What were the 1970s and 1982 like?

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One of my special interests is of the culture of the time before I was born and the early years after. Sometimes I wonder about general decades and other times about specific years and the phenomenon of time perception as we age.

What were the 1970s like for any Aspies who were adults and teenagers at the time? It's like I want to live it and be there, experience it vicariously through others who were, at the very least.

And, for some reason, I'm preoccupied with 1982. What was 1982 like for those who were old enough to remember.

Also--how long ago do those years "feel" to you? To me, it was a long time ago.

The 70's is a rather large period of time and would require some thought to try and summarize.

1982 was a very significant year for me and one of just a few that have a special place in my own history. But I wonder what area you are interested in specifically. Is it the pop culture or more the political/world environment?

The 70's do seem like a long time ago. Besides the plain distance of time, some of the attitudes and beliefs never left that decade so to speak. 1982 seems less old to me, perhaps because some of what it was like, the thinking, still exists. It may not be reliable however because so much depends on the indivduals perceptions.

The 1970s didn't exist. Neither did 1982. I wasn't born then. I'm preoccupied with an imaginary year called 1985 though. It's in a catchy song.

Sorry for giving such a sarcastic answer. It's not what you were looking for and it contributes nothing. I just couldn't help myself.

Haha, now 1985 was the best year!

A lot of things changed in the 1970s. International air travel became widely accessible in a way it had not been previously, and younger people began to travel all over the world in a way they never had before, to places their parents had only ever read about - like Katmandu or an ashram in India, or going all over Europe inexpensively with coach companies especially for the under 30s, like Contiki.

This caused some jealousy, I think, between the older and younger generation at the time, as many of the older generation had mainly only experienced international travel in relation to war - World War 2, Korea, Vietnam... they felt they had won a freedom that the younger generation took for granted. (But younger generations always do!)

I travelled widely in my late 20s as part of this, lived in different countries, saw how the other cultures lives, had to speak other languages, and appreciated my own country much more when I finally came home. My generation brought home our experiences and began recreating aspects of them in our home countries, which gradually made things much more cosmopolitan.

You have to remember that in the 1950s and 1960s, many people were genuinely terrified that the world would be plunged into a nuclear war from which no winners would emerge. The pugnacious nature of East vs West politics, the Cold War, were alarming.

By the 1970s, people in their 20s then dismissed these concerns and were relatively carefree. Apart from Vietnam, the world seemed a much safer place and economies were expanding in the West, there was full employment, innovative music and the Baby Boomers born after the war who came of age as the 70s began questioned the conformist attitudes of the previous generation - who all dressed alike, wore the same hairstyle, lived the same lifestyles (in the main, not of course minorities). The boomers rejected conformity. There was an explosion of alternatives - in music, in fashion, in political and academic thought.

In the 1970s, the generation gap really widened. The generation who had survived the Great Depression and then WWII could not understand why their adult children rejected everything they stood for; many of them couldn't understand the attraction of Elvis, or the Beatles, or the Stones, or "counterculture" to young people. The Coming of Age Babyboomers rebelled against their parents' materialism and values (security, conformity) by adopting completely opposite attitudes.

However the boomers themselves changed values again and started to become more materialistic and conformist during the 1980s. The counterculture (peace and love and sharing spiritual ideals) died out as the 70s ended, and "Yuppies" emerged instead: young, upwardly mobile, individualistic, self-interested, self-serving, grasping... and in the 80s gained political power themselves which expanded as the 80s continued, introducing policies which would undo the post-war security that people had known and replace it with "free market" ideology instead - which led eventually to the vast gaps we have today between the haves and have nots.

The 70s and 80s were decades of change and transition, and the changes were rapid, and led to outcomes that had no-one anticipated
in nonconformist 1970s.

It was a good time, a bad time, a very different time...

The 1970s, at least in NYC, were a time of great turmoil (not necessarily political). Around 1975, the city was on the verge of bankruptcy. The subways had graffiti all over them, and were breaking down constantly; There were "party cars," in which the back car of a subway train was used for smoking pot and sniffing coke. The subways were never cleaned; hence, there were frequent track fires. The streets were massively dirty, constantly. The South Bronx was literally burning.

The sleaze of Times Square was at its height. You should watch a show like "Baretta" or a movie like "Taxi Driver"; you'll see what I mean.

