CuriositiesOCT 23, 2023

36 Things From The Recent Past That The Younger Generations Get Completely Wrong

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You can read books and watch movies about the days gone by but you probably won't understand what a certain era felt like as well as the people who lived through it.

So when Reddit user WeirdJawn asked older platform users to share what young people have gotten completely wrong about past decades, their post received plenty of replies.

From the entertainment industry to social movements and everything in between, continue scrolling to learn what history looked like when it was still the present from the ones who witnessed it.

#1

36 Things From The Recent Past That The Younger Generations Get Completely Wrong

Being a young "boomer" was not easy. I worked in a steel mill, night shift, at age 18. I was the first woman to work in the foundry. I had to be escorted to and from the lavatory because my boss was afraid I would be assaulted. Then I finished nursing school and was propositioned by doctors. In my final career I was a PM at an engineering firm and was told repeatedly that I did not deserve the job. I hope younger women realize what us "older ladies" did to pave the way.

fz1jack, Chevanon Photography

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325points

#2

That feminism isn't some mouldy concept from the distant past.

In the US, sexual discrimination in education wasn't outlawed until 1972, which just happened to be the same year unmarried women were legally allowed access to birth control. Additionally, prior to 1974 women were not allowed to have credit cards or loans in their own names, they were simply authorised users of their husbands' credit cards. Some employers also required married women to have their husband's permission before they were offered employment.

When people talk about how women in the 1950s and 1960s stayed married even when the marriage was clearly rocky, it was less about devotion and more to do with the lack of equal access to education, work and finances. The divorce rate skyrocketed in the '70's but not because women were suddenly wanton and looking for a good time, it was because they were no longer forced to remain in a bad marriage as a matter of financial survival.

protogens, Lindsey LaMont

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252points

We managed to get in touch with WeirdJawn and they agreed to tell us more about their post.

As with many ideas, it popped into the Redditor's head unexpectedly. "To be honest, I was probably pooping or on break during work," they told Bored Panda.

"I've always been interested in generational differences and curious how people from different generations perceive others. I feel there can be a huge disconnect between generations, especially when they're not interacting with each other."

#3

This will be hard to believe for many - but MTV used to be amazing

Decent_Leadership_62, Enxyclo Studio

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249points

#4

I don't think they understand the extent to which we were "Free Range Children".

In the summer time, we would leave the house at 10AM and we would rove far and wide with our friends all day. We would often not be back until 9PM.

Usually we had to be back at certain times for meals but aside from that, we were off having adventures with our friends.

Riding our bikes through slag dumps, riding our bikes through trails out in the woods, climbing things that were not safe to climb, throwing lawn darts and general daredevil s**t that kids today cannot fathom.

Lord_Kano, Taylor Brandon

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238points

The generation gap that was so in evidence during the '60s has resurfaced, but it is not as disruptive as it was during the Vietnam era, a 2009 study suggests.

A Pew Research Center study found that 79% of Americans see major differences between younger and older adults in the way they look at the world, while a Gallup Poll from 1969 discovered that a slightly smaller percentage, 74%, perceived major differences.

Today, although more Americans see generational differences, most do not think they're divisive. That is partly because of the areas in which they arise — the top ones between young and old, according to the Pew Research Study, are the use of technology and taste in music. Behind them are attitudes toward different races and groups, moral values, religious beliefs, respect for others, political views, and work ethic.

#5

How on-time you had to be for your favorite shows because there was little to no chance you’d see that same episode again until they (hopefully) did re-runs during summer.

I remember waiting anxiously for the nightly news to be over so I could watch my favorite TV shows. Commercial breaks were just mad rushes for the bathroom, or to the kitchen to get something quick to drink.

ladyeclectic79, ＭΛＴΞ

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230points

#6

They understand restaurants had "smoking sections" and that bars & clubs were filled with cigarette smoke. But I don't think many understood how pervasive smoking was. There were ashtrays and people smoking literally EVERYWHERE. Jury boxes had ashtrays in front of every juror. Judge smoked, lawyers smoked, the gallery smoked. You smoked on planes, trains, busses, taxicabs, and all transportation centers. You smoked at the library, the PTO meetings at schools, the town hall and all city offices. Hell, you could smoke at the courtyard at my High School as a student. You smoked in the elevator and on the escalator. The mall. Sports venues. Doctor's offices. Hospitals. The movies. The plays, opera, concerts and every other public performance. A non-smoker would come home often smelling like smoke. One was constantly surrounded by smoke. It was insane.

parkerjh, Giorgio Trovato

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224points

After going through the discussion, WeirdJawn noticed that, "one of the common themes [in the thread] was refuting the oft-repeated sentiment of Boomers having it easy, the economy always being great, and everyone being able to live a good life on one paycheck from someone with a high school diploma."

"I don't think people can have a 1 to 1 knowledge of what each generation goes through," the Redditor said. "However, I believe the internet makes it easier than ever to understand other people's lived experiences because you have the opportunity to hear from people you would have never encountered prior."

#7

Women weren't valued. Full stop. If you know any woman 60 or older who is a business owner, doctor, attorney, C suite professional, tell them thank you. You have no idea what they went through to get there.

