

rjane · 21/11/2021 19:06

Not sure they were better, just different.
The main difference seems to be that today we have "life" 24/7 unless there is a conscious decision to switch off.
Climate change had already been discovered, too! In those days it was supposed to be being caused by a hole in the ozone layer due to aerosols/CFCs.

Ilovetobake · 21/11/2021 19:02

I was born in the 80s.

I get a lot of nostalgia about the 90s.

I think it's probably rose tinted glasses.

Original poster
alienbaby · 21/11/2021 19:02

@AliceAldridge
I think the 2000s were really good, because we had the internet to help us out but it wasnt in our pocket. For example not many people when I was at uni had their own computer, so you got out and about more. You had the ease and convenience of looking at a map online, but then had to memorise the route or draw a little sketch. I think I had a better sense of place back then because I had to actually visualise a city and remember places, whereas now I can just follow the blue dot.

OP posts:
AliceAldridge · 21/11/2021 18:58

I was born in the 70s and my 80s childhood and 90s teens were perfect.

Except they weren't perfect at the time so I am not sure. Rose tinted glasses are a wonderful thing! I liked the 2000s, for me it was a happy decade.

Original poster
alienbaby · 21/11/2021 18:56

@waltzingparrot
That's interesting, my mum was in her 20s in the 70s and said that although she preferred her 30s as a woman, she loved the vibe of the 70s best.

OP posts:
waltzingparrot · 21/11/2021 18:55

I grew up in the 70s and it was a lovely time of fun and freedom plus it never felt unsafe to walk around. It's my favourite decade so far and I'd live in that era again in a heartbeat. Interestingly, it's also my mum's favourite decade. She's now in her 90s but says it was a lovely time to raise a family.