There were virtually no video games until around 1978; before then, kids played pinball in candy stores or in arcades. Very few people had personal computers or VCR's (not called VCR's yet--they were called Betamaxes).

At the start of the 70s, hippies and their music and clothing styles still predominated. Top 40 radio dominated. There weren't even boomboxes then; people carried around portable radios or transistor radios. You could still hear people listening to ballgames on the radio then; people sat on stoops to listen to them.

By the mid 70's, Disco and Arena Rock became dominant. Around 1977, people started carrying around boomboxes. Some of them weighed as much as the kids who carried them. Until about 1982 or so, people couldn't buy phones from phone stores; they rented phones by the month from Ma Bell. The phones were subdivided into "desk sets" and 'wall sets," and couldn't be carried out of the rooms where they were installed. Touch tone phones started becoming common around 1975; rotary phones did not become rare until probably the late 1980s.

In 1982, the VCR became common, and people started renting movies from places like Blockbuster. The price also went down from around $2000 in the late 70s to about $200 by 1982. "Tainted Love" was one of the most popular songs of that year. Synthesizer music, "big hair" rock, and New Wave were the predominate musical styles. Rap existed, but was still an "urban" musical style; it didn't become "mainstream" until around 1986.

People began to be able to buy phones from phone stores. They were basically the same as the 1970s phones, but were able to be taken out of their room of installation because of 50-foot wires. No wireless phones yet. In 1984, Ma Bell lost a monopoly suit; that changed things radically. Breakdancing and hip hop music were beginning to come into the mainstream--though it wasn't quite there yet. People dressed like they did in "Miami Vice." Hair was shorter. Disco was still around, but wasn't called Disco any more because of the extreme stigma of the name.

There were no cellphones; there were car phones, though. No internet, either, for the vast majority of people (1995 was probably the start of the Age of the Internet). Video Games become quite popular; in fact, 1982 was one of the years of the phenomena known as the "Golden Age of Arcade Video Games." Not many kids had video games at home, so they went to the arcades. Pinball was considered "so 1970s," though it still existed--though much more video-game like than previously.

If you have any specific questions, or just are curious about something, just ask.

You should watch the movie "Roll Bounce." It's quite a realistic portrayal of what things were like in 1978 (especially in urban areas).

"Back to the Future" took place, mostly, in 1985--but it's pretty applicable to 1982 as well.

"Crooklyn" portrayed, quite realistically, 1972 in Brooklyn, NYC.

From a teenagers point of view, the 70's were great.
People dressed theatrically and eccentrically, just like the amazing glam rock pop stars with their music that was so new and over the top.
You will find lots of the all time favourites come from this period.
From a boys point of view, cars were interesting too, here in the UK they were still made in England rather than the bland Asian consumer goods the roads are filled with today.
Radio was hosted by larger than life personalities, films were pretty crap though.
There was still that air from the sixties that life was going to get better.
Apart from Vietnam which didn't affect us here in the UK anyway, the World seemed rather war free compared to our parents day and it seemed to be heading further down that road.
Though you still had bullies at school, they didn't carry knives or guns.
I liked the early 70.s, they did get a bit boring in the middle during the Barry White years, but then the world burst with excitement with the arrival of Punk.

The Nixon Years: No personal computers, video game consoles, or Internet. No cell phones, email or texting. Alcohol and marijuana were the two top recreational drugs in high school. 'The Pill' was just beginning to make sex more accessible for teenagers. People still went skinny-dipping at the gravel pit. The Viet Nam War was ending, and Americans were happy to just have it over get out of there. Movie theaters were lobbying for zoning restrictions on cable TV. Porn was something you never admitted to having. Family sitcoms rarely featured profanity, sexual situations, or toilet humor. People with autism were either kept home or placed in "Special Ed" classes, where they were never expected to learn anything. Aspies were not recognized as such, and were often seen as "problem children" in need of extra discipline (e.g., beatings).

Post-Nixon: Personal computers were just beginning to hit the market. They were prohibitively expensive for most people, who mostly thought of them as mere glorified typewriters. Role-Playing Games were in their inception, being derived from rules from tactical battle simulations in fantasy settings. Video games were hand-held, single-game units that were discarded as soon as the batteries wore out. Video arcades were very popular, except among parents, who seem to view them as drug dens populated by white slavers and perverts. A few reports started trickling in of a new "Gay Disease" that was always fatal. Talk of the Space Shuttle caught the people's imagination, and Star Wars (1977) and Star Trek (1979) both set those imaginations on fire.

