Does anyone agree with me that being a teenager in the
50s was better than being a teenager these days.

I think being a teen in the 70s was great.

being a teen in the late 60s and early 70s was great and would have rather have been a teen in the 50s than being one today.

I don't know I never knew what it was like then as I wasn't born:confused:

I grew up in the 1970's and had a great childhood :)

Obviously its very difficult to compare, but what is it about being a teenager in 1955 that you would consider better than being one now?

Originally posted by mr.fogg
I think being a teen in the 70s was great.

Second that! :clap:

:) Sierra

I think I would rather be a teenager now.
You have so much choice with very few restrictions.
You have a whole lot of clothes designed specially for you.
In my days, the 50's, I wore either childrens clothes or adult clothes and no choice in between.
No tights-- only choice of socks or stockings.
I know it's a youngmans/oldmans fantasy but no joke to me
when having to wear them for school in the winter and held up by suspenders.

You have a knowledge of sex whiich we/I certainly didn't have with the neccessary biirth control equipment to go with it. whether you make the right choices to go with it--- is up to you but at least you have a choice. And if things go wrong you have all the help and encouragement at hand to hep you out.

The poor souls in my day who were unfortunate to be pregnant had to hang their heads in shame or go to a back st abortionist.
I never went down that path but a cousin did and it ruined her life.
hazel

Its exactly these massive choices that in many ways makes it worse to be a teenager today.

Having the wrong type of clothing type of mobile can make them social outcasts.

Teenagers are more worried today about sex than they should be and whilst getting pregnant at 14 or so in the 50's was relatively rare it now is increasingly more common.

In conclusion the 50's there were hardly and choices everything was simple today its complicated and because of this, I think there are many miserable teenagers in today's world.

hi Mosey
I know what you are saying, but I still think my/our lives would have been different if I had had the knowledge that the teenagers have today.
Its difficult to go back without taking with me the ??wisdom I have collected throughout the years.
Perhaps our/my innocence protected us but I don't think so I think we would have been better off knowing what life was about.
One of the things I think was better was the job situation, We could go from one job to another with plenty of choice. Leave one day and start work the next at a different place.
But remember no television, no computers, no central heating, ink fountain pens, coal fires, freezing in the mornings when you got up, no showers, what could I have done with all these things available now especialy computer.
hazel

Originally posted by Mosey
Obviously its very difficult to compare, but what is it about being a teenager in 1955 that you would consider better than being one now?


Well to start with teenagers in the 50,s were a lot more
friendly to each other, we dident have all the things they
have these days but we were a lot happier.

Teenagers today get everything they want ,so why do they
allways want more, and why are they so miserable.

Originally posted by hazel
I think I would rather be a teenager now.
You have so much choice with very few restrictions.
You have a whole lot of clothes designed specially for you.
In my days, the 50's, I wore either childrens clothes or adult clothes and no choice in between.
No tights-- only choice of socks or stockings.
I know it's a youngmans/oldmans fantasy but no joke to me
when having to wear them for school in the winter and held up by suspenders.

You have a knowledge of sex whiich we/I certainly didn't have with the neccessary biirth control equipment to go with it. whether you make the right choices to go with it--- is up to you but at least you have a choice. And if things go wrong you have all the help and encouragement at hand to hep you out.

The poor souls in my day who were unfortunate to be pregnant had to hang their heads in shame or go to a back st abortionist.
I never went down that path but a cousin did and it ruined her life.
hazel


1955 was when thing changed for teenagers, we broke
away from the older generation when we got rock, n ,roll
we also got the style of cloths we wanted to wear.
No other generation will ever experience the changes
we did,the 50s were HAPPY DAYS.

My mother and father were 1960s teenagers - a rocker I guess, what with a bike. Me, a 1970s kid through and through from Raleigh Chopper, Oxford Bags, and T-Rex to Pink Floyd. Few could have had a better time than I did.

I know what you're getting at irene, but when I was in the catagory now known as a 'teen' you were either at school or working.

1955..No Disco's..No Night Clubs..Just unlicenced Dance halls..
Rock-n-Roll .. Radio Luxemburge..Pubs closing at 10.00..Teddy Boys..No tights, Just stockings and sussis.. and a Sixteen year old lad could buy a 650 Triumph and go on the road without a crash hat.. Beer at a Shilling a pint (5p).. If it wasn't for "The Call up" It would have been perfect..and I think we were all better behaved and respected our Elders more.

