What did society look like when you first legally became an adult(18)?

[NewLion]

It was 2011 David Cameron was PM Bolton were playing at Wembley and Waterloo Road had announced it was moving to Scotland

The Miners Strike, Band Aid and the death of Tommy Cooper

Birds, booze and fags was the norm for adult men. Gay people were reviled (Elton and Freddie stayed quiet). Cash or cheque? No ATMs, Tickets for gigs were cheap and our money went further. Rail fares weren't expensive. Food in restaurants was more limited in that there weren't all cuisines everywhere. Fish and chips or maybe a curry. Racism rife so Rock against Racism had been started up. Cabinet was Oxbridge (that's not changed). Think we had a phone but you called your gf/,bf from a call box. Sat night TV was the family thing unless you were going out. No other TVs in our house and obv no computers. Banks everywhere and a bank manager was a good job.

In 1979:
I’d never met anyone with skin colour other than white
We were ummimg and aahing about the Common Market
15% of 18 year olds went to university: fees were paid for by the govt and almost everyone had some kind of maintenance grant
Our teachers used to give us “the slipper” and/or lines if we were out of line
There was no theory driving trat
If you wanted a loan you needed to have an appointment with the very formidable bank manager
Every living room sported a range of ashtrays as everyone smoked
Dogs’ poo was everywhere and it was white because the food was bulked out with chalk (or something)
Dogs roamed the streets freely while their owners were out all day
All soap came in bars
Gay men were called poofters
Trans people didn’t exist, although transvestites did.
The whole country watched the same thing on TV at the same time.

What did society look like? Better, due to the non existence of social media. Mobiles that could only call & text, the high street was booming and you could go to the cinema, get a pizza and a drink in the pub afterwards for about a tenner.

1997, Tony Blair became PM. The future looked bright (the future's Orange ).

Newspapers were terrifyingly powerful and sold in millions. Page 3 of course. TV news was usually BBC in our house. Depending which paper it page 3, football, cigs, sex scandal or union bashing and how Scargill etc were going to make us Russian. The Queen was still a remote figure who people loved.

Most young people got to celebrate 18 as well as 21 as people couldn't get their head around the change. It wasn't unusual for men who were doing the same job to be paid more than women. Few women doctors or any professionals. There were numerous bomb scares and evacuations in London where I was working. Skirts were with either really short or really long as maxis became fashionable. Music. Music was incredibly important and radio was king. Bought a record every week. Young people went to dances or discos weekly. The tedium of getting asked to dance by a boy who couldn't!

Mid sixties for me. No abortion, the pill only for married women or proof you were shortly to be married. Living together was beyond the pale. No trousers at work. Sexual harrasment at work rife and was expected. Women couldn't go on the mortgage. So much better today.

Thatcher was in power. Leaving my "rough" comp, there was no real expectation that students, especailly boys, would find work, let alone good jobs with a career path.

Job ads for "a bubbly girl Friday" we're all the rage.

1995 for me too. Thatcher was PM as you say. My friends were all white, but some Asian acquaintances in uni. I did have gay friends, despite Section 28 even though they couldn't be out properly until they left home. I also had a grant and didn't have to pay fees. I remember the laddette thing, but I drank shorts and not pints. Never went to a rave or did drugs so probably didn't fully live the 90s experience!
Not only did we not have mobiles, but we also used our cameras very infrequently. I do regret not having more photos of those times.