The lost childhood: what young people don't know about the 70s and 80s

Childhood without filters: what those born in the 70s and 80s remember and young people don't understand

The debate about the social phenomena of childhood and adolescence in the 70s and 80s has resurfaced strongly, proving that nostalgia is a powerful driver for economic and social reflection. The participants, mostly in their forties and fifties, evoke a past where individual freedom and the absence of suffocating regulation contrast sharply with today's reality.

Freedom and risk: a different equation

A time is remembered when personal autonomy prevailed. From being able to hunt rabbits after communion with an air rifle, to swimming on beaches with two- or three-metre waves without any red flag, responsibility fell almost entirely on the individual. The idea that "if you got yourself killed, it was your problem" sums up a philosophy of life that clashes head-on with today's hyper-protection and state intervention. The possession of mopeds tuned to reach high speeds, without an MOT and with police permissiveness that allowed excuses when stopped, contrasts with the current rigidity of regulations.

Pocket money economy and consumption of yesteryear

Access to consumer goods and leisure was different. People remember buying cars with barely two months' salary, even if it meant long-term financing, compared to today's precariousness that limits access to mobility. The concept of "minis and bravas" in Madrid, with bars open daily and affordable, evokes a nightlife less dependent on street drinking and more integrated into the local economy. The price of tobacco, considered cheap and a personal decision without today's tax burden, also emerges as a point of comparison.

Culture and technology of another era

Collective memory is filled with objects and experiences now almost extinct: from Blandi Blub and stickers, to hours in front of a Spectrum without explicit violence, just imagination. Television offered varied and free programming, including sports and shows that today would be unthinkable in children's time slots. Music, adverts and even the way of going to the cinema, in smaller theatres with films that circulated between them, paint a cultural panorama far removed from today's digital and globalised consumption.

The melancholy of a world that no longer exists

The widespread feeling is one of irrecoverable loss. Freedom of action, less regulatory burden and the apparent simplicity of social interactions shape an idealised memory, but one that resonates strongly. The underlying question is whether that freedom, with its inherent risks, was really preferable to today's safety and control. The answer, for many, seems clear: nostalgia is not just for objects, but for a way of living in the world.

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