Then vs. Now
Written by Riley Ervin.
Being a teenager today is completely different than it was years ago. A lot has changed, there wasn’t cell phones, no staying out past curfew and a lot of different school rules. Even though a lot of things from the past eventually come back around, like fashion trends, what it’s like being a teenager will keep changing as the years go by. You only get your teen years once.
In the 70’s smoking cigarettes was a big deal with teenagers, everyone did it. Some high schools even made smoking areas for students to smoke between classes. In the 1970’s the smoking age was only 16. They raised the smoking age to 18 in 1987 when more and more health issues were being linked to smoking, and it is still illegal for minors to be in possession of tobacco. Due to these health reasons, teens have become less involved with cigarettes. In the 2000’s teenagers were no longer interested in smoking cigarettes and marijuana was becoming more popular with teenagers.
What is popular and what is not has drastically changed with teenagers. Fashion from the 80’s is easy to point out, lots of fashion trends that we have today were also very popular in the 80’s. However, if you look at teenagers in the 80’s vs teenagers in the 2000’s there are a lot of differences in style. When it comes to hair in the 80’s, the bigger the better. In the 80s the style was very different, teenagers in then wore a lot of neon. Neon windbreakers, leggings, leg warmers, etc. A trend from the 80’s that you never see today is jelly accessories, teenagers wore jelly shoes, and bracelets until they went out of style in the late 90’s. High waisted pants started to become popular in the mid-70’s and low rise jeans soon became more popular in the 2000’s, but since then they have come back into style.
The differences between teenagers then and now don’t stop at fashion trends. The daily life was tremendously different than it is now, even dating had a completely different meaning than it does today. In the 1900’s people would have a courtship relationship which is where two people get to know each other. It could be a private matter, a public affair, or an arrangement with approval from both families. In the 1930’s more LGBTQ couples started openly dating rather than doing it in secret. In the 1940’s the term “going steady” was popular, meaning two people having a serious relationship, similar to the relationship between Allie and Noah in the movie The Notebook. Dating now is nothing like it used to be, in high school you usually meet someone through a mutual friend and get to know each other over text or snapchat. Instead of staying in their rooms all day teenagers would go to see a movie, go to the arcade, or go outside and ride bikes with their friends. Even going out and driving for fun was something that teens would do when they got their license. When there was nothing to do you could just call your best friend and go on a drive. Once you got your license, you would need a car. A new car could cost around $6,000 back then, no student could afford that, even with a job. However, you could get an old beat up car for around $600 which is what most kids did. Without cars or social media, you would have to walk to a person’s house and ask them to hang out in person which is something that doesn’t happen today.
School is another thing that has changed tremendously, sure there are still teachers, desks, and that one class that you dread going to every day but it isn’t the same. Discipline has changed a great amount. When a student got in trouble a teacher could spank them using a paddle, they were allowed to do so because of Corporal punishment. Corporal punishment was used until the student graduated high school. This method of disciplining students by hitting them with a paddle is no longer used in most states. Now if a student gets in trouble at school they will usually be sent to the office where the administrator might make a phone call to the parents about the teen. Punishments that schools now use are usually detentions, in school suspension, and out of schools suspension. A way that students in the 21st century might get in trouble is using their cellphone or laptop inappropriately during class. In the 70’s or 80’s that would not have been an issue, all work was on paper so there was no need to bring a laptop to school, and cell phones weren’t able to do more than text and call until the early 90’s. Most schools now have most of their material online so the students need to bring a laptop to school every single day. Even applying for colleges has changed, in the past you would only apply to 2–3 colleges and the applications were very expensive. If a student applied to 4 colleges everyone would think they’re insane. Today some people would go to an extent to apply to 5–8.
The way we communicate has changed as well…before cellphones were a thing you had to share the landline with your entire family so good luck trying to call a friend without being interrupted. At school, students could pass notes during class but there was a risk of being caught by the teacher and having to read the note to the class. Once there were cell phones it was easier to get in touch with people. Instead of having to call everyone you could just easily text them but you had to push a lot of buttons to get a simple sentence. Social media didn’t exist, nobody posted, tweeted, or snapchatted. That is the main thing teens do today.
Being a teenager in the 21st century is extremely different than it was in the past. There are also a lot of similarities between being adolescence in different decades. You could still go out to the movies with your friends, go to parties or even just stay at home and read a book.