Originally posted by Mosey
Obviously its very difficult to compare, but what is it about being a teenager in 1955 that you would consider better than being one now?

I think it was a lot safer in the 55's being a teenager, we had the teddy boy's, they had a bit of a reputation but they were ok, there wasn't all the violence there is today

we were so nieve and still full of wonder nearly out of rationing tha gets a lass in trouble and tha marries her my sex education

In the 1950's we had the work ethic and wouldn't dream of being without a job or relying on our parents for handouts if we couldn't afford it we went without. We walked everywhere and used local transport which meant being home before the last bus.

Drainpipes and rock 'n roll. Elvis's first hit was around Jan, 1956 I think. We were rather naive but free, easy and happy with it. Our lives were not governed by TV, mobiles and the screen in the study which I'm in front of right now.

I did read a little of Cisro (bad spelling of the Roman writer) if you didn't know it was wrote 2000 yrs ago you'd think it was today ,nothing is new nothing change's, and I was always "positively perfect in every way"

The most important thing to remember when comparing two different decades [ etc.. ] is that it 's really stupid to equate material gain with being ' better off '. Obviously, today 's teenagers have more clothes. foreign holidays......etc....than we did in the Fifties. So what ! I would imagine we had more material possessions than teenagers did in the Thirties.....and so it goes on.
Time and time again, History has shown that people can suffer MORE as time ' progresses---it depends on the circumstanes. ' The real question is :- Are teenagers today more content, happier, more intelligent, more mature, more cultured, than their predecessors ?
Today in our ' wonderful ' Jerusalem, family life has been eroded on a large scale, the Church seems to count for very little as a Moral Guide-----and has not been replaced by any other moral authority. Billions more has been spent on Health & Education -----but literacy is third-rate [ according to a lot of universities and employers ] and about 2,000,000 are officially too sick to work in the U.K. !
Back in the Fifties when robots and computers first appeared on the horizon, the Powers -That -Be predicted that most drudgery would disappear, everyone would be able to work a mere 20 or 30 hours a week-----and the increased leisure time would enable us to all become more cultured ! What a laugh ! I don 't think any comment is needed.
The truth is, that too many U.K. citizens can 't handle their new ' freedom '. They are very much like greedy kids, let loose in a sweet shop-----they are making themselves sick.

The most important thing to remember when comparing two different decades [ etc.. ] is that it 's really stupid to equate material gain with being ' better off '. Obviously, today 's teenagers have more clothes. foreign holidays......etc....than we did in the Fifties. So what ! I would imagine we had more material possessions than teenagers did in the Thirties.....and so it goes on.
Time and time again, History has shown that people can suffer MORE as time ' progresses---it depends on the circumstanes. ' The real question is :- Are teenagers today more content, happier, more intelligent, more mature, more cultured, than their predecessors ?
Today in our ' wonderful ' Jerusalem, family life has been eroded on a large scale, the Church seems to count for very little as a Moral Guide-----and has not been replaced by any other moral authority. Billions more has been spent on Health & Education -----but literacy is third-rate [ according to a lot of universities and employers ] and about 2,000,000 are officially too sick to work in the U.K. !
Back in the Fifties when robots and computers first appeared on the horizon, the Powers -That -Be predicted that most drudgery would disappear, everyone would be able to work a mere 20 or 30 hours a week-----and the increased leisure time would enable us to all become more cultured ! What a laugh ! I don 't think any comment is needed.
The truth is, that too many U.K. citizens can 't handle their new ' freedom '. They are very much like greedy kids, let loose in a sweet shop-----they are making themselves sick.

Well said.

Being a teenager in the 60s was much better, we did'nt have the pressures there are today and you could have any job you wanted

I grew up in late 60s early 70s Sheffield,had an absolutely fantastic time.I agree with some of the comments on this thread,not all,being a teenager is a difficult time for some,its supposed to be a voyage of discovery,trouble now is,the teenagers of today are told and see a lot more adult things than we heard or saw,shame really,the best bit for me,was finding out for myself!!!!!nudge nudge,wink wink!!!!:)

I too was a sixties teenager and there has never been a better time to be a teenager. We had the best of times. We had the greatest music, freedom and money went so much further:wow::partyhat::clap:

I was a 60's kid and saw a lot of the 'old' Sheffield demolished and buildings like Kelvin flats being built and remember almost all our cars and products was British made, something looking back to be proud of. But also the news being dominated by Country crippleing strikes going well into the 70's something todays teens don't endure.

