20 Lifestyle Trends Baby Boomers Lived Through

Every generation that has ever lived has seen the world drastically change before their eyes. The Baby Boomer generation (those born from 1946 to 1964) is no exception. Named for their boom in birth rates after World War II, they quickly became our history’s largest generation (until the millennials passed them up). With the size of this generation also came an impressive amount of influence that has shaped our country into what we see today. From innovations in communication, media, and technology such as drive-in movies, car phones, and vinyl records, there’s very little that this generation hasn’t seen. Let’s dive into 20 Lifestyle Trends Baby Boomers Lived Through.

1. Television

I love Lucy, Mary Tyler Moore, SNL, and so much more. Lucille Ball with her hilarious antics and wondrous charm had you rolling on the floor laughing at this classic sitcom. The Mary Tyler Moore show was groundbreaking. Being one of the first women to wear pants on TV was so scandalous then that it was only allowed to be done once an episode. Pop culture was rising quickly with the introduction of Saturday Night Live (or SNL). Full of laughs, skits, and some of the most famous people, this show is still going over 40 years later. 

2. Drive-In Movies

Remember when drive-in movies were all the rage? And look how far we’ve come. The first drive-in movie theatre opened in 1933, and less than 100 years later we can stream anything and everything we could ever want from a device that fits in our pockets. While they had already been around a while, the drive-in theatre experienced its “golden age” during the Boomer years. 

3. Beatlemania

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard of Beatlemania. The 1960s brought us the Beatles, and if you were alive during that time, I’m sure you remember it distinctly. The group launched into global superstardom in 1963, and their fan base is still unprecedented. They are an icon of the 60s, changing the music industry forever. 

4. Wide World of Sports/Miracle on Ice

With the ever-changing world around you, sports were not immune to the shift. ABC began showing the Wide World of Sports to showcase sports of all kinds from around the globe. From the Olympics, which during the civil rights movement was huge, to the “Miricle on Ice,” and even Evel Knievel. Screens all over the globe showed the greatest athletic feats known to man. 

5. Mail Twice a Day

Until the year 1950 mail arrived at your home via USPS twice a day! Now we are lucky to see it once a day, but that FedEx guy knows us by name!

6. Calculators

Technology has come leaps and bounds over the past century. Back in the day, you may remember having to do math the long way, all written out on paper, and then suddenly: the calculator. This device promised to make that difficult long division a thing of the past, and today you carry a device in your pocket that is not just a calculator, but so much more.

7. Howdy Doody

A household name from the early 50s and beyond, Howdy Doody. This puppet was introduced in 1947 and quickly earned its show. The popularity of the character made him a household name, with plenty of merchandise to go around, this doll probably graced your household at some point. 

8. Rotary Phones

Dialing a phone used to be so much more than just a quick press of the screen. The rotary phone was the phone of your childhood. With its spinning rotary dial, it sure took a lot longer to call someone than it does today!

9. Smoking Anywhere (Even on Airplanes!)

Smoking used to be the cool fun thing to do. It was allowed everywhere and everyone you knew did it. From TV shows and movies to hospitals and airplanes. The more we learned about smoking, the worse we found out it was. And surprisingly enough, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that smoking was banned in most public places.

10. Encyclopedia

With the Internet at our disposal, it’s hard to remember a time when you had to look things up the “old fashioned” way. The encyclopedia was the way to look up anything and everything you could think of. Most households had a set, or at least had access to a set, and they were sold door-to-door by a salesman!

11. TV Dinners

While we still have TV dinners around today, they aren’t as prevalent as they once were. But there was a time when they weren’t a thing at all! With the invention of these convenience-style meals also came quite a few iconic (albeit, strange) food inventions such as Jell-O dishes.

12. The Milkman

Milk being delivered to your doorstep is also a thing of the past, though it faded after the 60s and buying it at the grocery store became the norm, it was the most popular way for households all around the country to get their milk. Even today there is a small number of people who participate in this trend.

13. Static TV/Knobs

TV endings used to be a normal thing for the boomer era. The 24-hour world of television has not been around very long. TV channels would sign out at the end of the evenings with a static screen and it would stay that way until the morning when shows resumed.

14. Five and Dime Stores

No Amazon, no Target, no Walmart. Just the Five and Dime. Everything you needed under one roof. Though the prices have changed, and there aren’t as many in operation, you can still visit some of these nostalgic stores to this day. 

15. Talking to Operators

“Hello Operator?” Once upon a time you used to dial 0 and speak to a real live person who would direct your call where you wanted it to go. Though this job may no longer be in existence, there are still things to this day that can remind you of this nostalgic time.

16. The Phone Book

It used to show up once a year on your doorstep and had all the phone numbers and addresses of everyone and every business in your city. Now you just whip out your phone and google everything!

17. Transistor Radio

The most popular electronic communication device of its time, the transistor radio was how everyone listened to the radio before the invention of the Walkman, and then later mp3 players, iPods, and now our phones. 

18. Typewriters

Before the computer age, there was the typewriter. And it was just that, a machine made for typing. No backspace option here. If you made a typo you had to start right over. Nowadays we have auto-corrected everything just to fix the spelling (well, most of the time) for you! 

19. The Sears Catalog

Another pre-big box store and Amazon nostalgia is the Sears Catalog. The first of its kind where you could look through pages and pages of items that could be shipped to your door without even having to leave the couch. It may have taken weeks to arrive, but it was the most amazing idea at the time. Now we get irritated if our Amazon order doesn’t offer free one-day shipping! 

20. Records

No matter what record it was, you remember your first. Laying the vinyl on the record player and listening to your favorite bands over and over again. While the popularity fizzled out for a short time, this trend has made its way back around again with younger generations.

It may not seem like much has happened in your generation, but when you sit back and think about it you’ve lived through some of the most exciting trends and pieces of history. Looking back at how things were in your childhood vs your grandchildren puts how much has changed into perspective. The Boomer generation, living through some of the greatest times in history!