11 Nostalgic Things Only ’80s Kids Will Truly Remember
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
The 1980s were a wonderful time to be a kid. Think about it: No social media, no cameras on phones everywhere you went, and your parents couldn’t get a hold of you once you walked out the front door. Movies and TV shows were a big deal, especially because if you missed them when they came out, it would be a long time before you got a chance to see it again. Nostalgia for the ’80s is all the rage, fueled by shows like Stranger Things hitting ratings gold—but only people who were kids at the time can truly appreciate how special it was. Here are 8 facts that only ’80s kids will understand.
RELATED: The 25 Best ’80s Movies You Have to See .
Photo by Frank Okay on Unsplash
Remember those days? Saturday morning cartoon viewing was an essential part of the weekend experience— Inspector Gadget, G.I. Joe, He-Man, The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo … the list goes on. Kids who grew up with streaming could never understand.
Photo by Taylor Kidd on Unsplash
We couldn’t text, but we were proficient at passing notes. These beauties were handwritten and we were very sneaky at exchanging them at school without getting caught.
Shutterstock
Totally rad! Decades before streaming took over, the Spotify of the time was kids in the 1980s creating their own mixtapes, which was hard work. Bonus points to anyone who recorded their mixtapes off the radio!
RELATED: 30 Huge Bands from the ’80s You Forgot About .
Shutterstock
Yes, landlines. There were no cell phones—instead homes had a landline that everyone shared. If your siblings were being sneaky, they could listen in on your conversations, and you had to ask someone’s parents to speak to them, which would have text-only adults these days running for the hills. Not only that, but many homes in the 1980s still had rotary phones—try putting one of those in front of a 12-year-old today, they would have zero idea what to do with it.
Shutterstock
We’re so used to calling people on the other side of the planet without a second thought, but back in the 1980s long-distance charges were astronomical . Many children in the 80s got a scolding when their parents saw the bill come through in the mail. And if you wanted to make international calls, there was a whole industry that sold phone cards for it.
Shutterstock
Yes, books! There were no E-readers in the 1980s—you checked out books from the library, both local and school. If you needed to do research or write a paper, there was no Google to help—you got a book at the library. Everyone used the library. And there were these things called card catalogs too that helped you find the book you were looking for.
Shutterstock
We got very special episodes back then of our favorite shows, usually highlighting some serious social issues of the day. Here’s a great roundup of some of the best.
Shutterstock
Like, duh! We all had our slap bracelets in the 1980s, which eventually got banned in schools in the ’90s after kids were injuring themselves. The bracelets are making a comeback, but are no longer considered appropriate for kids.
YouTube
Commercials like this one were extremely common, as children were constantly reminded to “Just say no” when offered drugs. The catchy slogan was coined and championed by the First Lady Nancy Reagan, wife of President Ronald Reagan.
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
Yes, it came out in the 1970s, but the 1980s were the golden age of the Rubik’s Cube, fueled by the release of a best-selling book in 1981, “The Simple Solution to Rubik’s Cube.” This may not look familiar to kids these days, but in our days, 80s kids became pros at these.
Photo by Louie Castro-Garcia on Unsplash
Everyone was doing it. You either went to the mall or to the arcade. Playing pinball, Pac-Man and other arcade games was a classic use of our time and we got really got at mastering these. Also a great place to socialize!
Photo by Eric Nopanen on Unsplash
Technically those born between about 1965 and 1980 are part of Generation X – the kids of the Baby Boomers. This generation came of age in the 1980s. The Millennial generation begins around 1981, so they may have some memories of this era.
Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash
The first Space Shuttle (Columbia) lifted off in 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev worked to ease tensions between their nations, the Challenger tragedy in 1986, and the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989 were some of the most memorable newsworthy events of the 80s.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Played outside! Video game consoles weren’t really a thing yet, nor were computers. They built tree houses, biked, jumped rope, hopscotched, hula hooped, and played all kinds of outdoor games including sports. Board games were another past-time for this era.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
