Here are ten common habits from the 1980s that simply wouldn’t fly today.
The two-drink drive
Workers took long lunches in the ‘80s. They’d also have a couple of drinks at the same time. Afterward, they’d head back to work, no big deal. As long as you weren’t obviously drunk, you were fine to drive, right? We don’t think that way anymore.
It’s thanks to groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving that our attitudes have changed. Having ‘just a couple’ and driving is a guarantee for some trouble. The majority of people don’t see it as being harmless anymore. Rightly so.
The old label
‘Oriental’ was a word companies used all the time. You’d see adverts for Oriental food and decor. It was also normal to describe people as Oriental. People didn’t question it. However, people’s attitudes have changed completely.
American lawmakers removed the term from the law in 2016. Why? Because they recognized how outdated and offensive it was. You’re better off describing someone’s ethnicity properly than using a generic term like ‘Oriental.’
The long drop-off
Going to the mall was way more popular in the ‘80s. So was staying there for a whole day. Parents would drop their kids off in the morning and then pick them up much later. Kids had the freedom to wander by themselves. They’d only check in when they found a pay phone.
However, kids wouldn’t be able to do that today. They’d be expected to keep their parents in constant contact. That’s if they were even allowed to go. A lot of parents wouldn’t let their kids have that kind of independence. They think it’s too dangerous.
The empty-house routine
Going home after school was different, too. Kids in the ‘80s were used to coming back to an empty house. They’d fix a snack and watch TV. They’d wait for their parents to come back like it was no big deal. It wasn’t back then.
These days, leaving your kids at home alone would raise a lot of questions. Are they old enough to do that? Will they be safe? Do they know what to do in an emergency? Most parents wouldn’t bother doing it at all.
The living-room screening
Kids also had more freedom with what they watched on TV. It wasn’t unusual for them to sit through movies that clearly weren’t made for them. Perhaps an older sibling chose it. Or maybe nobody thought about it during a sleepover.
Either way, kids watched things that they probably shouldn’t have. That’s not nearly as possible now. Parental controls and clear rating guidance stop young kids from watching inappropriate movies. Allowing them to watch it would create some controversy, that’s for sure.
The knock at the door
Showing up without warning? That wasn’t a big deal in those days. You could walk over and knock without sending a message beforehand. You didn’t even need to check if it was a good time. People stayed connected that way.
But etiquette advice today goes the opposite way. You’re supposed to reach out first. Then, you’re meant to ask if it’s convenient for them. Our expectations about social interactions have changed quite a lot, clearly.
The after-school circle
The idea of letting kids ‘settle it outside’ sounds unbelievable today. But it really happened back then. Some parents would allow their kids to tussle it out after school. Why? Because that’s just how things worked in those days.
It’d be handled pretty differently now. Both schools and adults see physical fights as serious incidents. Because they are. They’re not going to leave them to chance. No, you’d get some real punishment for being part of one.
The break-room calendar
Workplaces were different in those days, too. Some of them had calendars on the wall that weren’t exactly subtle. They’d include bikini models or more revealing imagery. People saw it as a regular guy thing. But not anymore.
Most people treat pin-up calendars in a very different way. You’d be seen as sexually harassing your coworkers if you had one today. That’s why you don’t really see them in shared workspaces anymore.
The front desk look
Working on the front desk wasn’t always a proper role in the ‘80s. Sometimes, it felt like you were part of the decor. Employers expected the person at the front desk to ‘look the part.’ Seriously. Their appearance mattered as much as their experience.
These expectations don’t fly today. There’s no way you’d be allowed to discriminate against workers on something like their looks. Anyone who’d dare to try would be in for a lot of trouble.
The costume nobody stopped
Party costumes have always toed the line. But the costumes in the ‘80s went completely over it. People would dress up as celebrities or famous characters, then change their skin tone as part of the look. Yes, really. Blackface and brownface were just another costume choice.
Imagine trying to do that now. It doesn’t take a genius to know how controversial it’d be. We understand the history behind blackface much more. There’s no way anyone would brush those costumes off today.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
