Teenager in the 1980s

Teenager in the 1980s

How was parenting different when you were young?
Our parents had a very, very strict education. Our generation was left...alone, to do what we liked to do. They tried to give us the things they didn't have, like freedom. Parents also thought very differently. For them, the school was in charge. Now, the parents are also updated with the technology. There are less children, so more money for the children. It's a lot easier for the parents now than it was before.

Were you happy to be a teenager in your years or would you rather have been a teenager now?
I'm very happy, because now it's so easy! You have so many toys, so many gadgets, like your internet and that funny camera looking at me [webcam]. But both times had its good and bad, both were easy sometimes.

What do you think defines your generation?
Hum...self confidence, the ability to do many different things, and the ability to remain focused on just one thing at a time rather than be all over the place.

Why do you think adolescence has changed so much in the last thirty years?
Electronics, mobility...the cost of items! Before you couldn't buy all that much, now everything is at least 4 or 5 times cheaper than it was before. Imagine, my first computer, more than 30 years ago, I paid it more than 3000 dollars. With a hard disk of 14 Mb. Teenagers can have everything they want now, that changes everything.

Finally, what do you think are the similarities between teenagers in your day and teenagers now?
The differences? Oh, the similarities! Oh my gosh...hum, there are not a lot. No no, there are a few similarities of course, but children now have a completely different life.


Here is a current day picture of my dad and I. Unfortunately, he did not have any pictures of himself when he was my age, but he found one when he was approximately 25. At the age of 14, he describes himself as having had blonder hair, being a little taller than myself and more tan from being out in the sun a lot.




Fellay, Stan. Personal interview. 07 November 2009.

Take 180. "My Alibi Theme Song". My Alibi Season 1.