16 Things People Did in Public in the ’80s That Would Shock Us Today

The 1980s created a public culture that seems like a different world from the present day. Daily life was influenced by a more relaxed standard, fewer safety regulations, and a general feeling of a shared public space. People smoked in restaurants and on airplanes. Children traveled in cars without seat belts. Strangers were out and about in public spaces. There were payphones, newspapers, and the cacophony of boomboxes playing music. Teens were hanging out in arcade rooms. There were spectators watching high-score competitions. Fitness enthusiasts were taking their workouts outside to the beach with open-air aerobics. Hitchhiking on the highways was a common practice for people traveling.

1. Smoking Almost Everywhere

Cigarette smoke seemed to be everywhere in the 1980s. You could name a public place, and it was likely a place where people were allowed to smoke with no thought or concern. Ashtrays sat on tables next to plates of food. The smell of cigarettes blended with the smell of coffee or the smell of food cooking in a restaurant. For many people, smoking breaks were a normal part of the workday. Coworkers would meet in hallways or staircases and light up their cigarettes, chatting as the smoke wafted through the air. Some talk shows on television featured guests smoking during interviews. It was a normal part of life.

2. Letting Children Ride in Cars Without Seat Belts

Family road trips in the 1980s had an ambience that most people might not expect today. Children were allowed to move around the back seat of the vehicle without the use of seat belts. They would bounce up and down as the vehicle took the curves of the road or stopped at the red light. Some children were even allowed to sit on the front seat and snuggle up against their parents. They would lean on the dashboard of the vehicle or stretch out on the seat as the vehicle sped along the road. Child safety seats were not an important concern at the time. There were no new rules and no promotion of the use of safety seats. The vehicle was essentially a moving living room.

3. Using Payphones for Private Conversations in Busy Places

Public payphones once lined nearly every city block, inside shopping malls, or at the entryway of a grocery store. In the 1980s, users entered a small booth or stood at a phone against a wall, talking freely within a public area as others walked by. The call could be about family news, work-related details, or making last-minute travel arrangements as others waited in line or walked by. The sound of coins falling into a phone slot was a common sound that seemed almost reassuring in its predictability. Making long-distance calls took a little planning and budgeting; each additional minute cost more money.

4. Roller Skating Inside Shopping Malls

In the early 1980s, roller skating was no longer contained in a rink and on a sidewalk. Instead, it found a new home in some shopping malls. People would be able to glide on wide halls in these malls, where the stores were still open, past stores, and in and out of food courts with the sounds of arcade games echoing off the walls. The tile floors provided a smooth glide, making it seem as if skating was effortless. A group of friends would arrive at the mall in their bright roller skates, bold knee socks, and sporty clothes, reminiscent of the energetic spirit of the 1980s. The mall security would rarely interfere with the skaters, unless someone was causing a ruckus.

5. Bringing Pets into Stores Without Restrictions

It was not uncommon in the 1980s for people to walk into a store with their pets. There were no hard and fast rules in those days. Dogs would accompany their owners in shopping carts at grocery stores, hardware stores, and even small clothing boutiques. Owners would smile at their pets instead of scowling at them. It was a relaxed attitude, an attitude born of a time when businesses were run with less corporate interference and more human connection with people passing through their doors. Small neighborhood family-owned businesses would probably have allowed pets inside because the people shopping there would have known the owners of the business by name.

6. Blasting Music from Boomboxes in Public Spaces

Portable stereos that were quite large were called boomboxes. These were icons of culture in the 1980s. People carried these large stereos around in various places such as parks, sidewalks, and subway stations. At the same time, loud music was being played through these stereos from large speakers. There were hip-hop, pop, and dance sounds all over the place as people gathered to listen to music collectively. For many young people, boomboxes were symbols of freedom, creativity, and self-expression. Some break dancers would spin on cardboard mats with the music blaring on the boomboxes right beside them. These boomboxes were not used to play music softly.

7. Allowing Children to Play Alone in Public Spaces

The kids would roam the parks, sidewalks, and neighborhood streets with no adult supervision. After school, groups of kids would emerge with wheels and boards in tow, rushing into the nearest parks for hours at a time. Parents would expect them home for dinner, but no adult would follow them. This gave the kids a chance to explore, come up with their own ideas of play, and settle minor squabbles among themselves. The parks would come alive with activity as kids would play, laugh, and bounce balls in the afternoons. Some would climb trees, while others would build forts using cardboard and wooden scraps. Some would arrange impromptu basketball or street hockey matches with others observing with interest.

8. Hitchhiking Along Highways and City Roads

Hitchhiking remained a part of travel life in the 1980s. Travelers hitchhiking would wait on the side of the road with cardboard signs bearing the name of distant cities. Some would stop and give these people a ride now and then, especially in areas where public transportation was scarce. It was not a new practice, but it continued to appear in various parts of the country during the 1980s. Travelers would sometimes rely on the kindness of others to get them to their next destination. On the sides of the road in various areas of the country, one would sometimes see hitchhikers sitting on their backpacks or leaning against road signs, waiting for a kind driver to stop and give them a ride.

