In honor of my going back to school this fall, a so-called friend forwarded this to me. Heck, I aint gonna be the only one depressed by it!!
Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the faculty a sense of the mindset of that year’s incoming freshmen.
Here is this year’s list:
The people who are starting college this fall acrosss the nation were born in 1982.
They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and probably did not know he had ever been shot.
They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.
Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression.
There has only been one Pope.
They were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War.
They have never feared a nuclear war.
They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.
Tianenmen Square means nothing to them.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
Bottle caps have always been screw-off and plastic.
Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.
They have likely never played Pac-Man and have never heard of Pong.
They have never heard of an 8-track. The expression “you sound like a broken record” means nothing to them.
They have never owned a record player.
They were born the year that the Walkman was introduced by Sony.
The Compact Disc was introduced when they were 1 year old.
As far as they know, stamps have always cost around 33 cents.
They have always had an answering machine.
Most have never seen a TV with only 13 channels, nor a black-and-white TV.
They have always had cable.
There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what Beta is.
They cannot fathom not having a remote control.
Roller-skating has always meant in-line for them.
Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.
Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
They have never seen Larry Bird play.
They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII, and the Civil War.
They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.
They can’t imagine what hard contact lenses are.
They don’t know who Mork was or where he was from.
They never heard: Where’s the beef?, I’d walk a mile for a Camel, or “de plane, de plane…”
They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is.
The Titanic was found? They thought we always knew where it was.
Michael Jackson has always been white.
Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not groups.
McDonalds never came in styrofoam containers.
There has always been MTV.
They don’t have a clue how to use a typewriter.
I enjoy reading these lists, but they do tend to presume that nobody has any knowledge of anything that happened before they were born. What’s with "they have no idea . . . "? I wasn’t around when butter churns were common but I sure know what one is and how it worked.
These lists don’t make me feel old as much as they make me think that every person age 18 and under must be incredibly stupid, which is of course not true. Or maybe it’s just that college administrators think they are stupid.
Now it’s time to put my granny cap on, drink my warm milk, and rub the Ben-Gay on my creaky bones before bedtime. Sigh.
I owned a record player.
I remember beta VCRs.
I never had microwaved popcorn as a kid, always on the stove or the air popper.
I remember when regular rollerskates were popular.
I played Pac Man and Pong as a kid.
Ugh. This makes me feel old, and that isn’t fair! I’m kind of beginning to feel upset about the way this culture values youth, and how if we’re older, we’re not as worthy. Don’t feel bad because you’re old! Feel good because you do remember all those things, and you do know about them! You’re not missing out on anything. You’re wiser, your smarter, you’re better than you ever were when you were a teenager.
I was recording some albums onto tape when my daughter came in. Wondered what I was doing, since she had never seen an album before. I explained, they are record albums,they came before 8 tracks, which came before cassettes, which came before CD…AAAHHHHH nevermind.
well, I was born in 1981 so I suppose that’s close enough. We definitely had an atari. I remember playing some game on it that was like a one on one with Dr. J and Larry Bird. I’ve always thought that popcorn cooked on the stove was far superior to microwave. I remember the reagan administration but I was admittedly prepubescent during the gulf war. I do nevertheless remember that several of my classmates’ fathers were in the war. I also remember writing letters to the soldiers in school. I can’t say that I remember Black Sunday 1987, but I do know that it was a major crash in the stock market. We had a record player for years until it was destroyed in a house fire, and we also had an eight track player in our airstream trailer. We also had a beta vcr for years until it became impossible to find any tapes in that format. (we’ve still got beta copies of north and south and dallas lying around though) I personally loved Dallas. I’ll stop now because this is getting a little silly, but as missbunny said, just because we weren’t born when something happened doesn’t mean we don’t understand it.
-Lil
Please, my saviour, spare me the horror of running into this piece of tripe again. As you know, I’ve been exposed to it now 15 or twenty times.
Smite those who would forward it to me.
Lay waste to those who post it without a proper warning.
In your name I pray,
Amen
I have also seen this list probably a hundred times, but that’s one thing I still don’t get. I was born in 1970 and I lived through all that stuff, but even when I was in high school and Jordache jeans were the shit and all the popular girls wore them, I never understood why they were cool.
Maybe it’s because all the girls I was into were wearing skin tight lace-up jeans and easy access, um, I mean zip-around jeans, with 1/2 t-shirts and fringe leather jackets with back-patches and feathered high hair. Straight out of a Ratt video.
I was born in 1982
Yes quite a bit of this stuff I don’t know about or if I do don’t know much but I do have a general idea.
