Nostalgia is an incredibly powerful force! The past is an often enticing place where the world seemed like it was far better, with fewer problems, better products and services, happier people, tastier food, and the like. Of course, a big part of this is your rose-colored interpretation of everything. But that’s not to say that earlier decades don’t have their unique charm—they do!
The 1980s had a very particular vibe, and our team at Bored Panda wanted to show you exactly what it was like. So, we’ve collected photos from that decade that show the atmosphere of everyday life, including some of the things—from furniture and technology to toys and knickknacks—that many people owned back in the ’80s. Scroll down for a trip into the past.
#1 I Don't Know About You Folk. But, This Was Core 80's For Me
Image credits: kaijugigante
#2 Anybody Remember The Fisher Price Toy Barns That Make The Moo Sound When You Open The Door?
Image credits: imgur.com
#3 Almost Every House In The 1980s Had A Room That Looked Like This
Image credits: hotbowlsofjustice
Nostalgia can be very profitable, as many people have a strong emotional connection with past decades and yearn to relive the good old days. So, reintroducing old products can be a profitable strategy for companies.
However, this approach is not without its potential pitfalls. For one, many people have very high expectations and have hyped past decades up.
#4 This Stereo System And Glass Case
Image credits: oiiioiiio
#5 Who Had A Spirograph Growing Up?
Image credits: AxelNoir
#6 Pencils With Cartridges
Image credits: Lexjiggler
Therefore, if the reintroduced products don’t quite reach all the hype, they can feel disappointed if the reality doesn’t match their (rose-colored) memories. Oftentimes, the past isn’t as wonderful and magical as we remember it to be.
You may have had a great childhood, for example, but you may simply not have been aware of the bigger social problems that affected this period of time.
#7 The Casserole Dish That Every Family Had
Image credits: 2ezyo
#8 Blank Vhs Tapes
Image credits: GalacticLinx
#9 How Many Of You Owned This Bad Boy??
Image credits: Modogg88
What’s more, just because an item evokes a certain sense of nostalgia doesn’t mean that it’ll necessarily be successful in this day and age. Context changes. Tastes and trends change, too. Just because you enjoyed a certain video game, design style, or food decades ago doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll bring you the same level of joy as before.
#10 Anybody Old Enough To Remember The Whee-Lo?
Image credits: imgur.com
#11 Who Remembers The Waterful Ring Toss Game As A Kid? It Was So Simple, But So Much Fun To Me
Image credits: imgur.com
#12 Turned My Spare Bedroom Into A Nostalgia Oasis
My house is a 4 br built in 2007. I was born in 1981 and was trying to recreate the feeling of growing up in the 80s middle class home. Needed a project after my wife passed and it was so much fun putting it together. My teenage girls would let me convert the whole basement.
Image credits: jrgeorge01
Psychology professor Krystine Batcho had this to say to marketing firm Quikly: “The problem is people’s memories are fallible; they’re not perfect. So when the manufacturer brings back the old packaging or the old item, we’re disappointed because it isn’t exactly how we remember it.”
On the flip side, if a product is brought back in a way that’s authentic yet still adapted for modern tastes, you can really make a huge impact in the market.
#13 Remembering A Time When People Would Debate Over Fullscreen vs. Widescreen Vhs Tapes For Movie Releases
Image credits: ryohazuki224
#14 Old Polaroid We Found From The 80s
Image credits: reddit.com
#15 Did Anyone Else Sleep In One Of These? I Think I Would Have To Be Helped Out Of It Today
Image credits: 1illiteratefool
Furthermore, what you yearn for may not actually be the past but the sense of freedom, opportunity, energy, and fewer responsibilities—all things that you can cultivate in the present, too.
For instance, you could focus on your health and fitness more, finding a good work/life balance, (re)connecting with your family and friends, carving out more time for your hobbies, and disconnecting from your screens.