Being a 70's teenager was fun with glam rock and the likes of Led Zeppelin. As for money I was o.k because of my sensible attitude to it but most of my friends was almost always poor what with expensive fashion clothes and foolish HP on things like motor bikes and Cortina's.

We seem to forget about the violence what was around. It was often to hear on the television news about the football violence and I witnessed many a fight outside a night club or pub.

Overall I think I would prefer to be a teenager today. Computers and mobile phones, k.f.c and Mcadees. Although I would not like the prospect of being a first time buyer what with today's neccesities like the above mentioned electronics and the need of a car (remember subsidised buses) would make it hard to save up a min of 10% deposit of a terraced.

1955..No Disco's..No Night Clubs..Just unlicenced Dance halls..
Rock-n-Roll .. Radio Luxemburge..Pubs closing at 10.00..Teddy Boys..No tights, Just stockings and sussis.. and a Sixteen year old lad could buy a 650 Triumph and go on the road without a crash hat.. Beer at a Shilling a pint (5p).. If it wasn't for "The Call up" It would have been perfect..and I think we were all better behaved and respected our Elders more.

I agree growing up in the fifties was fantastic,everybody was in the same boat not a lot of money,no keeping up with the other kids with expensive trainers and designer clothes.I may be looking back through rose tinted spectacles but I can't remember any scroungers everybody worked and were glad to work.I suppose their were drugs but I can't remember anything to do with them.Lovely communities and good neighbours and the Doctors in those days came out to visit you without begging and pleading.
Looking back we were all a lot thinner and healthier because of rationing which was not a bad thing.And the music was better.lol:hihi:
Plus we were free to roam and do our own thing our playgrounds were the bomb buildings the street and council playgrounds no health and safety issues for us...

My teenage years spanned the late 50's to the mid 60's and I genuinely believe that there has never been a better time to be that age. The 60's ,in particular, was such a revolutionary decade in so many respects. It was a period when adolescents in general came of age. We were relatively affluent and via music, dance and protests we discovered that we had a voice which could be heard. This, of course is looking back. I'm sure at the time I didn't appreciate the significance of what was going on around me. Prior to that we'd enjoyed a proper childhood without the pressure to grow up before our time. Respect for authority, discipline and individual responsibility were the order of the day. Community spirit, probably a throw over from the war, was more prevalent and extended families lived close by to lend support should it be needed. Commercialism was nothing like as prominent as it is today. For all the materialistic benefits we have now, people seemed more content and happier wayback.

Fareast.
If my memory serves me right, pretty much the same things were said about us teenagers in 1955...

I enjoyed being a teenager , on the brink of Adulthood full of hope and with your whole life ahead of you...
I can still remember that time when this young lad asked me "What time is it Mr" ....

MR!!! me ?

I remember the kids.... listening to their gramophones whilst sat on the charabanc...
Blooming nuisance.

Obviously its very difficult to compare, but what is it about being a teenager in 1955 that you would consider better than being one now?

u could get a job anywhere anytime

It was absolutely brilliant, being a teenager in the 50,s
Can hardly comment as it's all been very well put by, Irene, MikeG, Wynne, Fareast, nosy nellie, & jonjo2.

We probably enjoyed it so much because we had all spent our childhoods in the austerity of the war years and rationing so we appreciated everything we got.
The materialism of today has ruined everything and made "keeping up with the Jones", the only thing that matters.
Everything comes too easily now and so is less appreciated - people cared more about each other in those days & the old friendliness has gone.
And, why does everybody nowadays seem to have a such a short fuse?

I think if anyone had asked us at the time if life was great I doubt very much if they would have got a positive reply. We had nothing to compare our lives with except the horror stories our parents told us and we could'nt really understand them. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but what about the National Service which ended it all so dramatically !!!
I was very aware that I was being robbed of 2 years of my life at a very crucial point in time. O.k. we learned a lot from the experience but it was a high price to pay.
Bob.

Being a teenager is great no matter what decade you have your teenage years in - afterall, you are discovering everything for the first time at that age, whether others have already been there or not! I would think that most people would look back on their teens as being a great time... Mine were in the very late 1980's and early 1990's and it was great!

one thing if i could go back to the fifties i could see my old mates and my wonderfull mum and dad i was brought up round bottomo moor in sheffield dave b

Yes I agree

The only thing l would have liked in my teenage years would have been a mobile phone, was scary when you had no way of contacting anyone if there was a problem.

wouldnt a male in his late teens have been doing national service in 1955 ?