Was 1988 any different??

[salmon256]

My cell stays in my pocket until it does normal phone stuff, like ring. I think a declining birth rate and a generation that sees 40 year old virgins is happening before us. This represents an evolutionary change with profound consequences.

You know all those people at the bar, on their phone, are cutting right to the chase on Tinder etc, right?

I think both hit on a point that people who use Tinder are mostly not serious about long term-relationships and those apps are seeing decline.
I also think more people of Gen-Z want long term relationships. Tinder actually only proves Gorilla Monsoon point that people are becoming way more shallow and shopping for hook ups and at the same time the pool is only getting smaller because I bodily think less and less people are interested in it if you're just gonna get insulted both gals and guys.

Maybe this is my Gen-Z showing, but I think most girls these days do not want to be hit on, all due respect the sexism and creepiness of the 80s should stay there y'all... I think with the internet and amount of media focus on romantics long term relationships etc etc has made people yearn for a connection. Both of you hit a point that yes.... without getting NSFW - virginity is on the rise, or having 1 to 2 partners is a giant norm in Gen-Z, phones and social media has lead to a giant mental health crisis, I agree with you that yes people are stuck in their phones trust me at 24 I was on line for Dunkin at my college and I'm pretty shy but I just wanted to be like "GET DAFUQ OFF YOUR PHONES!" every person on a phone... not a world of communication and I do notice a giant decline in matters, holding the door, no one saying thank you or if you do hold the door they get annoyed...

So I'm gonna say that the phone hasn't replace that... it's a dying thing imo, but at the same time maybe hitting on girls going to a bar is a cool guy thing... I'm not cool... but also every bar is mostly filled with the local old drunks when I go to see my friend perform I value my health... Guess my ramble is don't act like it was a unicorns and rainbows back then nor also it is all because of the phone, I do blame it yes but I also hate to say to you guys things are changing... you can disagree with me just my opinion I have some interesting studies I could show you but it is way too complex this topic.

 

[salmon256]

The Atari 2600 cost the equivalent of $1000 in 2025 dollars when it was new. And for $130 (2025 dollars) per game cartridge we could play games like this:

Ardgedee, you make some good points. I get what you mean. I still think though maybe I meant and in my opinion that gaming today is more mainstream. I still think though todays standards the big companies like Nintendo only have a choke hold on its fans. It is true it has gotten cheaper in the grand scheme but I still think it has only gotten more controlling, more about/

Also though I know we are accounting for todays price but in my opinion Atari being 1000 today AKA 199 in 1977 is a bit of argument I can fight. The average household income was 21k at that time, also gas was cheaper, things I think weren't much different today (though please don't quote me I'm born in 2001 I dunno why I'm even on this thread lol) also people were able to afford cars (I miss those 70s to 90s cars man...) and I think though it depends on the buyer and their income.

So I don't disagree but I also just think gaming has become more mainstream but consumers as always are only getting screw and big companies make dumb money moves and wonder why Indie titles always steal the show... just my opinion.

 

[ThudThudThud]

I think my first concert ticket (Black Sabbath supported by Van Halen at Hammersmith Odeon) was about £2.00.
I think the prices have gone up a bit in the 47 years since then.

 

[ardgedee]

Ardgedee, you make some good points. I get what you mean. I still think though maybe I meant and in my opinion that gaming today is more mainstream. I still think though todays standards the big companies like Nintendo only have a choke hold on its fans. It is true it has gotten cheaper in the grand scheme but I still think it has only gotten more controlling, more about/

Also though I know we are accounting for todays price but in my opinion Atari being 1000 today AKA 199 in 1977 is a bit of argument I can fight. The average household income was 21k at that time, also gas was cheaper, things I think weren't much different today (though please don't quote me I'm born in 2001 I dunno why I'm even on this thread lol) also people were able to afford cars (I miss those 70s to 90s cars man...) and I think though it depends on the buyer and their income.

So I don't disagree but I also just think gaming has become more mainstream but consumers as always are only getting screw and big companies make dumb money moves and wonder why Indie titles always steal the show... just my opinion.

I lived through the era and I can tell you... the cars were crap. Absolute buckets. Getting one to last ten years was a struggle; I can remember helping my father replacing the engine mounts and bondo-ing the body on the family car because that's just the sort of thing you had to expect after the car reached its fifth birthday; it was effectively rotting metal. In 2025 even the cheapest car can run for 15 years as long as you're prompt on scheduled basic maintenance.

The world of 45 years ago was not better. The best you can say for it is that the downsides were different.

 

[WG Plum]

As much as I enjoy TB, I do miss the pre-internet days, and definitely the pre-cell phone days. Other than that? It's the same old same old, overall, the main difference is I have real responsibilities now.

 

[FilCo]

I lived through the era and I can tell you... the cars were crap. Absolute buckets.

My 84 and 87 Dodge Conquests were pretty sweet for a high schooler. I don't know about getting ten years out of them, but I could barely get ten weeks out of my tires. Tire technology must have come a long way since then.

 

[darev]

The world of 45 years ago was not better. The best you can say for it is that the downsides were different.

Yes, indeed.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I don't know about getting ten years out of them, but I could barely get ten weeks out of my tires. Tire technology must have come a long way since then.

The inverse must be true of rubber shoe soles.

Back in '84 I would typically get about 8 months worth of wearing a pair of Nike Vandals, or Nike Divisions every day, climbing trees, kicking footballs, skateboarding, ripping around on a BMX, clambering around in unguarded construction sites.

Nowadays, 2 to 3 hours of walking on pavement, and the grip is showing significant wear - I'm lucky if I get 3 months use before there are holes, and any rainwater soaks my socks through capillary action.

 

[FilCo]

The inverse must be true of rubber shoe soles.

