Instead of watching shows set in the 80's watch shows that were actually filmed in the 80's.
Some things I recall growing up in the 80's:
-The cold war and the fear of nuclear war (Watch:
The Day After)
-Vietnam war was still on people's mind
-No mass internet meant hanging out with friends in person
-Sports cards were big (i.e. baseball card)
-Music was different obviously (I suggest checking out 80's music videos) and a big thing the 80's folks today will identify with the most. Look at Madonna and Cyndi Lauper videos for female fashion.
-Thundercats, Transformers, Ghostbusters, G.I. Joe, Mask, Centurions, TMNT, Jem, Care Bears were popular mid/late 80's cartoons. He-man and Scooby Doo were earlier.
-Video stores rentals. Buying a VHS cost ~$80 so video movie rentals were popular. Movies were one of the biggest topics as a kid.
-No on demand TV. Record the show and watch it later, or watch what is on. We used to have to use a manual T.V. Guide that came in the Sunday newspaper.
-Stock tickers were slow (1987 stock crash in October)
-Debit/Credit Cards were not as popular as they are today. And no instant processing either. No internet payments either. Mail in your check to pay bill.
-No cancel culture. In other words you didn't have to be "politically correct." And most folks liked Reagan.
-Cars were like boxes
-Gas was cheap in the mid/late 80's (Here is a
link)
-Movement to make people aware of drunk driving (kind of like the TRUTH youth smoking over the past decade). Some of these commercials were literally scary.
-Slasher movies were in (Friday, Nightmare, Halloween). They also depended on camera angles more instead of special effects.
-We did have internet but not many people had it. It was also used to acquire video games illegally like napster in the 90's.
-Car phones were cool.
-Microwaves started to become affordable and T.V. dinners were a thing
-I'd say average T.V. per household was 2
-Nintendo revolutionized home gaming in mid/late 80's
-Walkmen were really cool. Cassette tapes and boom boxes were big.
-Adults were comparing home stereo systems. This came with two vertical speakers, tape player, record player, and EQ (that no one used).
-Mall music performers were a thing (check out Tiffany's
I Think We're Alone Now)
-Like today there was unrest in the middle east
-One thing about NYC (which I visited in the 80's) is public transportation was used safely as a kid in the daytime. The use is still common today too, so you could get to places with relative ease. Not sure about the safety though.
-Ninja/Kung Fu movies were cool
-Christopher Reeves was Superman
-Kids wanted to be the next big sports star. Maybe it's the same today?
-The stars of the 80's: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sly, Michael J. Fox, Kirk Cameron, Lea Thompson, Madonna, Michael Jackson (sometimes ostracized too), NKOTB (for girls), Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Demi Moore, Christina Applegate, Phil Collins, Hulk Hogan, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy.