1980s: A flurry of developments in personal computing, space travel, and CGI movie production. Both Disco and "Urban Cowboy"-style dancing were popular, with the two groups often clashing at clubs catering to both. Women wore big hair, shoulder pads (I once saw a woman at a bowling alley wearing a tee-shirt with shoulder pads). Men wore skin-tight jeans and a perpetual "four-o'clock shadow". RPGs were in their heyday -- new game companies were formed in kitchens and garages everywhere, produced their games, made some money, and then went out of business. No improvement on the treatment of people on the Autistic Disorder Spectrum (there seemed to be no 'spectrum' either - we were all just 'ret*ds' to them). The divorce rate peaked, as women found their voices and their legal footing through advancement in the workplace -- the "No-Fault Divorce" became popular, and the concept of the extended family took off.

There's much more, but others can fill it in.

Autism, in the 1970's, was specifically either (as per the 1994 DSM IV) severe "autistic disorder" or "child disintegration disorder." People with Asperger's were either "problem children," or diagnosed with something like "brain-damage" or "minimal brain dysfunction." I was diagnosed with both autism and "brain-damage" in the 1960s.

Cable TV was rare in the mid-70s; as far as I know, it was confined to certain parts of Manhattan. The channels were Roman numerals. Primarily, until the early 80's, we still had rabbits ears' TV and about 7 or so channels which came in decently, with some UHF channels which only "experts" could access. It was funny at times trying to get decent reception: we had to take the antenna to the back of a room, and stamp on the floor. By the mid-1970's some people had remotes; but most people still had to get up to change the channels. TV reception was also "improved" by fiddling with the channel dial.

Word-processors were really hip circa 1978-1979, so were "electronic" typewriters (vs "electric" typewriters). Personal computers, as stated previously, were prohibitively expensive. You could see one on Youtube, where kids are "reacting" to the personal computers of that era.

Herpes was the "disease du jour" right before AIDS. AIDS was considered a "gay disease" until about 1984 or so. It was known by other names until around 1981 (I forgot the names, though).

Starting 1978, and not before then, video games began appearing in arcades. This was because of Space Invaders. Atari games were quite popular until the early 1980s.

The internet, for most people, started in the mid 1990's. Some people were emailing by 1990--but not many. Texting by cell phone didn't begin, probably, until the late 1990s at the earliest.

Having been born 60 years ago this coming Friday and graduating high school in 1973 - I think I have some memory of the whole thing.

The good part was that for at least most Americans economic life was undoubtedly less stressful. A young person could hop the bus or hitchhike to the other side of the country and start a new life on a shoestring budget. Perhaps within a few years they could have themselves well established - perhaps even a property or business owner. In the early 70's even a common worker could live fairly well. It was time of great optimism. The only people who went into massive debt for college were people like doctors who were going to make it back quickly, anyway.

Hmm 1982? That was when I finished my professional program and moved into San Francisco. I had a one bedroom apartment for $325 per month in a very trendy neighborhood. You could attend San Francisco State as a California resident for about $750 per semester for tuition, books and basic fees.

The negative side is just as negative as the positive side is positive. Socially we were still in many ways in the dark ages. By current standards lots of people were racist, sexist, homophobic and generally more adverse to anything different than they are today. I dare say that it was not a good time for aspies. Back in those days to most people there was no such thing as dyslexia. Such people were deemed just plain stupid. There was no such thing as bipolar. Such people were deemed just losers. There was no such thing as ADHD - those were just spoiled children in needed a whipping. There was to most people certainly no such thing as Asperger's - They (or we) were just weirdoes. To most people one was either so screwed up they needed to be locked away long term or they were presumed to be normal and any differences they suffered because of their oddities were personal failings.

Bipolar was known as "manic-depression." Lithium was starting to be prescribed for it.

ADHD was known as "hyperactivity." Kids were told to use their willpower.

There was a slight recognition of "learning disabilities"--but knowledge of that was in the "dark ages."

Racism was rife; it was taken for granted that certain types of people would get beat up in neighborhoods comprised of other types of people. It didn't get in the news. It was acknowledged as being inevitable. Some people were blatant racists; others were covert racists. There were some decent people around, though.

Asperger's didn't become widely known until 1994, with DSM IV.

