MovieChat Forums > Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) Discussion > If you were a teen in the 1980's you mig...

If you were a teen in the 1980's you might enjoy this rant....

posted 13 years ago by Roadghost69
93 replies | jump to latest

As I read the numerous threads on this board and many others about people wanting to "Go Back" to the 1980's. I came across this "Rant Letter" on the internet about today's youth. So here it is......

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; What with walking twenty-five miles to school morning...Uphill...barefoot, Both ways....yadda, yadda, yadda....

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about How hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! and I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter-with a pen! and no spell check! then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there.

Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!

There were no MP3's, Napsters, iTune, or ipods! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#% it all up! there were no CD Players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?

And talk of hardship? You couldn't just download porn! You had to steal it from your brother or bribe some homeless dude to buy you a copy of "Hustler" at the 7-11! It was either that or the lingerie section of the JC Penny catalog those were your options!

We didn't have fancy crap like call waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You Actually had to be out of touch with your "friends" OH MY GOSH!!!! Think of the horror... not being intouch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! you kids have no idea how annoying you are.

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had Atari 2600! with games like "Space Invaders" and "asteroids" and the graphics sucked ***! Your guy was a little square! you actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just Like LIFE!

When you went to a movie theater there was no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy ore some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed!

You had to use a little called the TV Guide to find out what was on TV! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the Channel!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh,no what is the world coming to?!?!

There was no Cartoon Network either! you could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying, we had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat bastards!

And we didn't have microwaves, If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove or go build a frigging fire... imagine that! If we wanted to pop popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy POP thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.

And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside.. you were doing chores!

And car seats-Oh, please! mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. And if you were lucky you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!

See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids have got it too damn easy! You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1987 or any time before!

[–] LocoHero 13 years ago

[–] cynthia_keegan 11 years ago

You're almost right about what a pain it was going to a movie theater in the 80's, but it wasn't because of no stadium seating, it was because EVERY SINGLE GIRL HAD BIG HAIR! And they were always sitting right in front of you. It didn't matter if you were 6 foot tall, their hair was 6'6". You couldn't see over the big, gi-normous teased, permed hair. It's much better nowadays.

[–] Seller7862 8 years ago

That was solid gold my friend. Now get your dad to do the same thing on the BACK TO THE FUTURE MESSAGE BOARD

[–] crankycranklestein 13 years ago

LMFAO Thanks for posting that. Feel like I could've written it....17 YO in 1987.

And tonight the stars will be out, and don't you know that God is Pooh Bear?

[–] donstuie 13 years ago

I was a child (not teenager) of the 80s, but I can still identify.

We were warned this would happen, but we never believed it. It's clearly something every generation must endure. We have officially become our parents

[–] SpiltPersonality 13 years ago

you were 17?

In 1987 - you were 17???

You young punk.

You don't know how hard it was back in 1982 when I was 17!!!

Scroll to the top of the thread mister and do some reading... and then multiply it by TEN!

:)

SpiltPersonality

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MadDogAbbey 13 years ago

Oh please I'm 17 (God what a b*stard I am!) of today and I'm behind on the times because of where i live, suppose the 'Outback' would define it best for you lot. Population 80-100 in nearest town, I couldn't even remember how to operate or shut down windows 98 at primary school (elementary for you USA), i had no freakin internet, I played tapes for the most part until i could get CD's, VHS was the sh*t, just watch those babies over and over. But yes I did have Microwave and they existed in the 80's! ...i thought they did anyway. Point is don't group us all together, I'm a 94' baby and i don't buy into all this goddamn crap kids are on with today, with the Bieber haircuts and the blokes with more makeup then the girls and the constant bloody texting, i like to text when i go somewhere with reception but not like my cousin who I wanna beat the crap out of because he takes 5 minutes to take his turn in pool cause the phone goes off every 10 seconds. I HATE MY YOUTH!!!! lol funny rant though, I can relate a tad.

