Were things really boring in the 80s?

[Egyptiancottonhouse]

I was born in the 80s, grew up in the 90s but it's difficult to imagine now how things were.

I'm watching reruns of Brookside from 82 I think.

It's very nostalgic but things must have been so boring, although people didn't know any different. I don't think most of us today would cope without the Internet, TV on demand, online shopping, social media.

Being able to research anything you want in a second, look up a recipe, look at a map and street view.

The Internet really has changed our lives beyond recognition.

My dd was just saying last nights how much she envied us in our tech free youth ( 80’s). Neither of my dc have enjoyed their student days as much as we did. And we were in NI whereas both ds are in dreamy places.

The 80s were fab. While some things changed for the best, overall it was a great time.

Like others have said the Internet has it's good and bad, yes it is great to access knowledge immediately and not have to go to the library which could have been miles away to look something for homework, but by going to the library you always had a mate with you, always bumped into other friends walking the long way to the library to pass the house of the boy you fancied, ended up having a laugh and as my mother would say ' out chasing boys'.

You were fit because you walked to school carrying all your books, it didn't matter what the weather was like you walked to school.

Music was brilliant, there was plenty of great affordable concerts, you saved for the record of your favourite band and asked everyone for money for birthdays so you could get a concert ticket. You learned the value of money quickly. Sitting with a tape recorder recording your favourite songs off the radio hoping the dj wouldn't speak near the end of the song, we were all professionals at recording songs.

Fashion was amazing, neon orange, yellow and green everything.. Puffball skirts.. Ski pants etc it was great going into shops trying on clothes with your friends.

Magazines were fantastic, I loved 'Jackie', and 'Smash hits', pocket money when we were given it, went on these. Looking forward to Top of the Pops on a Thursday and only finding out then who was number one.

Tvs only had very few channels but always had something to watch, families sat together watching one tv, those who wanted to watch a programme on the other channel had to record it, of course you'd take the tape cassette out and the little flappy things would be broken off because someone had something on it they were waiting to watch and didn't want anyone recording over it, so you'd be shoving bits of paper into the holes so it would record.

Yeah, there were downsides but overall it was a happy time, people made the most of what they had, kids, teens etc were outside all the time, there was no screens, they interacted with each other, so good for mental health which we only realise is seriously messed up now due to screens. Kids remembered everything, you knew everyone's phone number, you didn't need to set reminders in your phones, you learned the value of things, you didn't use phones as calculators or weight convertors, you worked it out in your head.

For older people you went to the pub or nightclub to meet people, you went up and spoke to people, this was so good for confidence and you learned how to hold a conversation. It was a good night if you were asked up for a slow dance. You arranged to meet someone again for a date you went along and if you didn't like them you phoned them or told them to their face, no ghosting or blocking etc you dated one person at a time.

At the risk of sounding ageist towards the youngsters on here I think one of the problems of the world today is that we have forgotten how to just "be", without any distractions.

I was born in 1958 and remember all shops being closed on a Sunday, half day closing on a Wednesday, 3 television channels, only being able to contact friends by landline, telegrams being read out at weddings, no cheap flights etc.

The world is different now, not necessarily better, just different.

Sure the Internet has changed our lives but in many ways the able to communicate instantly means we also keep a distance. Messages get sent but many people don't communicate the same as we did in the 80s. We made arrangements and it was harder to get out of them if you didn't feel like going out. Now a quick WhatsApp message and no shits given seems to suffice many.
The 80s were good for me but so has every other decade. I don't wa t to sit around thing about the so called glory days and listening to heart 80s radio or whatever!

I was in my twenties in the Eighties and life wasn’t boring. The internet and social media allows access to so much information but also so much pressure. If someone you knew gave you advice it was a lot easier to judge whether the advice was likely to be good or not, whereas it’s a lot harder to judge advice from some random person on the internet.

Medical advice online can be frightening, I tend to see how many google results I can read before whatever ailment I’m googling is potentially fatal.

Conspiracy theorists used to be limited to a few men in the pub now they have an audience.

I have to disagree, OP.

I was born in 1966 so was growing up mainly during the seventies and early eighties. Life wasn't boring. That's not my memory of it. We went out with friends, we met, talked and made our own fun. TV was generally good, far better than nowadays. It provided talking points for the next day because everyone would have watched all of the popular programs at the same time the previous evening.

No social media, so fewer of the problems it brings. Once you went home from school you didn't feel any obligation to communicate with anyone if you didn't want to.

I was a bookworm so usually liked to have my nose in a book. I loved going shopping with my mum and persuading her to buy me another one.

All school work was hand written, as were university essays. Research was done in the university of local libraries.

I met DH in the mid eighties. We used to each buy the same crossword books and have races to see which of us could finish the same crossword first. We'd hire videos from Blockbuster and order a curry takeaway to eat while watching it.

We also had some great holidays.

I was born in 1973. I loved the 80’s, best time of my life. I was never bored, I listened to music, read, was out with my friends on adventures, tv was great, films were great. How can any of that have been boring? I actually find life boring now tbh. It’s so materialistic, people have a meltdown if the internet goes down as they are glued to their screens, my teens can’t occupy themselves if they are bored, tv these days is shit, films are shit and as for the music……..!!