I'm the NT mother. Thanks for bringing me back to part of my "golden years". 1978-86.

I remember 1977, 78 (I was 17-18) that i was so grateful for Blondie, Ramones, The Cars, as I was so profoudnly sick of Disco. In NYC I remember we had to "get chosen" in line at Studio 54 and Xenon and Bonds. But still was obligated (in order to go out with my HS friends) to go to the Copacabana. In NJ The soap factory was a place where they had one room for rock and one for disco. I remember one double date where the girls wanted rock and the boys wanted disco.

In Boston (at college) we used to go to a great club called Spit. All black, small place, total low key, really cool people, the best days were Thurs and Sunday. Another opened in cambridge forgot the name, but it was really cool also. Great music. No disco. In the dorms we heard everything, Grateful dead from deadheads, rock and disco.

1982ish - great music - more Clash, more Bowie (china girl), more Rolling Stones Tattoo you, my favorite girly-girl pop rock gropus the gogo's, the bangles, great movie absolute beginnres, Erasure and alphaville great synth-pop, Flock of seagulls, the English Beat (The Beat in europe), Duran Duran secret guilty pleasure, would never admit to it), roxy music, the kinks, the pretenders, grateful dead, DEADHEADS (i found out abou they existed in college, they were so cool, so different from my blue collar urban background), heavy metal bands (YUCK-GROSS, what a hysterical movie Spinal tap was), pink floyd, yes, jon and vangelis, Santana, OMD, eagles, crosbbys stills and nash (what sweet melodies),

I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THIS NARCISSISTIC POSTING OF MY golden years, but i really needed it ! !! ! Am about to start fighting and pleading with with my beautiful boy's EXECUTIVE FUNCTION and I NEEDED THOSE SWEET MEMORIES to bring me up ! !!

Thank you WP forum for being there!"! !! !!

It's appropriate to be "narcissistic" here. The OP wanted personal impressions of the 1970s, and of 1982.

If you're curious about life "for aspies"- no American aspie would have been aware that they were an aspie prior to 1994 when it became an official diagnostic category in the USA.

The history of American life during my babyboomer lifetime can be traced in the rise and fall of TV remotes.

TV existed and was a common appliance in most homes in the Fifties, but no one had remote control devices because they hadnt been invented yet.

TV sets with remote control were introduced in the Sixties, but they were considered frivilously expensive luxuries. Every block had one family with a reomote - that the kids from the rest of the block could come over and marvel at. But most families were content to walk across the living room, and to bend over and turn the dial on the TV set itsself.

I know that that sounds incredible! That folks were willing to physically turn a big round stiffly turning dial on the set itsself. But - you gotta remember that this was before cable, so there were only three, four, or at the most seven channels (depending upon your location) to choose from. TV networks tried to promote "flow"- to exploit the physical inertia of the viewer- to get you to stay with the same network for the evening. So thats why we all watched Green Acres (had to- it was right after Petticoat Junction).

The one family on the block with the remote was also the one family on the block with color TV. Everyone else in the Sixties had black and white.

But by the Seventies everyone had a big color TV set. Our forty year old Sony Trinitron set still works great, and has great color.

But even in the new age of color- remotes were still a frivious luxury that most did without.

Then in the Eighties two things happened: Cable, and VCR's. You suddenly had 80 channels to choose from, and you had to control your VCR- so then (and only then) did "remotes" suddenly become a necessity that no TV veiwer could function without (literally - it became unfeasible-if not impossible- to use a set without one).

DVD's joined the mix of TV in the Nineties -more stuff to be controlled- remotely- by us TV addicts.

TV networks now had to contend with "chanel surfing". They no longer could rely on "flow" and viewer intertia. They began have "hot starts" to programs- before the first shows ends they already tease you with the start of the next show- you intended to surf- but they rope in with a marathon of successive shows- each about different aspects of man eating sharks ( about the relationship between Hitler and UFOs -or whatever).

Then the early years of the twenty first centurey saw the death of traditonal analog TV set technology and the advent of the modern widescreen high def TV set. But the remote still reigned.

But now millenials, and the more forward oriented of boomers (like my sis), no longer watch TV on TV but on personal computers. So the age of TV on TV is starting to wane. And with it the TV remote. So the remote is still dominates, but is in decline as we speak- replacef by the computer mouse. So in few years the remote will be as remote as it was back in the black-and-white Fifties! Sic transit gloria!