I got my first PC 5 years ago and i rely on the internet heavy now because it is a terrific thing (and I like Video Editing), not all technology is bad, the 80's was viewed by your parents as you lot view today, every generation is gonna be looked upon as having it better, but that's just progress. I look forward to the days that i can tell my kids that we had walk to the fridge before hover couches came in...actually I ain't buying no hover couch for no one! Freaking soft lazy jackenapes, go and play tiggy or 123 home base! Ride a bike! ...wow they aren't even born yet and I'm yelling at them.

If Hate Was Sugar I'd Have Diabete's!!!

[–] doyalikethatbuddy 13 years ago

The only problem is that this rant is clearly more focused on being a children of the 50's and even 60's compared to today. 1987 by all means had television remotes and microwaves....

[–] BallsDeepX 13 years ago

The only problem is that this rant is clearly more focused on being a children of the 50's and even 60's compared to today. 1987 by all means had television remotes and microwaves....

That maybe true but they weren't very common. Least I don't think they were. I knew one person that had a microwave and they were very well to do.

Just because they existed didn't mean they were common. Remotes might of been more common but still I think the majority of people didn't have them.

[–] jejozi 12 years ago

Microwaves and remotes weren't uncommon in the 80s. I was newly married in '85 and we had a microwave. And if you had cable, you most likely had a remote. Heck, the first TV remote came out in 1950. It was wired, but the first wireless remote came out in '56. We called 'em clickers because the sound the buttons made when pushed.

We made popcorn in air pumpers (I still do)and video games were played at an arcade, the good ones, anyway. I still have my Intelevision along with about 100 games. I've never used Jiffy pop and I looove my XBox.

Cartoons were on everyday after school in the 60s. Loony Tunes rule.

In the 70s (18 in '76) we used to share albums to make mix tapes, so we "stole" music. I had good tunes in my car back in the 70s, too. Pioneer SuperTuner and Jensen coax speakers. Still have all my vinyl and have transferred much of it to a hard drive. I have almost 50 GB of music on my ipod. I'll put the sound from my late 70s stereo against what's out there now.

And I had a cooool freakin' car; '66 Mustang. Wish I still had that.

And you could get a "z" for $40. lol

This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.

[–] poli373 11 years ago

I wish we still lived in that time, imagine a relationship where you didn't get 1 million texts a day from an annoying girlfriend...imagine being out of your house and not being bothered by anyone! or being able to just relax without a stupid cell phone buzzing with notifications all the time.

I wish we could go back to a simpler time before technology ruined everything

[–] jejozi 11 years ago

Why would you want her as your GF if she's annoying? Does your phone not come with an "power off" button? Technology hasn't ruined anything, it sounds as if you've allowed it to dominate your life. If you don't want your phone buzzing all the time, turn it off, as there's no rule that says it always has to be on. If anyone complains that you weren't answering, tell them, "too bad, I turned it off". I enjoyed the he_l out of the late 70s/early 80s (I turned 20 in '78), but I love my technology. For the first time, I didn't go to the stores to do my Xmas shopping. That alone is worth it. Plus, Xbox kicks Intellevisions' rear, I'm constantly using my computer, from my ipod to my tablet to my laptop, I love my 50 inch 3D HD TV and Blu-Ray player, Netflix, and my ipod beats the he_l out of my Walkman. And I also like my cell phone and texts. So many phone calls that don't need to be made. And I always have a decent camera in my pocket. Technology is a tool, it's up to you how you use it or let if affect your life

This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lotsofwordz 13 years ago

"All the seats were the same height!"

Err ... we had raked cinemas in the 1950s.

[–] willard86 13 years ago

There was call waiting in 1983, and microwaves, and Theater 80 in NYC had stadium seating when it was built in the 50s.

[–] Gordon_Gartrelle 13 years ago

Floors were super sticky and the cinemas reeked of weed.

I apologize for grammatical errors- a side effect of IMDbing on my iPhone.

[–] mariusar 9 years ago

Errr...those were considered "value-added features."

'Cause we all know that only the finest theaters showing the most desirable films back then had that kinda stuff.

