18 reasons today’s youth might struggle to survive the ’60s
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Boomers love to joke that modern kids wouldn’t last a week in the 1960s, and honestly, they might be right.
The pace of life was slower, the gadgets were fewer, and your “personal space” was roughly the size of a coat pocket.
Some of it was charming, some of it was exhausting, and a lot of it would have TikTokers looking for the exit. Whether you remember it fondly or fear it entirely, the ’60s had its own set of survival rules.
1. No Smartphones or Internet
Let’s begin with the most obvious reason: modern kids would struggle in the 1960s because there were no smartphones or the internet. We know, shock horror–what the heck would they do all day? Well, they’d have to communicate using rotary phones or through handwritten letters, and the only digital entertainment they’d get would be whatever was on the one or two TV channels of the time. Other than that, they’d be forced to make their own fun outside.
2. Limited Entertainment Options
We know we just mentioned this, but we can’t emphasize enough how bored out of their minds today’s kids would be back in the ’60s. Let’s say there was nothing on those two previously mentioned television channels, and it was raining outside. The fact is, you’d stay home, bored all day. Suddenly, though, even the dullest board games or most boring books would become interesting.
3. Waiting for Photos to Develop
Unless they’ve used a disposable camera before, Gen Z has exclusively grown up taking photographs on digital devices, such as their phones. This means that capturing memories is instant, but back in the 1960s, the analog cameras required you to develop the film before you could see the pics. It was only supposed to take 15 or 20 minutes, but the high demand in stores often meant it might take weeks!
4. Strict Gender Roles at Home
Now, this one would definitely make today’s kids angry, and for good reason. Forget gender neutrality and pronouns, because back then, we hadn’t even gotten to grips with the basics. Sadly, women were typically expected to manage the home and cook meals, while men were seen as the primary earners. Many jobs and schools reflected this divide openly, and therefore, sexism was a normal part of daily life. Thankfully, that soon changed for good.
5. Cooking Without Convenience Foods
We’re not going to pretend that Gen Z can’t cook, but their style of cooking is completely different from how we did it back in the ’60s. These days, a lot of meals are made up of powdered sauce sachets and microwavable ingredients, but then, everything had to be made from scratch.
6. Long-Distance Calls Were Expensive
Forget WhatsApp, because back in our day, the only way to make a long-distance call was over the telephone. Boy, was it expensive. To be honest, unless it was some sort of urgent matter, your parents would just tell you to write a letter and be patient.
7. Waiting for Mail to Arrive
Speaking of writing and sending letters, that whole process took quite some time, especially when long distance. Amusingly, your bills would always seem to be dropped off on time, just like these days, but for personal letters, you’d sometimes have to wait weeks or even months. No one really questioned this–it was just how things were sometimes.
8. Cars Without Modern Comforts
As much as the kids like to think that we come from the Stone Age, we did have cars back in the ’60s. The vehicles were pretty basic, though; windows had to be rolled down by hand, and steering didn’t come with power steering. Forget Bluetooth connectivity, too, because even the most luxurious cars would only have AM and FM radio at best.
Also read: Rethinking modern diets: Was the old way actually healthier?
9. No Air Travel for Fun Trips
Take a look at flights online today, and you might find return tickets to Europe for as cheap as $400. That certainly wasn’t the case in the ’60s, though, as flying hadn’t yet become a common and commercial option. Only the most elite in society were flying away for vacations, so trips to other continents were pretty much off the cards for the average American.
10. Physical Labor Was Common
People overlook or forget how much physical labor was involved in daily life just 60 years ago. Vacuum cleaners weren’t common, nor were dishwashers, washing machines, or any of those other convenient appliances. All of those chores still had to be done, though, and it would involve a heck of a lot of sweat and elbow grease.
11. Limited Fashion Choices
Before Vinted and Depop came along on our smartphones, following the latest clothing trends was often pretty difficult. You definitely couldn’t order a shirt online in ten colors or return items with a free shipping label, so whatever we wanted, we had to find it locally. If it wasn’t around, tough luck – that’s where we had to improvise.
12. Music Required Effort
Next time you listen to Spotify, count yourself lucky for how easy it is for you to access all the music in the world. Before, listening to music meant tuning your radio, which didn’t involve any choice, or, if you had the cash, buying records. Even then, choices were limited, and you’d have to listen to the entire record from start to finish, rather than to your own custom playlists.
Also read: WATCH: Homeowner unearthed a chilling secret in her 250-year-old home!