Back in '84 I would typically get about 8 months worth of wearing a pair of Nike Vandals, or Nike Divisions every day, climbing trees, kicking footballs, skateboarding, ripping around on a BMX, clambering around in unguarded construction sites.

Nowadays, 2 to 3 hours of walking on pavement, and the grip is showing significant wear - I'm lucky if I get 3 months use before there are holes, and any rainwater soaks my socks through capillary action.

What model of BMX are we talking about here?

 

[Wood and Wire]

What model of BMX are we talking about here?

Mongoose.

 

[FilCo]

Mongoose.

Around approximately 1985, I would have traded every pair of Nikes I had, or would own in the future, for a Mongoose.

 

[Wood and Wire]

Around approximately 1985, I would have traded every pair of Nikes I had, or would own in the future, for a Mongoose.

I guess E.T. in 1982, and BMX Bandits in 1983 really raised the profile of a lot of brands, particularly Kuwahara, Mongoose, and Diamond Back.

My Mongoose wasn't the top of the line model, but it was a great bike (I still have it).

Never saw a Kuwahara in the flesh, but a few friends had Diamond Backs, and Ammacos - a few Murrays, and Puchs about too.

Probably the most common BMXs around these parts were Raleigh Burners - but there were several tiers, and the top tier were pretty rare, and not surprisingly expensive.

 

[FilCo]

I guess E.T. in 1982, and BMX Bandits in 1983 really raised the profile of a lot of brands, particularly Kuwahara, Mongoose, and Diamond Back.

My Mongoose wasn't the top of the line model, but it was a great bike (I still have it).

Never saw a Kuwahara in the flesh, but a few friends had Diamond Backs, and Ammacos - a few Murrays, and Puchs about too.

Probably the most common BMXs around these parts were Raleigh Burners - but there were several tiers, and the top tier were pretty rare, and not surprisingly expensive.

I, as well, had never seen a kuwahara in real life until just about 10 years ago. I bought it at a pawn shop for $60 and sold it to someone in Hollywood for $1000. I would have preferred to take it back in a time machine though.

I think Kuwaharas alone make the 80's one of the greatest decades

 

[ardgedee]

My 84 and 87 Dodge Conquests were pretty sweet for a high schooler. I don't know about getting ten years out of them, but I could barely get ten weeks out of my tires. Tire technology must have come a long way since then.

Or maybe you stopped driving like a teenager?

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Mongoose.

webco replica with Tuff IIs and those cool foam grips.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

I was born in 1989 but if I had a choice I'd live the rest of my life in a loop between 1988-1993... That was the peak of The West IMO

I was in my early 20s then.
Fun, but dude, nothing magic.

 

[Wood and Wire]

webco replica with Tuff IIs and those cool foam grips.

Nice.

Man, I forgot about Tuff II's.

This whole BMX tangent has brought back an amazing number of memories, and feelings, and all sorts that I'd either completely forgotten about, or hadn't thought about in decades.

Those foam grips though.... man I hated it when a small chunk would come out, and you'd start getting blisters (which inevitably is why some little b*st*rds would sneakily pick chunks out everyone's grips, for their own amusement), and pretty quickly the whole thing would start to shred.

Thankfully my Mongoose had the yellow rubber grips, with Mongoose embossed all over them.

 

[Spectrum]

As much as I enjoy TB, I do miss the pre-internet days, and definitely the pre-cell phone days. Other than that? It's the same old same old, overall, the main difference is I have real responsibilities now.

I was a teenager in the 80s, so I relate. Currently in my workplace I have coworkers who were too young to remember or not even born when 9/11 happened.* They have never known a world without internet and smart phones. One of them asked me how people would meet up before mobile phones, and I explained to them that you called them on a land line and arranged to meet them at a certain time and place. If they didn't show after 15 or 20 minutes you just moved on without them and didn't worry about them until later. The weird thing is even I have trouble remembering what it was like in those days. Sitting in my room with a radio and maybe a TV, nobody emailing me concert dates or anything, you had to actively go look stuff up or be lucky enough to catch an ad for a show. Driving my car around using a paper map, etc.

*About 9/11: when I was growing up my parents and grandparents tried to explain to me how awful it was when JFK was killed, and I never really got it. Now I'm the one trying to explain a nasty event to younger people who can't really comprehend how shocking that was. I suppose the same was true for Pearl Harbor and hundreds of other major events throughout history. Being told the story will never be the same as having to live through it.

As for the question of "do I miss the 80s?", the answer is "Some of it. Some of it not so much." I certainly don't miss everything smelling like cigarettes all the time. But I do miss Radio Shack.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

You know all those people at the bar, on their phone, are cutting right to the chase on Tinder etc, right?

Everything is much more streamlined, and efficient than it was in your day - no need waste time & money eyeing up whoever is in the bar, when you can get straight to the point in the app; and if there's nobody in the bar that suits your fancy, you can widen your search until you connect with someone who might be 4 miles away, at home in front of the TV, and invite them to the bar (or they cut to the chase, and invite you straight round their house).

Sex ain't goin' outta style : have you seen the internet lately?

Ok, but youve removed all the fun subleties of the dance. Chasing, being sought after, a glance from across the room. Real rejection, lessons learned. Romance for Gods sake. That can be fun! Are you ready to bring home the chick you hit up on Tinder? Instead of getting to know each other in a nice in- person way. You miss the point my freind.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

Ok, but youve removed all the fun subleties of the dance. Chasing, being sought after, a glance from across the room. Real rejection, lessons learned. Romance for Gods sake. That can be fun! Are you ready to bring home the chick you hit up on Tinder? Instead of getting to know each other in a nice in- person way. You miss the point my freind.

To boot, you could actually see what they look like, not what the phone/ app filter and angle is telling you lol.