;) :D

Such a late reply, but I just had to...

--
"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

[–] CoyotePeyote 13 years ago

You guys should shut up and be happy to be a teen in the 1980's IN THE USA!!!

It's so much easier and advanced. Really, I got my first microwave 5 years ago.

[–] Milkyway123 13 years ago

Roadghost69:

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! and I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter-with a pen! and no spell check! then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there.

I don't know how serious you were about you post (this was even someone else's rant you copy/pasted?), but...
All is relative.. All those things you speak of are not beneficial to a generation, it is the opposite (again, relative)! Build a fire, go to the library, write a lettter, let alone know the actual spelling of the word rather than using spellchecker... Easy is not always a good thing. I think that lesson escaped "your" old age.

[–] annieapplez 8 years ago

thank you for this reply :) I hope they were not that serious this generation maybe spoiled as he says but also handicapped as they cannot do anything without technology -- it is very sad if you ask me -- but of course no one did ;)

[–] Gordon_Gartrelle 13 years ago

The Internet will always be the biggest one for me, because I remember that no library was near my home. My parents worked till 9pm and were from the thinking of school should provide you with everything you need. So I always failed the reports. No encyclopedias. No going to the library. The other day my son asked a question about a poem he heard. 5 minutes later he had all the info he needed on the Internet.

I wish more movies would make fun how we had to record music on our tape decks and yes the djs would practically talk through the whole song. I recently digitized an old cassette of songs from my youth for drives to work.

I apologize for grammatical errors- a side effect of IMDbing on my iPhone.

[–] mjf-4 13 years ago

Don't forget the absolute terror that was RUSSIA and all the school bomb drills. Instead of worrying about a rogue terrorist nuke we were worried about the end of the world!

[–] greg-goremykin 9 years ago

FK Russia, the rest of the world other than the USA, and even the States probably was full of them, were a lot more scared of Reagan than the USSR when it came to unleashing a nuclear holocaust.

[–] brightmidnight71 10 years ago

Look I was born in 83 and we had a console TV with no remote and a push-button cable box. Got like 24 channels I think. We had a microwave but it was almost as big as the TV and it took about 10 minutes to pop a bag of popcorn. We had a VCR with a remote...attached by a wire. And almost every tape we had was one my dad dubbed off cable. The box was rigged so we got HBO, Prism, and Te Movie Channel for free. We had a portable phone the size of a freaking WWII radio and don't bother going outside with it, even w the 10 foot telescoping antenna. All my music was on tape. We got our first CD player boom box in the late 90s sometime. And even in high school a discman ran through the tape player in the car and skipped constantly. Things started moving a lot faster around 2000. Especially the fact that more movies and TV shows started being made solely for teens. In the 80s there were movies teens clearly would like more than adults but they were rated R and you had to sneak in or wait to rent them at the video store. And it wasn't even Blockbuster. It was a creepy place styrofoam filled VHS cases. The tapes were behind the counter and there was the creepy adult room in the back w the beaded curtain. Movies that were supposedly for teens were more like family movies and lame. You had to work a little for the cool stuff and that made it cooler. Computers were for nerds. I think things from my childhood changed faster and more drastically than they did for my dad by this age, and he was born in 1950.
And all we ever heard about was the evil of drugs and how we were all going to die from AIDS. Now two states have legalized recreational marijuana.
I truly have no frame of reference to understand the world kids live in today and I don't feel that old. It freaks me out when I think about it. Never thought I'd be nostalgic about grunge and Airwalks and apathy. Remember when it was cool not to care...about anything? Now everyone had a damn opinion and worse they desperately want to share it because they can.

Lou should have killed Zuckerberg's parents. Lol.

[–] greg-goremykin 9 years ago

This, all of this, exactly what I was thinking reading other comments until I got to yours.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jejozi 12 years ago

Wow, you must have been poor. I was 17 in '75, and by '86 I had a lot of the stuff you said didn't exist. Hell, I even had cartoons every day back in the 60s. lol

This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.