Many of the things that were done for entertainment would now seem boring, but felt satisfying at the time. I can’t imagine listening nowadays to the entire top 40, or watching Neighbours twice in the same day, or playing solitaire, or wandering around the shops for 8 hours. If we got bored in classes, my friends and I used to write each other long letters that I would reread.
The only thing that I can think of that bucks the trend is running and going to the gym. That was considered pretty boring in the 80s (not by everyone!) but now seems to be more popular (but now I guess you can have music on demand to avoid boredom while exercising!)

As a parent of a baby and toddler....yes it was very boring.

Sunday’s were dull, but I was generally nursing a hangover. If not we’d get the bus out into Derbyshire or visit mates. Pubs closed at 3. Then 10.30 pm. Clubs at 2. Real lack of interesting food in supermarkets (well in Sheffield), but lots of independent shops. Music was hit and miss, yes some absolute hits, but lots of dross. Could jump on a train to London for 15 quid return.

There was even a TV show called "Why don't you switch off your television set and go and do something less boring instead"!😂

Why Don't You...? Theme tune. Who remembers this?

Nope, the 80s were my teenage years and I was never bored. We read books, we watched TV, we listened to the radio, played cassettes and records, hung out with friends, went to discos/clubs, we went to fairgrounds, we'd cycle, walk, play squash/tennis, go swimming, go to Radio 1 roadshows. I can't remember being bored at all. There was too much to do to be bored! The key difference was an "out and about" lifestyle rather than being stuck indoors with a tablet!

Born in 1968, teen in the 80's.

It was a hard decade for very many people, and a time of amazing social affluence for many people.

Tv, music, theatre, politics, fashion and advertising all reflected these dichotomies so some will be gritty, like Brookside while at the other hand you have Dynasty. Smiths vs Wham.

It was, for me, an amazing decade to be a teenage girl. I'm the resilient person I am as a consequence.

Even if you had a "bored" moment, because things were not immediate, as now, you always had events: next week's Tv show, next months concert, next week's library book to look forward to.

"Bored" is part of life before you enjoy something.

The 80s were great, but the 90s were better...

This was something I was trying to explain this to my teen recently.

These days we have every tiny bit of information at our fingertips. As far as you can even do a stock checker for most things to check if the shop has it before you go. Cinema you book you seats in advance. We read reviews and look at endless photos before going to new places.

It's great but does take the joy out of things slightly. There was something about going round the shops and not knowing what they'd have. Things were harder to plan but it made everything a bit more spontaneous, fun, exciting.

No way. You could go out and get pissed and make an arse of yourself and no one videoed you or took photos!

I was born in 1971 and grew up in 70s and 80s.

We were allowed more freedom to play out, travel places either by ourselves or with friends.

I agree that the internet does waste time. When I was younger we were taken out a lot or made to do things like draw and paint.

I definitely feel less able to switch off with phones, internet and TV. So more stressed.

It was exciting as a lot was happening but then if you were shy and introverted and able to mix more with alcohol (at pubs at 14!) that’s not a good thing!

I was constantly encouraged to join groups as a teenager from Rotary Club (hated it and didn’t last) to a church group which a friend went to.

It was better in some ways but not in others.

Fully agree with all that. I used to enjoy going on holiday and spontaneously deciding what to do, where to go, etc., nowadays you have to book attractions etc in advance. Part of the attraction recently of us going to Amsterdam was to visit Anne Frank's house - it's a good job we researched it several months ahead, as it's pre-booking online only and they don't even have a ticket office/counter. As it was, tickets were all sold each morning as soon as they were put onto the system for several weeks hence and my OH was setting his alarm clock early each morning to try to get tickets which came on the system around 7am - day after day, week after week he tried, until one day he managed it - got entry tickets for the morning we were flying back in the afternoon! Completely took the excitement out of the holiday for him by having to do that.

Same with shops, I never got stressed worrying whether a shop had what I wanted because I could just go to another shop, our town centre had a dozens of clothes shops, so I'd never come home disappointed or empty handed. Same when I was younger and I'd go to the corner shop for a magazine - if they didn't have it, I'd cycle to the next newsagents a few streets away. In those days it didn't matter if a shop didn't have what you wanted because there we so many shops, you'd just go to another!

Life was so much simpler and less stressful without the internet and all the baggage it's brought with it!

Mind you, it's easy for us all to look back with rose tinted specs, but there were plenty of things that were shite in the 80s. Racism, Homophobia and womens rights just to name a few. I'm sure it was more fun for some sectors of society than others.

@Egyptiancottonhouse

I remember being shocked by the problem pages in teenage magazines. I can't imagine that todays teens would bat an eyelid! 😂

The 80s was my favourite decade. Brilliant music,great fashion ,more sociable ,you had to make an effort to go out to see people,conversation was a thing ,people were less flaky and so I could go on. Bloody loved it !

No,not boring at all for all the reasons already stated
BUT the sixties were even better!

This 😂