31 Vintage Photos That Prove the '70s and '80s Were the Coolest Decades to Grow Up In

We tend to look back at our childhood and refer to it as "simpler times"—and yeah, they probably were simpler. But they weren't exactly simple. As someone who was born in the '70s and spent his childhood in the '80s, I can tell you firsthand: we were living in a time of rapid, mind-blowing technological change.

Every few months, some new contraption came along and completely changed the way we lived. I remember when my grandparents got their first air conditioning unit. That thing was a miracle. It took five minutes to boot up and sounded like a tractor chewing on gravel, but it could cool the whole living room, and we were in awe.

And who could forget the day someone in the neighborhood got a microwave? The entire block came over to see it in action, like it was a portal from the future. My mom bragged about her new cordless phone like it was a NASA device. The advancements were huge, the excitement was real, and even though everything was getting more high-tech, life still felt slower, more grounded.

These 31 vintage snapshots from the '70s and '80s capture all of that magic—the fashion, the vibes, the tech, and the childhood memories that still make us smile.

Advertisement

Tags

1990s 90s memes retro nostalgia 70s 80s music Nostalgia Overload 80s 90s kids 90s memory lane 1970s nostalgia memes millennial-nostalgia 1980s

Scroll Down For The Next Article

Also From Geek Universe

30 Very Punny Dad Jokes That Are Unstoppably Cringeworthy

30 Very Punny Dad Jokes That Are Unstoppably Cringeworthy

Trending Now

These 33 Star Wars Memes Will Be a Fine Addition to My Collection

These 33 Star Wars Memes Will Be a Fine Addition to My Collection

Goodbye Marvel Cinematic Universe, I Loved You 3000

Goodbye Marvel Cinematic Universe, I Loved You 3000

'I got an inheritance… so I decided to book a trip': Man reserves a $2500 dream vacation to Universal Orlando, and when his Harry Potter-hating girlfriend guilt-trips him into cancelling he refuses

'I got an inheritance… so I decided to book a trip': Man reserves a $2500 dream vacation to Universal Orlando, and when his Harry Potter-hating girlfriend guilt-trips him into cancelling he refuses

29 Pokémon Toys That Every Millennial Kid Had in the 90s and Early 2000s (and Are Still Probably in Your Parents' Basement)

29 Pokémon Toys That Every Millennial Kid Had in the 90s and Early 2000s (and Are Still Probably in Your Parents' Basement)

35 Vintage Photos of What Life Was Really Like Back in 1999

35 Vintage Photos of What Life Was Really Like Back in 1999

28 Classic Childhood Cartoons Every 80s and 90s Kid Raced Home to Watch

28 Classic Childhood Cartoons Every 80s and 90s Kid Raced Home to Watch

Advertisement