Teased hair, neon eyeshadow, acid wash jeans, shoulder pads… some trends of the 80s are best left forgotten. But the 80’s were not a complete loss. With the invention of artificial hearts, electronic keyboards, and the internet and more, this was a decade of products worth remembering and celebrating.
Media Disruption: From Movie Theaters to MTV
In the 1980s, entertainment options increased as media became more personalized. Movie releases like E.T., Terminator, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Empire Strikes Back, helped Hollywood maintain a solid fan base. And Pixars’ founding in 1986, thanks to an investment by Steve Jobs, promised even more quality films. However, the silver screen was no longer the only screen. Prior to the 1980s, there were few channels on TV—and viewers were limited to watching only what was on the air at any given time. Stations typically shut-down at night, which meant there were no late-night TV binging sessions. The ubiquity of cable brought more choices and more coverage. Americans could watch a multitude of TV programs 24/7.
Major networks began to lose market share as cable became more popular. By the end of the 1980s, almost 53 million American households had a subscription to cable television. Instead of signing off at night like many other television programs, CNN’s launch in 1980 introduced the concept of 24 hour news coverage. As a result, networks became more sensitive to viewer preferences and were better able to respond to audience demand.
The popularity of the VCR in the 1980s increased the options available to TV viewers and meant that people could record and watch their favorite programs whenever they wanted. Video stores like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video became popular, making it possible for people to rent and watch movies at home, instead of relying exclusively on theaters.
With the creation of MTV in 1981, the music and TV industries converged. The station became a platform for pop culture—artists including Michael Jackson and Madonna released music videos on the channel. Just as cable disrupted television networks, CDs disrupted the radio. Record players were out, that is until today’s “hipsters” brought them back, and Compact Discs (CDs) were in. Digital CDs had better sound quality and didn’t skip like old-fashioned records. Music lovers could also rock out to their boom boxes (a la John Cusack in “Say Anything”) or put on their walk-mans to listen to any song they wanted at any time of day. These innovations made it easy to listen to popular songs like, “Born in the USA” on demand on a personal device.
MobileCommunications: Portability and 24/7 Connectivity
In the 1980s, advances in communication unified the world and introduced groundbreaking electronics. The cell phone, first invented in the 1970s, was unveiled in 1983 by Motorola. Their device became the first portable, commercial phone on the market. While the earliest model resembled a brick, more than it did today’s slim iPhone, the device made it possible to make calls and connect with people while on the go. It became easier to communicate with anyone at any time—making the world a little smaller and a lot more connected.
The Advent of Disruptive Information: Personal Computers and the Launch of the World Wide Web
In the 1980s, the global internet and personal computers were created and data storage improved. Computers, first invented in the 1940s, became personal in the 1980s. IBM was the first tech provider to introduce a desktop (1981) microcomputer which became known as a personal computer. In 1980, Apple listed on Nasdaq. With the money it received from its successful IPO, it was able to invest in new technologies like its personal computer, Macintosh, which was introduced in 1984. Microsoft’s introduction of “Microsoft Works” in 1986 made the personal computer even more valuable—now computers could use an integrated word processor, spreadsheet, and database. The invention of flash memory, a type of storage that can be erased easily, improved the quality of computer data.
While personal computers were improving in quality, Tim Berners-Lee was working on connecting these devices. For years, Berners-Lee has been creating “a large hypertext database with typed links.” In 1989, he launched this web server program as the World Wide Web—an important stepping stone to what we now know as the internet. Meanwhile, advances in engineering enabled satellites to go to space, and yielded a more reliable internet and cable network.
The Decade in Review
Pillars in our modern world like 24/7 news, personal computers, and music videos were all disruptions transforming the 1980s. Even though many of us would like to imagine the world without those mullets and legwarmers, a world without cell phones and cable is unimaginable.
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Lydia Moynihan is a PR intern at Nasdaq. She is a rising senior at The King’s College studying Politics, Philosophy, and Economics with a business minor. At school she co-anchors and helps run her school broadcast show. During her time in college, she has worked at the United Nations, Birchbox, and KOIN News, a CBS affiliate.
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