10 Reasons Why It Was Great to Grow Up in the '80s

Don’t get me wrong, I love my life today, but when I think back to my childhood and teen years, which were the late ’70s and the ’80s, I truly believe that growing up was so much more fun, simple, and enjoyable back then than it is now. To prove my point, here are ten reasons why it was great to grow up in the ’80s:

We hung out with our friends in-person. We weren’t interested in being everyone’s “friend”. We had a group of close friends, and that was our world. Today, kids have a ton of “friends” online, but sadly, don’t actually have many friends in real-life.
We had no idea what was going on in the house next door, or what our cousins from another state/country were up to on a daily basis, and we were better for it! Why? Because when we visited them, we were able to spend time with them and find out what’s been going on in their lives. We talked to them. They talked to us. We all talked and listened and laughed together. Today, we still enjoy spending time with our neighbors or relatives, but it’s just not the same because we feel like we already know everything going on with them.
Going outside to play was a privilege and having to stay inside was a punishment. In the ’80s, if I did something wrong or got into trouble, my mom sent me to my room. I hated being sent to my room. Today, it’s almost reversed. Kids get into trouble, and their parents send them outside, and most kids hate it.
MTV was awesome in the ’80s! Why? Because they played music videos 24/7. Before MTV, most of us had no idea what our favorite band or singer truly looked like. Unless we were lucky enough to see them in concert, all we had was the album covers and photos in magazines. Sadly, I don’t even recognize MTV today.
In the ’80s, if you had a problem with someone, you confronted them in person. You didn’t go online in the middle of the night and tweet and/or post to Instagram or Facebook about how much you hate them.
We rode our bikes from dusk until dawn without a helmet, knee pads, or arm pads, and our parents were fine with it, and we were better for it.
When we lost a race or a game, we didn’t get a trophy for participating, we lost, and that feeling motivated us to do even better the next time. We learned to never give up, and when we finally won, the feeling was amazing. That one win sustained us through all the losses. If you never lose, you have no idea what it’s like to truly win!
Punishment… I’m not saying parents should spank their kids. Today, if you’re caught spanking your kid in public, and someone catches it on video, you’re likely to lose custody of your child, which is crazy to think of considering I was only spanked two times during my childhood: once by my mom and once by my dad. I know now that they both hated to do it, but I know I never wanted to be spanked by either of them ever again. One look from my mom or dad in public when I was misbehaving was all it took for me to “straighten up”. Time out didn’t exist. Respect did.
Dinner time – Here’s a novel idea. You eat dinner with the family at the dinner table (or kitchen table in my case) and you talked about your day with the family. No phones. No laptops. No TV. We may not have loved it back then, but honestly, I truly miss those times now.
Cruising the mall – Whether it was cruising around and around the mall parking lot in the car, or walking around the mall on a Friday night, the mall was the place to be on a Friday or Saturday night in the ’80s.