It was different growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. It wasn’t just the clothes we wore, the music we listened to, or the absence of computers and cell phones. Life itself felt simpler.
We spent most of our time outside. We rode our bikes everywhere. Neighborhood friends gathered for games like hide-and-seek, and summer evenings were for catching fireflies. We didn’t have a curfew. We went home when it turned dark. Winters included hours upon hours building snow forts and sledding.
We didn’t have to check in with our parents and they didn’t track our cell phones. There was a freedom that seems rare today. There were no bike helmets and most people didn’t even use seatbelts.
Phones were attached to the wall, usually with one long cord that you could stretch into another room if you wanted privacy. There was just one phone for the whole household, and calling “long distance” was expensive – something reserved for very special occasions.
Computers weren’t a part of everyday life yet. Our family was one of the first in the neighborhood to get one – a Commodore – in the late 1970s. It felt futuristic, though most people still relied on typewriters. I even took an electric typewriter to Purdue in 1986 for my freshman year of college. Back then, writing papers often meant waiting for a spot in the computer lab and using a word processor. Personal laptops were still far off in the future.
Video games were brand new. Pong, released in 1972 by Atari, was one of the first, and it was astonishing in its simplicity. Just two paddles moving up and down, bouncing a tiny square ball back and forth on the screen. Miss the ball, and your opponent scored a point. It was nothing like video games today – but it was groundbreaking – laying the foundation for the massive gaming industry we know today.
Television was limited, too. Most families had just one TV set, with only a handful of channels. There were no remotes or streaming services. If you wanted to change the channel, you had to get up, walk over to the TV, and turn the knob.
In the 1970s, bell bottoms, platform shoes, and tie-dye were everywhere, along with the sounds of rock and roll and disco. While I escaped most of this because I wasn’t even a teenager yet, I went all in for the 1980s. Fashion exploded into neon colors, leg warmers, shoulder pads, and big hair, while pop icons like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince dominated the music scene.
Looking back, the contrast with my kids’ childhood in the early 2000s – and kids now in 2026 – is striking. Today, technology shapes so much of daily life. Phones, laptops, streaming, and social media are constants. Kids connect with friends online more than outside, and entertainment is on-demand.
But along with all this access comes pressure. Kids today are growing up under the constant gaze of social media, measuring themselves against highlight reels of other people’s lives. Academic expectations feel heavier, with college and career pressures starting earlier. Even play has changed – sports and activities are more organized and competitive, leaving less room for the kind of free, imaginative play we once had.
Another challenge is the loss of natural face-to-face interaction. We learned to build friendships by knocking on a neighbor’s door, striking up a conversation on the playground, or negotiating the rules of a backyard game. Today, many kids interact through screens more than in person. They don’t really even know who they are interacting with. Text messages, group chats, and online gaming have replaced some of the in-person interactions that once taught us how to read body language, handle disagreements, or simply sit and talk. As a result, many young people struggle with communication skills, empathy, and forming deeper, lasting relationships.
And yet, today’s kids also have opportunities we never dreamed of. They can connect instantly with friends across the globe, learn anything with a quick search, and explore creative outlets on platforms we never could have imagined. They are growing up with tools that allow them to share their voices widely, access endless knowledge, and be more aware of the world around them. They also have to disseminate truth versus fiction with all of the information available to them.
It’s not that one way of growing up is better than the other – both have advantages and disadvantages. They are just different. I miss the simplicity of the way I grew up when childhood meant long summer evenings, the thrill of a new vinyl record or cassette tape, and the freedom of riding my bike as far and for as long as my legs would carry me. At the same time, I’m hopeful for the next generation, who, despite their challenges, are equipped to dream bigger and reach farther than we ever could.