#16 The Puffiness Made Them Better
Image credits: halfmeasures611
#17 The Ge Alarm Clock That Everyone Seemed To Have
Image credits: 2ezyo
#18 Removing The Faceplate Of Your Car Stereo So It Wouldn’t Get Stolen
Image credits: ebjazzz
You might not be able to turn back time, but you can live a happier, healthier, more fulfilling, and purposeful life no matter your age. A big part of this comes down to being more grateful and appreciative of what you already have.
If you’re too focused on the past, you might become bitter about how things are now in comparison.
Meanwhile, focusing too much on the future can make you anxious. In both cases, you might miss out on the great opportunities that come your way in the present.
#19 Pizza Hut's Drinking Glasses From The 80s And 90s!
Image credits: lmcclel
#20 Tape Recorded Answering Machines
Image credits: Vanzarrk
#21 Had A Talkboy Growing Up, Best Toy Ever
Image credits: reddit.com
Nostalgia can be healthy in small doses because you’re remembering the positive things that happened to you in the past. It’s wonderful as a coping strategy when things get tough.
However, if you start believing that nothing in the present or the future will ever compare to the past, then you’re setting yourself up for negativity and disappointment. Comparison is the thief of joy.
#22 Tupperware Just Filed For Bankruptcy. Rip To That Set Of Bowls All Our Grandma's Had
Image credits: Zoozoo95
#23 What Was It Like Growing Up In The 80s? The 80s:
Image credits: tumblr.com
#24 You Guys Hate Carpet In The Bathroom? I Can One Up That. My Parents Have A Bathroom With Carpet That Goes Up The Bathtub Walls! Bonus Points For The Terrible Wallpaper
That is impressive preservation of 80s interior design.
Image credits: jbird2525
According to the Admind agency, different people might be nostalgic about the 1980s for different reasons.
For example, some might miss the economic prosperity, while others might focus more on pop culture, music, movies, and entertainment, the popularization of video games, or the new technologies that came out that decade.
#25 Atari
Image credits: over-sight
#26 In The 80s Lots Of Us Learnt To Type With A Manual Typewriter. I Used To Dream Of Becoming A Writer And Even Folded Pages And Used To Craft Handmade Books
Image credits: priscillahernandez
#27 Slap Bracelets
Image credits: Tori Telfer
Which of the pics that we’ve featured here do you personally feel evoke the vibe of the 1980s the best? What do you personally miss about the ’80s if you lived through the decade? If you weren’t born then, what do you think you’d have enjoyed about it the most?
If not the ’80s, what decade do you miss the most and why? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Scroll down to the comments to share yours.
#28 Fantastic Setup
Image credits: reddit.com
#29 No Early 80’s Kitchen Was Complete Without A Set Of These Bad Boys:
Image credits: chewedupbylife
#30 If You're Interested In Dust, Here's A Quaint Little Piece From The 1980s, It's Called A Dustbuster
Image credits: DGsociety
#31 A Bowl Of Beaded Fake Fruit That Everyone's Great Aunt Had
Image credits: Mid Century AirBNB On A Budget
#32 Who Else Grew Up With These?
Image credits: acidcow.com
#33 I’m This Old
Image credits: DonaldKey
#34 Who Remembers These Switchblade Combs?
Image credits: piximus.net
#35 Kelloggs Star Wars Spoons
Image credits: DJP
#36 Holographic Pog Slammers
Image credits: Otherwise_Basis_6328
#37 Trivial Pursuit '81, Spent So Many Winter Weekends Playing This Game
Image credits: capnkirk462
#38 Beach Chairs From The 80s. Get A Tan And First Degree Burns At The Same Time
Image credits: styckx
#39 A Very 80s Phone
Image credits: treash2152
#40 Visiting The Cousin’s House Circa 1986-88
Image credits: jb4647
#41 If You Know, You Know. If Not Then I Feel Sorry For You
Image credits: Medical-One9202
#42 Making Orange Juice From A Frozen Paper Can
I can remember my mom getting this out of the freezer, into a Tupperware gallon jug, adding water and you you had to stir it all up.
