What It Would Be Like to Relive the 1980s in 2021

No matter how old or young you are, there is no getting around the fact that the 1980s was an amazing decade on many fronts. Many of today’s seniors look back lovingly on what it was like to live in an era when analog technology gave way to the birth of a digital world. Yes, digital technology was born as early back as the 1950s but it hadn’t come into its own until the late 1970s, before it exploded onto the scene in the '80s. So then, most of everything you’d want to relive would be rooted in a world of transition. To get an idea of just how important this one decade is as the precursor to the life we live today, let’s take a look at some of the most common pastimes of that era as they relate to how we experience them now.

by Anthony Catalano, CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0

Video Games Would Hold a Prominent Place in Our Lives

This is not to say that video games aren’t the center of many of our lives today, but there was something new and unique and extremely exciting about the birth of gaming as we have come to know it today. Consider for just a moment how popular online casinos are on literally every continent around the world. However, because there are so many casino sites online, it’s hard to tell which sites are good and which sites don’t have high payouts or which sites have poor graphics.

The UK independent review site, Online Casinos, offers honest reviews to help players choose which sites have the games they want, and which have comfortable deposits and payouts worth playing for. Now imagine life without the internet and life without online casinos. By the time you paid for travel and hotel expenses to get to resorts around the globe, you’d have no more money to play with! In the 1980s you’d have to go to a casino to play against other gamers, but today you can simply boot up your gaming console or PC to play with, or against, literally hundreds of players around the world. Maybe we’ll stay right here in 2021!

A New Wave of the New Wave Genre of Music

While it is possible to see the evolution of music as we have come to know it today, there is no denying that most popular genres of today were not even around during that time. Disco gave way to techno on the dance floors and punk gave way to new wave with much savvier technology than its parent genre. It only takes a brief look at Statista to see that the most popular genre in the '80s was new wave while R&B/Hip Hop was basically still in its infancy stages. R&B did give way to Hip Hop and the two genres are often intertwined, but that is now. Back then you’d be tuned into stars like Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Billy Ocean, and Sade. Today the biggies are stars like Brandy, Giveon, and believe it or not, Justin Bieber is listed as a popular R&B performer!

Life without Hoverboards

The 1980s saw the emergence of the skateboard frenzy which saw kids getting out and about to skate parks minus the skates. While skateboards were first commercially sold way back in 1959, hoverboards didn’t hit the scene until 2013 and weren’t really popular until 2016. Today, self-balancing hoverboards are quite trendy and have taken the lead over skates and skateboards as a popular outdoor activity. While you will probably most often hear them referred to as hoverboards, they are known by other monikers such as self-balancing boards, self-balancing scooters, Segway, and smart balance wheel.

When referring to hoverboards as a ‘Segway’ it is akin to referring to facial tissues as Kleenex – the brands that first gained international recognition. One thing should be noted now in terms of hoverboards and that is a concern among parents that this type of self-balancing skateboard can be more than a bit dangerous for littler children. Therefore, this is a pastime that is most often enjoyed by older teens, but if they had their way, little ones would be on them as well!

Face to Face without Facebook

We have come full circle to digital technology and the internet. Can you imagine what it would be like in a time when we actually had to interact in person with friends and family? People of all ages have their eyes glued to mobile phones, tablets, and even laptops with a total disregard of life going on around them. What would it be like to live in a time before mobile phones were available to the masses?

According to the ‘history of mobile phones,’ the first commercially approved mobile phone in the United States was Motorola’s 8000X in 1983. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission authorized the sale, but was it ‘really’ available to the general public? Way back then at a cost of $3,995 USD, only a few upper earners could pay that price tag. Now, almost 50 years in the future from that momentous day, mobile phones are inexpensive enough that even children can afford disposables! Can you imagine going through your day without checking social media from wherever you happen to be? From work to time spent on the train, there is no life without Facebook, is there?

The Final Word

So then, what would it be like to relive the 1980s in 2021? If you only had to take a quick guided tour in a short afternoon, it might be doable. However, we have grown so accustomed to our digital toys that many of us would hop off the tour bus long before reaching the first destination.

From gaming to music and all activities in between, there really is no going back now. Doesn’t this leave you wondering what life will be like in 2031 or 2041? Maybe AI will take over our digital endeavors and we won’t even need to think for ourselves! However, rest assured that you’ll still be able to visit those online casinos where you can play in real time against real players or against the ‘dealer’. If you’ve got technology, you’ll have a pastime and that’s the final word.