Before smartphones, streaming, and digital everything, 80s households were full of exciting new gadgets that defined a generation. From Walkmans blasting your favourite new Madonna tracks on the way to school to taking the perfect birthday shot with a Polaroid camera, the 80s brought many new devices into our households that made everyday life a little more fun.
Today, we’re stepping back in time to take a look at eight defining household items from the decade – how many do you remember?
Calling felt like an event with a rotary phone
Rotary phones
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.
80s living rooms were defined by the vinyl player
Vinyl players
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.
Walkmans brought jam sessions outside of the house
Walkman and cassette tapes
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.
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Bedroom walls were adorned with Polaroid snaps
Polaroid cameras
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.
Rewinding the tape was the golden rule of VHS
VHS tapes and VCR
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.
These noisy devices certainly got us out of bed
Analog alarm clocks
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.
A hit with teens, not always so with parents
Boomboxes
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.
Film cameras got a huge upgrade in the 80s
Film camera
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.