9. Taking Photographs of Strangers in Public Without Asking

In the 1980s, photography was often in motion with little concern for individual privacy. People carried film cameras to the park, beach, amusement park, and busy streets. When an interesting sight was spotted, the photographer would simply raise the camera and take a picture, and people walking in the background often ended up in the photograph without their knowledge. This was also true in tourist areas, where a crowd at a popular tourist attraction, street performers, and busy street markets were often the background for people in motion. Vacation photographs of families often showed people walking in the background who were unaware they were being photographed.

10. Drinking Alcohol Openly in Public Spaces

Public drinking was a very ordinary experience in the 1980s, unlike today. During concerts, games, city festivals, and sometimes even parks, people would walk around with a can of beer or a drink of mixed beverages. The law was quite lax, and sometimes it depended on the place as to how strictly it was implemented. In a busy city, it was not uncommon to see adults walking and socializing, sipping their drinks as a function took place outside. It was a very festive atmosphere, nothing too controversial. There were parades and public gatherings where large groups of people could be seen with their drinks, dancing and enjoying the live music and parades.

11. Reading Newspapers Spread Wide Open on Public Transportation

Newspapers were a part of the rhythm of the 1980s. On the morning commute, people clutched their substantial sheets of news and boarded buses, trains, and the subway with their coffee cups and agendas. Once they were settled in their seats, they often unfurled the newspapers in full, spreading the pages across their laps. Sometimes they even spread a little into the space next to them. The broad formats of the newspapers filled the space next to the people next to them. The news headlines, the politics, the sports, the local happenings—all rose tall across the entire spread. People worked their way through the sections of the newspaper, even as the bus jolted along the streets.

12. Public Aerobics Workouts in Parks and Beaches

The fitness craze of the 1980s transformed public spaces like parks and beaches into outdoor fitness centers. Large group fitness sessions, conducted by energetic coaches, were the epitome of fitness. People arrived dressed in neon-colored tights and headbands, their leg warmers gleaming in the sunlight as they were motivated by the rhythms of the music being played on portable music players. They were performing their synchronized movements—jumping, stretching, and the characteristic movements of their arms—in perfect harmony as they were driven by the energy of the crowd. The morning sun would see lines of people moving in perfect synchrony as they were motivated by the loud instructions of their coach.

13. Leaving Car Windows Open and Doors Unlocked in Parking Lots

In the 1980s, people would park in a parking lot without a care in the world, without stressing over the small stuff, such as locking doors and windows. In a suburban shopping mall, on a quiet main street, you would see a parked car with its windows cracked open, with the owner stepping out to run a quick errand. People would park and leave the doors open, expecting to return shortly. This is a metaphor for general, everyday trust and how people behaved in public spaces in the 1980s. A parking lot near a grocery store, a movie theater, and a mall, filled with parked cars, was just too accessible. A passerby would see purses, cassette tapes, jackets, and money lying in the open on a parked car’s seat.

14. Passing Handwritten Notes to Strangers in Public Places

Private forms of connecting existed long before the advent of the smartphone and chat apps. In the 1980s, people would pass messages, in full view of each other, in a variety of settings, such as on a bus, in a classroom, library, or even in a mall. A message could be passed across a table in a cafeteria, or it could be left beside someone sitting on a park bench. These messages would contain a message of welcome, a phone number, and even a compliment. These small acts of connecting would provide shy people with a way out of a shy moment. Teens would take advantage of this behavior, especially when in a group, in settings like arcades, theaters, and shopping, where a person could be noticed and a message sent through a messenger.

15. Public Arcade Competitions That Drew Large Crowds

Video arcades were the centers of social activity in the 1980s, and they attracted a large number of people for competitive events. Teens and young adults would gather in groups and compete for high scores on video games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Street Fighter. If a child prodigy managed a high score, a small circle would form, and everybody would watch each move. The light from the multicolored screens would pierce the darkness of the video arcade, and the sound of buttons, joysticks, and video music would fill the room. Friendships would turn into friendly competitions, and the crowd would cheer when a player beat a high score or conquered a difficult level.

16. Lighting Fireworks Casually During Neighborhood Gatherings

During many 1980s celebrations, fireworks displays lit up neighborhoods without the restrictions in place today. People would gather around the street, driveway, or empty lot and spark their sparklers, fountains, and small rockets for the holiday or party. Children would watch in wide-eyed amazement as the sparks shot up into the sky. Adults would be close by to keep an eye on the children. The popping of the fireworks could be heard throughout the street as the sky was lit up in bursts of color. People would come out of their homes to watch the display from the sidewalk or front lawns. Many even brought chairs out to the edge of the street to watch the display together.

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