8 Things That Were Normal In The 80s & 90s That Would Be Really Weird Today
Lyudmila2509 | Shutterstock Life in the 80s and 90s looked very different from life today.
People who grew up during those decades lived without smartphones, relied on landlines, and followed social rules that younger generations might find hard to imagine. Technology, safety standards, and cultural expectations have changed so much that many things considered totally normal in the 80s and 90s would now seem weird or even dangerous.
Here are 8 things that were normal in the 80s & 90s that would be really weird today:
1. People smoked almost anywhere, including inside public places
Now, people know how dangerous smoking is. There are worldwide campaigns to make people stop, and many avenues to quit. However, back in the day, smoking was the norm. In fact, there were even smoking vending machines that dispensed cigarettes. Crazy, right?! As a member of Gen Z, I can't even fathom walking into the grocery store and seeing that. If somebody smoked on a plane, I would be livid. These were all normal in the 80s and 90s (and before that), however.
2. People would just show up at your house without calling
It used to be the norm to just walk over to a friend’s house if you were bored or if you had a question for them. Or you would call their house phone, and maybe a different family member would answer, and you would have to talk to them first. This is no longer the case. Now with phones, people just text when they want to come over, and the days of just “popping over” are gone. And there’s no need to call someone’s house phone and have to speak to their parents if you don’t have to.
3. People agreed to blind dates without looking each other up online
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There used to be a time when people would blindly set up their friends. Although people still do this, blind dates are not really a thing anymore. Now that social media is a thing, it’s so easy to just stalk everybody’s friends and be able to find them. People still meet strangers through dating apps, but they can now look through profiles, search social media, and talk online before agreeing to meet in public.
4. People were expected to dress nicely out in public
My parents were always surprised when they dropped us off at school and saw my classmates wearing pajamas and slippers. People who grew up in the 80s and 90s were often taught that pajamas were strictly for sleeping. It wasn't until the late 90s and early 2000s that they made a comeback as regular clothes. Seeing someone wear slippers and pajama pants to school, the store, or another public place could therefore feel surprisingly casual.
5. Drivers relied on paper maps to figure out where they were going
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No cellphones meant no GPS. People actually had to use paper maps, a concept that makes my generation gasp. People used to have no choice but to use a map, whereas nowadays, you only need one if your phone is dead and you forgot a charger at home. The GPS didn’t become available for civilian use until the early 2000s, making the skill of reading a paper map something only older generations have (and maybe some of us younger ones should learn, too!).
6. People memorized phone numbers
Since people only had house phones, they used to have their friends' and family's phone numbers memorized. Or, they would have it written down somewhere where they could easily find it. Now, it’s rare for people to memorize anyone’s phone number. I know my parents’ phone numbers, and that’s pretty much it. I think I would be a little creeped out if somebody had mine memorized, to be honest!
7. Young children walked around without an adult
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Pretty much every adult in my life says that they were walking to school alone by 2nd grade, even in major cities. Now, this is unheard of. Many parents today are less comfortable letting young children walk alone because safety expectations and parenting norms have changed. In some cases, parents have faced questions or legal scrutiny after allowing young children to walk alone, though laws differ by state.
This raises a parenting struggle: parents want their kids to have autonomy, but they also want them to be safe. This was never a dilemma for kids in the 80s and 90s.
8. People regularly rode in cars without wearing seat belts
Seat belts weren’t mandated in all 50 of the US states until 1995. Cars were required to have seat belts starting in 1968, but people didn’t really use them until the mid-90s. I mean, why would you if it wasn’t required? People could just be able to lie down in the back seat if they felt like it. Oh, how times have changed.
Sophie Bagheri is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and theatre who covers lifestyle topics.
