8 household items only children from the 1980s will remember

Before texting or WhatsApp, everyone had to actually talk on the phone – even if calling your friends was much more of a mission. Though the spinning of the rotary dial was tedious – never mind if you accidentally misdialed – the satisfying click-whirr was a reward for your effort that you just don’t get with the latest iPhone.

Before they were an old-school aesthetic loved by trendy teens, vinyl players were the ultimate centrepiece of any 80s living room. Music came to life the second you placed the needle on the record – occasionally interrupted by the inevitable pops and crackles that indicated your beloved MJ record needed a bit of a clean.

Despite not being the first-ever portable listening experience, the walk Walkman was a huge commercial success, and popularized the concept of truly personal, on-the-go stereo music with headphones. Slide in your tape, press play, and suddenly a bus ride turned into your own personal concert venue – though we’re grateful for the choice Spotify gives us, there’s something nostalgic about lugging that hefty device around.

This one was a hit with the previous decade too, and it’s not hard to see why – snapping a photo and watching it develop in your hands seemed like literal magic. These devices prompted a fair few squabbles over who would get to take the picture home – unless you were willing to pose again – but their charm is immortalised in the sleek Polaroid cameras of today.

From finding out someone didn’t rewind the tape to desperately trying to find the sweet spot with the tracking dial, movie nights were somewhat more difficult in the age of VHS tapes – though nothing will compare to owning a big box of tapes and showing off when your friends came round.

Forget the gentle chimes and pop melodies available on our phones today. Analog alarm clocks were more akin to fire alarms, jolting us out of sleep and blazingly reminding us we were somehow already late for school or work.

Though it might not have been a welcome addition for parents, all the cool kids had a boombox tucked away (as best you could, given their size) in their rooms, ready for Prince to soundtrack their study sessions – until being yelled at to “turn it down!” You’d likely get more appreciation for your JVC at a friend’s house.

Before digital photography, snapping shots was a high-stakes mission. With limited space on your film roll, every snap mattered – and there certainly was no option to take 200 tries to get the perfect one. You just popped in a flash cube, snapped the photo, and later watched your memory develop in all its grainy glory.