Three60five, Anna Shvets

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204points

#8

Journalism has changed. You used to be able to trust in the integrity of the journalist. Now, they're interchangeable, and all we know is the network. It has changed the way we trust the new media, and it's not good. We shouldn't underestimate the danger of this change.

mpshumake, Thomas Charters

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195points

"I would recommend that people young and old make the effort to get out of their comfort zone and talk to different generations," they added. "Volunteer at a nursing home, Boys' and Girls' club, etc. We can all learn a lot from each other if we're just willing to listen."

Writer William Safire also didn't demonize the generation gap, saying in his book Safire's Political Dictionary that it can be either "a frustrating lack of communication between young and old" or "a useful stretch of time that separates cultures within a society, allowing them to develop their own character."

#9

Probably just how often you had to accept that you couldn't find out the answer to something. If you had a question you could ask your family, maybe your friends, maybe your teachers, and your last chance was the check the library. But if the library didn't have the answer, then you just had to accept that you weren't going to get an answer (or you'd have to hope to come across that answer someday in the future). Now you just ask Google and get 10 answers in just seconds.

john_jdm, Firmbee.com

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178points

#10

How self sufficient you had to be. If you got a flat tire, you had to change it yourself or walk. You had to make arrangements to meet up with friends well ahead of time and then show up. The world before cell phones was completely different.

kelimac, Sebastian Huxley

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176points

#11

I am definitely an older Redditor (born in 1949). What today's young people don't appreciate is how, growing up, we had to invent our own sources of fun. There were no video games (which I enjoy playing), just 3 channels on a black-and-white tv (we didn't get color until 1967), and no real entertainment aimed at kids. All we could do is interact with each other and play established games like marbles or maybe an organized sport like Little League baseball. There was a baseball diamond, overgrown with weeds, across the street from us, but mostly we played in the woods that surrounded us, climbing trees pretending to be pirates or some such. I loved the bookmobiles that would visit my street, and I must have read every biography (all bound in blue covers) in my elementary school library. It was a different era with many fewer distractions and much more time for sustained imagination. Being a different place and time, we developed different skills for interacting with the world and each other than young people do today. Was it better? That's hard to say. We tended to have an insular view of our own little world, while today it is hard to escape what it happening everywhere on Earth. We had to wait days for a letter to arrive, and we shared a party line with our neighbor's phone. That is a far slower pace than today's instantaneous texting culture. (Yes, I do text.) Some things have been lost while others have been gained. That's the way it always will be. Just wait.

BOBauthor, Markus Spiske

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170points

#12

That all 80's and 90's music was good. There was plenty of c**ppy music released then like there is now, it's just that the cr**ppy music got buried quickly while the best hits continue to get played today.

DeathSpiral321, Car Girl .

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149points

#13

People say that the 80s were all about consumerism, which is true, but the products were well made and fixable. Towns had repair shops for everything. You just didn't buy a disposable TV. If it broke you took it in to get fixed. Nowadays if your TV breaks its tossed and you get a new one.

Edit: TVs are just one example that I used. Look at many different examples under the comments e.g. shoes, household appliances, cars, et cetera.

ThisistheHoneyBadger, Johnstocker

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137points

#14

I remember lying in bed every night worrying about nuclear war happening. This was late 70s early 80s. That was a huge fear for a long time.

temujin1976, Federal government of the United States

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136points

#15

Up until video rental stores in the early 80's, at school the next day every kid was talking about what was on TV the night before, as every single family was watching tv together every single night. With some exceptions, most people watched the same thing as their schoolmates or co-workers, just to be a part of the conversation.

Grimjack2, Ajeet Mestry

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130points

#16

That it was incredibly common to just not have pictures of events or other things we see as important now. Not only did we have entire vacations where no pictures were taken, we could go months without a single picture being taken of any member of our family unless it was particularly notable. A trip to St Louis? No pictures. A trip to Disney land? Maybe a picture at the entry gate or one of the souvenir pictures of us with a character. A trip to zoo? No pictures. An average day? Forget about it! Frequently, the only pictures taken were at major holidays like Christmas or on someone's birthday.

bbbbbthatsfivebees, Connor Olson

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121points

#17

Landline telephones had seriously great audio quality. Better than anything for remote conversation today, in my opinion. I distinctly remember being a teenager and just talking on the phone with someone late into the night, hearing them breathe and sigh, hearing their every little sound. There wasn't the lag and the noise canceling and the high compression that ruins telephony today. It was a much purer way to feel like you were closer to someone than anything we have today.

BangBangMeatMachine, Adria Berrocal Forcada

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116points

#18

how common drinking & driving was. Until MADD came along, people did this routinely. It's where "one for the road" originated.

HailRoma, why kei

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115points

#19

There was a horrible amount of poverty in the 60s, 70s and 80s. That whole thing about one job supporting a family of four is not true at all. However, until Reagan came along and destroyed benefits for struggling people they had government help. They also don't understand how absolutely f*****g horrible it could be for women in the workplace. Our mothers and grandmothers had to fight to be treated decently not to mention equally. Harassment, limited opportunity, inequal pay for the same work. My mother was forced to quit her job when she was five months pregnant because pregnant women shouldn't work. Same with my grandma but she was made to quit teaching when she got married. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Girls, you owe your Grandmothers a lot.

Iwentforalongwalk, MART PRODUCTION

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109points

#20

Kids think Y2K was a joke, but the panic was real, people legit thought computers would end us.

lord-mate-lad-man, Runxctry

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107points

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