13. Limited Privacy at Home
Another reason why young people today wouldn’t last a week in the ’60s was because of how little privacy there was. Nowadays, that’s kind of expected in a household and seen as a healthy boundary. If we’d asked our parents for more privacy back in our day, though, they’d laugh and give us a clip around the ear. Normally, we lived as larger families in smaller houses with fewer rooms, often resulting in multiple kids sharing bedrooms. As you can imagine, this meant that privacy was like gold dust.
14. News Spread Slowly
Even if it’s just a C-list celebrity who has been cancelled, we still hear the “breaking news” within hours thanks to social media. It wasn’t always this way, though. Sure, we had news stations on TV and the radio, as well as newspapers, but even the most major events would often take days to unfold before everyone knew the details. As you can imagine, this meant that rumors and misinformation lingered even more than today.
15. Going Out Required Planning
People are a lot more spontaneous today, with gatherings often happening out of nowhere from a group chat message. If today’s kids were around in the ’60s, though, they’d realize that things worked differently back then. Communication wasn’t so easy, so meeting up with friends meant organizing everything ahead of time. Often, that meant waiting on street corners or at payphones, just hoping that they’d actually turn up on time.
16. Libraries Were the Search Engines
It’s hard to imagine a time without Google, but the ’60s were exactly that. We hadn’t even heard of search engines, so finding information meant spending hours in a library flipping through card catalogs and reading physical books. Students today don’t realize how easy they’ve got it!
17. Smoking Was Everywhere
We’re really glad that this one changed eventually. Yup, smoking was huge in the ’60s, and no matter what kind of public space you were in, it would be happening. Restaurants, public transport, offices, and even schools allowed smoking, or at the very least, turned a blind eye to it. Eventually, though, scientists caught up with its health concerns and banned it.
18. Socializing Wasn’t Optional
Overall, you’ve probably gathered from this article that having a social life was pretty important in the ’60s unless you wanted to be bored numb. Making friends online wasn’t an option, and without friends, you’d have very little to do at home. So, we think that even the kids today who consider themselves to be introverts would find themselves becoming ’60s social butterflies in no time.
Read next: How well do you remember the 1960s? Try this nostalgia quiz and find out
Would you have thrived in the ’60s or run back to your Wi-Fi after 48 hours? Some would love the slower pace, others would start building a time machine by day three. Drop your thoughts below—could you make it a whole week without Google, Instagram, or your microwave? We’ll be here, practicing our rotary phone skills just in case.
The pace of life was slower, the gadgets were fewer, and your “personal space” was roughly the size of a coat pocket.
Some of it was charming, some of it was exhausting, and a lot of it would have TikTokers looking for the exit. Whether you remember it fondly or fear it entirely, the ’60s had its own set of survival rules.
1. No Smartphones or Internet
Let’s begin with the most obvious reason: modern kids would struggle in the 1960s because there were no smartphones or the internet. We know, shock horror–what the heck would they do all day? Well, they’d have to communicate using rotary phones or through handwritten letters, and the only digital entertainment they’d get would be whatever was on the one or two TV channels of the time. Other than that, they’d be forced to make their own fun outside.
2. Limited Entertainment Options
We know we just mentioned this, but we can’t emphasize enough how bored out of their minds today’s kids would be back in the ’60s. Let’s say there was nothing on those two previously mentioned television channels, and it was raining outside. The fact is, you’d stay home, bored all day. Suddenly, though, even the dullest board games or most boring books would become interesting.
3. Waiting for Photos to Develop
Unless they’ve used a disposable camera before, Gen Z has exclusively grown up taking photographs on digital devices, such as their phones. This means that capturing memories is instant, but back in the 1960s, the analog cameras required you to develop the film before you could see the pics. It was only supposed to take 15 or 20 minutes, but the high demand in stores often meant it might take weeks!
4. Strict Gender Roles at Home
Now, this one would definitely make today’s kids angry, and for good reason. Forget gender neutrality and pronouns, because back then, we hadn’t even gotten to grips with the basics. Sadly, women were typically expected to manage the home and cook meals, while men were seen as the primary earners. Many jobs and schools reflected this divide openly, and therefore, sexism was a normal part of daily life. Thankfully, that soon changed for good.
5. Cooking Without Convenience Foods
We’re not going to pretend that Gen Z can’t cook, but their style of cooking is completely different from how we did it back in the ’60s. These days, a lot of meals are made up of powdered sauce sachets and microwavable ingredients, but then, everything had to be made from scratch.
