Social Change.

1. Social Change. I interviewed my mom who grew up in the 80’s.

2. In the 80’s Today How does technology affect kids today? We use have phones or tablets that let us carry the world in our pockets. They’re our phones, computers, alarm clocks and cameras. Kids don’t go anywhere without their technology. What is the newest form of technology? New technology comes out everyday. The most used new form of technology is the iphone. Almost everyone in the world has an iphone. • How did technology affect kids? • We had just gotten microwaves in our houses so we could cook food faster. We also got coffee makers so we could make coffee at home. Only home phones were used, no cell phones yet so everyone knew everyone's business. • What was the newest form of technology? • The walkman had just come out so it was a new way of listening to music. Also wired remotes for the TV which were nice. Technology

3. In the 80’s Today What is a normal activity to do with friends? We use our technology when with friends. We watch TV or the teenage boys like to play video games. We rarely hang outside anymore, maybe when we were kids, but not a lot as teens. What is the normal form of fashion? Everyone pretty much has their own group style nowadays, like emo, hipster or sporty. Skinny jeans are popular, girls tend to dress nicer for school to show off their style, boys mostly wear t-shirts or hoodies. What types of music are popular? Wide ranges of music are popular depending on the group your associated in. Screamo and rap are widely accepted, no so much rock anymore. A lot of people just listen to the radio if they don’t like a specific type. Is there discrimination or racism? Not anymore. Everyone is accepted by almost everyone. Being homosexual is becoming more accepted to the point where they are allowed to marry in some states. • What was the normal thing to do when hanging out with friends? • Well we had no TV or technology so we normally just sat outside and smoked. At night we would go to parties or drive around and drink. • What was the normal form of fashion? • We all had perms and teased hair. For clothing we wore bell bottoms, overalls, and the guys wore short shorts. We didn't have as many piercings or tattoos as the kids do today. • What type of music was popular? • Rock and heavy metal bands like Metallica, but some people listened to softer rock like REO Speedwagon. • Was racism/discrimination still accepted? • Racism was pretty much over, but some people were still racist because their parents influenced them to be. Everyone discriminated against the homosexuals. They were beaten up and bullied a lot. Norms

4. In the 80’s Today Types of slang use today. The language used is different for every group in society, depending on emotion or what is being talked about. How is language used in the media? We are much more open with the way we speak on TV or in the magazines. Swearing is common, talking about sex is common and now we are open about bodily functions. Is there a teen language? Yes. Teens talk different with their friends than with adults and as we grow up we talk less and less like teens and more mature. • What type of slang words were used? • A lot of the words used were derogatory towards different groups, although we used normal words like today, ex. cool, sweet.. • How was language different in the media? • They definitely were more censored then today, no swearing or talking about any type of personal body issues or sex. • Was there a teen language? • Yes, kids talked differently with their friends than with parents or teachers, we were a lot more respectful than kids are today, we would never swear at or in front of an adult. Language

5. In the 80’s Today What type of symbols are used? We don’t really have hand gestures anymore, we nod our head up to say hello sometimes. What symbols are around us? We only have no smoking signs now, you can’t just smoke anywhere. • What type of symbols or gestures were used? • We used the peace sign, with the two fingers raised, also the gnarly symbol, with the thumb and pinkie raised. • What symbols did you see around you? • We had designated smoking areas, you would see the smoking and non smoking signs. Symbols

6. In the 80’s Today How is religion valued? Some people are still very religious but most people don’t go to church every Sunday, mostly just on holidays and we don’t dress up anymore. How is school valued? Nowadays you have to go to college or have a good education to get a job, education is very important. How is family valued? Family is still important but everyone is so busy nowadays that we don’t always have time to spend with our families. Roles are different too, both parents have jobs, not just the dad. • How was religion valued? • Religion was much more popular than today. Most families went to church every Sunday and we would always dress nicely. • How was school valued? • It was not as important than today, no one really went to college unless you had the money, you could still get a job with just a high school education. • How was family valued? • Family was very important, most families ate dinner together every night. Back then the women stayed at home and the men worked. Values

7. There are a lot of similarities between the teenagers of the 80’s and the teen agers of today. Some things just catch on and will always stay the same. We most likely wont changes things that work in our society. • Regarding language: • We both have a teen language, children will always speak differently with other kids than with adults. This will not change because children will be taught by adults to be respectful and when they grow up, they will expect the same respect they gave. • Regarding norms: • It is still normal for different group, or subcultures, in teen society to listen to different types of music. It is also still normal for those subcultures to be ethnocentric regarding other subcultures of race or homosexuality. • Regarding symbols: • We have our certain ways of motioning hello and goodbye even though the certain symbol is different. Theirs was hand motions, ours is more of a look, but the same concept. These symbols will change over time but every decade will come up with their popular way of communication. • Regarding values: • Family is still a strong value in today's society. For example, I know when we surveyed what our top values were is class, family was the most common. Family will most likely stay a value in society because family will always be there for each other. • Regarding technology: • Technology has influenced both decades lives by impacting communication and cooking our food. Similarities

8. There were many more differences than similarities between the two decades. This could largely be a result of social change. As a society grows, it naturally changes. • Regarding language: • Yes we both have teen languages but the languages are different. Different slang terms are used and some words may have different meanings. • Language constantly changes because slang words tend to be fads. • Regarding norms: • Many of the norms of the 80’s are different than today like the way we dress or what is a popular activity to do with friends but the biggest change is on discrimination and racism. We have a much more accepting society today and that is largely a result of social change and the fact that we are more liberal and up for change and acceptance. • There are changes in norms because some norms, such as fashion, are fads that don’t stay around very long because something more popular comes along. • Regarding symbols • The difference between a symbol now and then is smoking. We now pretty much have no smoking signs, no more restaurant separation. Its strongly encouraged by our society to not smoke and that’s a result of technology and studies finding out how bad smoking was for people. • Smoking views changed because new technology showed that smoking is bad for your health. • Regarding values: • Nowadays we value less religion and more education, we have come to the conclusion that you need a good education to become successful. This could be a result of our capitalist society and the fact that the economy is not that good, everyone has to try their best to support themselves. Our culture is survival of the fittest. • Regarding technology: • Technology has grown over the decades and become more of an impacting factor in our life. It does everything for us nowadays and this is caused by reliance on technology so we keep inventing more. • There are changes in technology because of new inventions and discoveries, this is very common in our era, new technology comes out all the time. Differences