FREE GUIDE! How to Assess Your Company Brand: DOWNLOAD
REQUEST A CONSULTATION
Culture

1983 and 2010: A look back

Theresa Goodwin
Never miss out.
Sign up for our newsletter.


I am a very lucky woman. Today is my 29th birthday, but not only is it MY birthday– it’s my son’s birthday too. That’s right! I have the very rare honor of sharing a birthday with my now 2 year old son, Connor.

In honor of our birthdays, I thought it would be fun to do a comparison to what things were like in 1983 to the year he was born in 2010. I was inspired to do this on Facebook yesterday when a friend posted the top song of the day in the year she was born.

Hall and Oates

On January 6, 1983 the number one song was Maneater by Hall and Oates on the billboard charts (that is really funny!)!  In 2010, it’s Tik Tok by Ke$ha (fitting!).

Here are some other fun comparisons for January 6, 1983 and 2010:

 

Michael Jackson

Top 5 songs in 1983:

01. Every Breath You Take by Police
02. Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
03. Flashdance… What A Feeling by Irene Cara
04. Down Under by Men At Work
05. Beat It by Michael Jackson

Kesha tik tok

Top 5 songs in 2010:

01. Tik Tok by Ke$ha
02. Need You Now by Lady Antebellum
03. Hey, Soul Sister by Train
04. California Gurls by Katy Perry Featuring Snoop Dogg
05. OMG by Usher Featuring will.i.am

********************************

He-Man

What we watched on our old tube TV in 1983:

  • The A-Team
  • Mama’s Family
  • He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
  • Fraggle Rock
  • Alvin and the chipmunks

Spongebob

What we watch on the flatscreen in 2010:

  • The Big Bang Theory
  • Lost
  • Glee
  • Spongebob Squarepants
  • iCarly

********************************

wargames-hacker
Movies released in 1983:
  • Return of the Jedi
  • Flashdance
  • WarGames
  • Risky Business
  • Terms of Endearment

Toy-Story-3

Movies released in 2010:

  • Toy Story 3
  • The Social Network
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
  • The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
  • Inception

********************************

 

swatch watches
Other highlights of 1983:
  • Swatch introduces their first watches
  • Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space, on the Space Shuttle Challenger
  • Microsoft Word is first released
  • McDonald’s introduces the McNugget
  • With the introduction of noise-free compact discs, the vinyl record begins a steep decline

ipad

Other  highlights of 2010:

  • Apple releases the first iPad
  • An explosion on a BP oil drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana kills 11 people and injures 17. Experts estimate that 13,000 gallons of crude oil per hour are pouring into the Gulf of Mexico.
  • The first 24-hour flight by a solar powered plane is completed by the Solar Impulse.
  • Space tourism takes off
  • Throw away your joysticks: Sony’s PlayStation Move combines controller tracking with body tracking via the PlayStation Eye camera while Microsoft’s Kinect does away with the controller altogether by using a CMOS camera, infrared projector and multi-array microphone to track the movements and voices of players

 

It’s absolutely incredible to go and research technology, world events and other notable facts from 1983 to 2010. I can’t believe how much things have changed since I was a child to now. I remember playing Pong on Atari and thought I was a cool kid. I also remember having slap bracelets! Today’s kids have so many different game consoles and computers to choose from and they have silly bands!

I wonder what it will be like when my two year old has kids…

Theresa Goodwin
Theresa Goodwin is the founder and CEO of Boldthink, a strategic brand advisory firm. With over 20 years of experience, she's a trusted advisor and partner for a diverse range of clients, developing tailored brand strategies based on deep customer understanding. Theresa excels in conducting market research and using data-driven insights to craft compelling messages that drive engagement across channels.
INSIGHTS BLOG