Image credits: Altruistic-Cut9795
#43 You're Definitely Old If You Know What That Slot Is For
Image credits: Intelligent-Shock207
#44 Anyone Out There Had Construx As A Kid?
Image credits: MDH2881
#45 This LEGO Windshield
Image credits: reddit.com
#46 Humble Beginnings
Image credits: onebadmofo
#47 The Clapper
Image credits: Otherwise_Basis_6328
#48 Who Else Destroyed Their Bedroom Walls, Taping Posters Directly To Them?
You say destroyed. I say decorated.
Image credits: aperson7780
#49 My TV Tray In 1980. Hangs In My Garage Now
Image credits: mbattnet
#50 I Do Not Remeber Why, But These Country Goose Designs Were Prominent In The 1980s
Buy Now: TheVictorianUnicorn
#51 Radio Shack’s New All-Electronic Cordless Phone (1982)
Image credits: The Click Americana Team
#52 The Tomato Pincushion Our Grandmothers, Mothers, And Aunts Had
Image credits: damagedgoodz99824
#53 Who All Had These, Candy Cigarettes Growing Up ?
Image credits: FollowingHairy5927
#54 These Cereal Bowls I Used To Eat Out Of As A Kid
Image credits: Amartincelt
#55 I Know You All Remember The Spacemaker Pencil Box!
Image credits: FatSloppyPecker
#56 90's Big Screen TV
Image credits: Christopher Voute
#57 Orange Nickelodeon Vhs Tapes
Image credits: Stoltz3
#58 Thought You Guys Might Get A Kick Out Of My Around-The-House Home Improvement Tape Measure I've Used Since I Was 3
Image credits: llamawearinghat
#59 A Photo From My First Digital Camera In 1998
Image credits: sychox51
#60 Stepdad Hooked Me Up With His Classic Nes Collection. Any Favorites In Here?
Image credits: Shakey1212
#61 Unboxing A New 80s Nintendo Entertainment System. With A Legit 80s Toy Store Sticker
Image credits: DivOveR
#62 My Mothers Kitchen Mixer/Blender From Early 80s Still Work Flawlessly
Image credits: amiliusone
#63 Anyone Else Still Have A Cabbage Patch Kid Lying Around?
Image credits: Eredic
#64 How Awesome Were The 80s? This Awesome
Image credits: asskickingjedi
#65 Electric Carving Knife
Image credits: corkboy
#66 Micro Machines
Image credits: n_thomas74
#67 Ninja Turtle Pies!
Image credits: Matt
#68 80’s Care Bear Found In A Bin Of My Old Things
Image credits: Jhuderis
#69 A Classic
Image credits: DGsociety
#70 This Pattern Really Takes Me Back
Image credits: Bob
#71 Who Remembers Bristle Blocks?
Image credits: AccioUpvotes
#72 The Flowbee Haircutting System “Attaches Easily To Any Canister Vacuum Cleaner”
Image credits: Porkchopp33
#73 Found A Box Of Cookbooks And Recipes From The 80s (?) In The Garage Attic. Some Of These Are Pretty Cool…! What Do I Even Do With All This?
Image credits: extrapages
#74 Managed To Get My Hands On A Sealed 1980’s Rubik’s Cube!
Image credits: IanAnimalCrossing
#75 The System That Started My Love For Portable Gaming
I still play Super Mario and Tetris on my Gameboy.
Image credits: Benzona
#76 Finger Monsters
Image credits: Person2201
#77 Who Had Teddy Ruxpin?
Image credits: marbleheader88
#78 Early 80’s School Lunch Box… Mine Was E.t… What Was Your’s?
Image credits: Soggy-Pea2226
#79 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures Series 1 (1988)
Image credits: reddit.com
#80 Who Here Has Fond Memories Of These Pink Art Deco Table Lamps From The 1980s?
Image credits: hotbowlsofjustice
#81 42 And Still Using My Gi Joe Thermos
Still using my childhood thermos from 1987. Wish I still had the whole kit with lunchbox.
Image credits: JacenSolo_SWGOH
