If You Grew Up In The 1980s, You Likely Have These 11 Personality Traits That Are Hard To Find Today
melissamn / Shutterstock While the 1980s are often defined by decadent pop culture, shifting social norms, and the beginnings of the kind of modern technology that’s now just a fact of life, the more distant parenting styles and intense household expectations played just as large a role in shaping this generation of kids. Because kids at that time spent so many hours engaged in unsupervised play and living up to a whole world of responsibilities, if you grew up in the 1980s, you likely have many beneficial personality traits that are hard to find today.
Of course, as our society, culture, and institutions shift, so too do parenting styles and childhood experiences. While some of these experiences remain in modern culture, many of the small joys and opportunities for independence that millennials and some Gen Xers experienced are now difficult to find.
If you grew up in the 1980s, you likely have these 11 personality traits that are hard to find today
1. You are patient
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With childhood memories of waiting for a parent to get off the landline or sharing a CD player with siblings at home, it’s no surprise that kids who grew up in the 1980s are more patient today than modern children in the age of convenience.
As a study published in Psychological Science explains, these kinds of childhood experiences at home and a general sense of intelligence are what bolster a kid’s ability to delay gratification. Instead of being impatient, entitled, and expecting everything to be easy and accessible at all times, these millennial and Gen X kids were forced to develop patience early.
2. You prioritize alone time
While millennials and Gen Xers still largely fed into the “hustle culture” early in adulthood, which their Gen Z peers today completely disown, they still appreciate the art of being “unreachable.” With lingering family values and emotional maturity in their back pockets, it’s clear that this generation is comfortable and intentional about prioritizing their alone time.
Especially with the independence and maturity they gained from unstructured play and responsibility growing up, as adults, it’s not new to be comfortable in their own company. While some people today run from the quietness of their solitude, this generation actively seeks it out to reflect, relax, and decompress.
3. You’re creative with boredom
If you grew up in the 1980s, chances are you’re more creative with your boredom than modern generations. You don’t need constant stimulation, distractions, or attention to feel comfortable, allowing you to lean into the presence and intentionality of your solitude.
According to a study published in the Creativity Research Journal, it’s creative people who often need alone time and idleness to work the muscle. So, for people who grew up in the 1980s with the ability to grow independence and self-reliance, it’s not surprising that they’re innately creative. They know how to appreciate their own company and lean on hobbies without trying to seek approval or reassurance from others.
4. You know how to assess risk
Offering unstructured play to children, the kind that many kids in the ‘80s enjoyed, often allows kids to build resilience, practice assessing risk while making decisions, and craft emotional well-being. If you grew up in this time period, you have these traits that many people lack today.
You’re comfortable making decisions on your own terms and assessing risk in the moment, while the loneliness and discomfort with alone time in so many younger people today promote a sense of blind impulsiveness.
5. You’re comfortable with technology
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Even if you didn’t grow up with the volume and complexity of modern technology, people who grew up in the ‘80s still had to be adaptable. As technology advanced and pop culture norms shifted, they had to learn to be comfortable with it to connect with others and navigate early adulthood in the workforce.
Compared to young people today, who are often over-reliant on technology, devices, and social media, this generation from the ‘80s can master both sides of the aisle. They understand and leverage their technological devices but aren’t overly reliant on them for stimulation, comfort, or distraction.
6. You’re a direct communicator
Without all the mind games and vagueness of navigating social interactions and conversations online at an impressionable age, people who grew up in the 1980s learned to practice their social skills and directness.
Whether it was interacting with strangers while running errands on their own or learning the language to resolve conflicts without overbearing parents looming over their shoulders, their communication skills today are formed by their childhood independence.
7. You’re loyal to your people
While relationships between loyalty and work are quickly changing amid shifting social norms, if you grew up in the 1980s, you likely have a strong sense of loyalty to your “people.” Especially without the choice overload of social media or the internet's friendship comparisons to dwell on, kids from the ‘80s could form social circles without any kind of performance.
It’s this individuality and independence that allow millennials and Gen Xers to form friendships by choice rather than out of necessity. They don’t need praise or validation from others, only support and intentional fun.
8. You appreciate nostalgia
Without a million digital photos and a social media catalog of your childhood, you can appreciate the feelings, secure in your nostalgia. You can recall the good parts of your childhood without getting caught up too heavily in the past. While millennials might not be the most nostalgic generation, they’re certainly in a time in their lives right now when reflection is popular.
While some younger generations today are managing tumultuous relationships with their childhoods and parents, it can subtly take away from the nostalgia that Gen Xers and millennials tap into with ease, without constant reminders from technology or their phones.
9. You’re comfortable with change
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Teaching kids to be comfortable with change is nuanced and elusive at the same time. From letting kids practice independence to offering responsibilities and obligations for them to manage, kids from the ‘80s had a great opportunity to build resilience.
Even on a larger social scale, things were constantly changing and shifting in the ‘80s, and being a young kid finding their place in that world required some level of comfort with discomfort, change, and uncertainty.
10. You prioritize community
While today’s world tends to favor selfishness and individualism, if you grew up in the 1980s, you likely prefer community over personal success. You care about maintaining deep relationships, leaning into social interactions, and creating meaning through community, rather than money or external validation.
Of course, a childhood full of neighborhood friendships and unstructured play partially crafts this reality, but for ‘80s kids, it’s also attributed to a lack of digital distractions. They didn’t have to compare themselves online, entertain themselves with mindless entertainment, or find community online.
11. You can handle discomfort
Given a childhood full of alone time, personal resilience, and hardship under your belt, if you grew up in the 1980s, you likely have a general comfort with discomfort. You’re used to managing your own boredom and learning to handle adversity with strength, rather than avoidance. Even simply from growing up amid changing social norms and circumstances, you’ve developed a sense of resilience many lack today.
You have your own self-comforting behaviors to navigate challenging situations, many of which not only boost personal well-being but also social relations and interactions. You don’t run from things just because they’re difficult, and that virtue extends to every aspect of your life.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
