The 1980’s: A Transition into the Information Era

INTRODUCTION

The 1980’s; It was a period of transition for the United States. We have transformed from a country of agriculture, to a country of industry, to a country surrounded by technology, communication, and information. The 1980s was an essential period of becoming the country we are today, from industry to technology.

Figure 1: Early model computer from the 1980s.

When some hear “the 1980s”, they think immediately of the Challenger crash, Michael Jackson, MTV, big rock hair and acid washed jeans. I believe there was much more to this time period than the immediate stereotypes we think of. Specifically, there was much more development into the technology age than any decade before it Technology made "terrific strides in the eighties". (Whitley) People often forget about the start of CDs or big cable networks. What about the start of the computer age?

FIONA LYONS

I found the answers to these questions and more with the help of my mother, Fiona Lyons. Fiona was born November 10, 1966. Lyons lived in Sudbury, MA throughout her childhood. She was a student in high school and college throughout the 1980's and was the ages fourteen through twenty-three. She attended St. Bonaventure University in upstate New York from 1984 to 1988.

Figure 2: Fiona Lyons getting ready to move to New York for college.

Lyons, Fiona. 9 May 2011. Photograph

Lyons recalls many events from the 1980's. The fads and fashions were one thing she specifically remembered. Such things like "big feathered hair look, perms, shoulder pads, and alligator shirts." (Lyons) The high school clicks and groups pictured in movies such as Revenge of the Nerds and The Breakfast Club did actually exist. Lyons recalls the preps and the "rats" who she described as the druggies. (Lyons)

Figure 3: Mother's sister with friend styling the "feathered hair"

Lyons, Fiona. 9 May 2011. Photograph

MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE 1980S

Her favorite TV shows included "Saturday Night Live, Little House on the Prairie, and the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson". (Lyons) She recalls "not everyone owned a television like people do today". (Lyons) She only had a small, ten inch black and white television without cable. She remembers the beginning of MTV as a big thing. When MTV came out, "music videos became the way you heard new groups and people would talk about it because of that."(Lyons) It changed the music industry forever. It was the start of the information age where anything and everything is streamed to your home whether it be through your television or your computer.

Figure 4: Video of the first 10 minutes of MTV from 1981

"August 1, 1981 MTV The Beginning minutes 0-10" Youtube, 11 Feb 2010. Web. 9 May 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tiUuezIhsU&playnext=1&list=PL4C479AD8354AB4C0

The 1980's brought use of technology such as CD's and computers. But neither of these became very popular till the late 80's. Fiona remembers the creation of CDs. CD's were too expensive and it was not easy to get a hold of a CD player. She never used the 8-Tracks from the seventies but stuck with tape cassettes. Attaining a music library in the 80's was much harder than the way people do today. Lyons explains the huge difference in how we get music today and how she used to do it in the 80's.

Figure 5: First Interview Clip

Lyons, Fiona. Personal Interview. 6, May 2011

THE 1980s AS A TRANSFORMATION PERIOD

All of the new techonolgies, (MTV, Cable, CD's, Audio and Video Cassettes) all hepled to propel America into the information and technology age we are in today. It is now not only common but required by most colleges that every student own a personal laptop. When Lyons was a senior in high school, "computers was actually offered as a class".(Lyons) Now, it is nearly ipossible to find a school without some type of computer class. Lyons explains the first computer classes:

Figure 6: Second Interview Clip

Lyons, Fiona. Personal Interview. 6, May 2011

These computer classes were only one part of this leap into a new age. As mentioned earlier, CD's and cable also contributed to this.

CONCLUSION

We can now look back at the 1980's, not as a time for "minivans, aerobics, and talk shows", but as a time for a huge technological boom. (Whitley) If we look at the technology we use daily, even the computer one may be viewing this blog on, we can find that they all found their start in the 80's or made a huge step forward during the 80's.

Works Cited

Lyons, Fiona. Personal Interview. 6, May 2011

Whitley, Peggy. "1980-1989." American Cultural History. Lone Star College-Kingwood Library, 1999. Web. 7 Feb. 2011 http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade80.html