I loved getting bottles that didn’t have screw off caps and plastic (I could take the tabs from pop cans and then make makeshift pins with them)
I played Atari (I didn’t own one but friends did) and listened to vinyl albums
I played Pac-man and pong (I never was very good at either though)
My Dad had a bunch of a-tracks and he still had the player (I think he still might have it too) though we never listened to them.
I know what a broken record sounds like so the saying means something though I’ve never used it or had it used on me.
I had my own record player and collection of records (the record player is gone now cuz the turntable broke but I still have the records and we have a main record player cuz Mom still has her records too which I like to listen to)
I don’t recall having an answering machine before I was 8 and we had only 13 channels and no remote… we never watched tv much and I don’t remember having a vcr. We still have a black and white tv which works.
I never liked roller skating (inline or otherwise)
Never watched Tonight Show
Don’t even know what Jordache jeans are
We air popped popcorn and didn’t own a microwave till I was about 9
Don’t know who Larry Bird is
Never watched Jaws till about a year ago cuz Mom wouldn’t let us.
I’ve never seen MTV and rarely watch Much
We have a typewriter.
skipped over a bunch of stuff but in general has an idea about most of the stuff on the list Its lists like that that makes me think adults think we’re stupid… and quite a bit of that stuff on the list doesn’t mean anything because it doesn’t apply to us now… in a generation or two people will be wondering who Princess Diana was and laugh at the ‘state of the art’ technology we have today… time changes and goes on… still doesn’t mean we don’t know anything about it though.
I’ll have to admit it. This one applies to me too but for a very different reason. My dad was in the Army and I lived on base most of my life. We had the security(?) of knowing that if nukes were launched, we’d never have the time to worry since we would have been hit first.
They were blue jeans. They were cool. I don’t know why either.
And you’ve at least seen Space Jam right? Larry Bird was playing golf with Michael Jordan and Bill Murray in the movie. Bird played for the Boston Celtics and is one of the greatest basketball players ever.
My kids do know what “Jaws” is, it’s one of their favorite movies. (First born in 84) They also know who Lynard Skynard is, Van Halen, and Journey. Thanks to their Dad and his record collection they know what a turntable looks like, along with the groups. Eight track I know is completely out of the question.
Ahh sorry on the a-track 8-track thing don’t know why she messed that up and jeans are jeans… has never worn name brand jeans like Tommy or Gap and okay I remember those guys faintly… has seen Space Jam a few times
A few months ago I was upstairs working on my computer when someone calls at the door. It was the neigbor’s kid who had lost his key and could get into his home and he asked me if he could use the phone. “Sure” I said and I motioned him into the living room. I pointed to the rotary phone I have there and went to the kitchen to make some coffee (as much for the coffee as to give him some privacy).
Ten minutes later I come out with my coffee and the kid is just standing by the phone motionless. I asked “did you call?” and he says, very shyly, “I don’t know how to use this phone”. He had been standing there all this time trying to figure it out but too shy to ask.
When I showed him he was fascinated! WOW! That’s neat!
I’ve heard of journey but only because of the Atari video game. (I am 25.) I think someone named Steve Perry was in it. Were they a hair/glam band?
This list left out things that were on the last list such as the Berlin Wall falling.
I don’t know what a slide rule looks like nor would I know how to use it if I ever saw it. I suppose you could use it to crack nuts.
My eldest sister used to listen to some band called Loverboy. I don’t know anything about them either.
Thanks to Nick at Night I have seen a lot of the old television shows. So that one is no longer an issue.
Talking of old soap opera things, Dallas is more common but if they put in Dynasty it would be more relevant. I thought that was one of the most popular soaps at that time.
For kids born in 1982, most of them would have not known what life was like before police officers patrolled their schools. Fights in school can lead to death. Guns are as easier to get hot and you don’t have to wait for them that way. Ammunition is just as easy. Many kids in school are scared of going because they fear they will get killed. Most kids were forced to wear clear or mesh backpacks so teachers, police, and administrative people would be sure they weren’t carrying anything illegal; however girls would still be allowed to carry a regular purse for the most part.
Also, the kids will have known about crack almost all their lives. DARE would have told all the kids what all the drugs are and which ones get you high the best. All the kids will have an acronym for DARE that translates as something like Drugs Are Really Excellent even if they don’t use drugs currently.
The Nancy Reagan “Say No To Drugs” campaign would be a complete joke. The kids will know that most of what is spouted off by media and government is misinformation and propaganda and will probably have little to no respect for them afterall who respects someone that constantly lies to them and gives them false information when other information is currently out there?
There are so many more things out there and if you are cynical you can find them.