6. Long-Distance Calls Were Expensive
Forget WhatsApp, because back in our day, the only way to make a long-distance call was over the telephone. Boy, was it expensive. To be honest, unless it was some sort of urgent matter, your parents would just tell you to write a letter and be patient.
7. Waiting for Mail to Arrive
Speaking of writing and sending letters, that whole process took quite some time, especially when long distance. Amusingly, your bills would always seem to be dropped off on time, just like these days, but for personal letters, you’d sometimes have to wait weeks or even months. No one really questioned this–it was just how things were sometimes.
8. Cars Without Modern Comforts
As much as the kids like to think that we come from the Stone Age, we did have cars back in the ’60s. The vehicles were pretty basic, though; windows had to be rolled down by hand, and steering didn’t come with power steering. Forget Bluetooth connectivity, too, because even the most luxurious cars would only have AM and FM radio at best.
Also read: Rethinking modern diets: Was the old way actually healthier?
9. No Air Travel for Fun Trips
Take a look at flights online today, and you might find return tickets to Europe for as cheap as $400. That certainly wasn’t the case in the ’60s, though, as flying hadn’t yet become a common and commercial option. Only the most elite in society were flying away for vacations, so trips to other continents were pretty much off the cards for the average American.
10. Physical Labor Was Common
People overlook or forget how much physical labor was involved in daily life just 60 years ago. Vacuum cleaners weren’t common, nor were dishwashers, washing machines, or any of those other convenient appliances. All of those chores still had to be done, though, and it would involve a heck of a lot of sweat and elbow grease.
11. Limited Fashion Choices
Before Vinted and Depop came along on our smartphones, following the latest clothing trends was often pretty difficult. You definitely couldn’t order a shirt online in ten colors or return items with a free shipping label, so whatever we wanted, we had to find it locally. If it wasn’t around, tough luck – that’s where we had to improvise.
12. Music Required Effort
Next time you listen to Spotify, count yourself lucky for how easy it is for you to access all the music in the world. Before, listening to music meant tuning your radio, which didn’t involve any choice, or, if you had the cash, buying records. Even then, choices were limited, and you’d have to listen to the entire record from start to finish, rather than to your own custom playlists.
Also read: WATCH: Homeowner unearthed a chilling secret in her 250-year-old home!
13. Limited Privacy at Home
Another reason why young people today wouldn’t last a week in the ’60s was because of how little privacy there was. Nowadays, that’s kind of expected in a household and seen as a healthy boundary. If we’d asked our parents for more privacy back in our day, though, they’d laugh and give us a clip around the ear. Normally, we lived as larger families in smaller houses with fewer rooms, often resulting in multiple kids sharing bedrooms. As you can imagine, this meant that privacy was like gold dust.
14. News Spread Slowly
Even if it’s just a C-list celebrity who has been cancelled, we still hear the “breaking news” within hours thanks to social media. It wasn’t always this way, though. Sure, we had news stations on TV and the radio, as well as newspapers, but even the most major events would often take days to unfold before everyone knew the details. As you can imagine, this meant that rumors and misinformation lingered even more than today.
15. Going Out Required Planning
People are a lot more spontaneous today, with gatherings often happening out of nowhere from a group chat message. If today’s kids were around in the ’60s, though, they’d realize that things worked differently back then. Communication wasn’t so easy, so meeting up with friends meant organizing everything ahead of time. Often, that meant waiting on street corners or at payphones, just hoping that they’d actually turn up on time.
16. Libraries Were the Search Engines
It’s hard to imagine a time without Google, but the ’60s were exactly that. We hadn’t even heard of search engines, so finding information meant spending hours in a library flipping through card catalogs and reading physical books. Students today don’t realize how easy they’ve got it!
17. Smoking Was Everywhere
We’re really glad that this one changed eventually. Yup, smoking was huge in the ’60s, and no matter what kind of public space you were in, it would be happening. Restaurants, public transport, offices, and even schools allowed smoking, or at the very least, turned a blind eye to it. Eventually, though, scientists caught up with its health concerns and banned it.
18. Socializing Wasn’t Optional
Overall, you’ve probably gathered from this article that having a social life was pretty important in the ’60s unless you wanted to be bored numb. Making friends online wasn’t an option, and without friends, you’d have very little to do at home. So, we think that even the kids today who consider themselves to be introverts would find themselves becoming ’60s social butterflies in no time.
Read next: How well do you remember the 1960s? Try this nostalgia quiz and find out
