An Australian dad is going viral for his nostalgic videos using simple comparisons to show kids what it was like to grow up in the ’80s
As elder millennials already know, growing up in the ’80s was special. It was a simpler time—before all the technology that runs our lives today—and that decade is absolutely bursting with nostalgia for anyone who ever owned a Walkman. Now, an Australian dad is going viral for a series of TikTok videos he created to show his kids how magical his childhood was, and if you’re old enough to remember Windows 95, you’re going to want to see these.
The dad, who goes by @shadyraro on TikTok, uses a bunch of simple comparisons to some of the things kids understand today to illustrate what it was like in the ’80s. For example, “This was our Netflix” shows over a shelf full of home-recorded VHS tapes, “This was our iTunes” displays over a box of cassettes, and “This was our contact list” is shown over a picture of one of those A-Z flip top address books.
@shadyraro The 80’s was the best decade #80s #80skid #oldschool #genx #parents #funny #family #foryou #fyp
♬ Everybody Wants to Rule the World – Blue Fashion
@shadyraro also highlighted some of ’80s kids’ biggest struggles (like when all the guts pulled out of your cassette tapes) and how you knew where your friends were hanging out on a Saturday (by looking for the pile of bikes in someone’s front yard). It’s all set to the perfect soundtrack: Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
After the video went viral, he made a couple of follow-ups, and they’re just as nostalgic as the first installment. Part two unlocked a core memory I didn’t even know still lived in my brain: One of those little metal flip-out ashtrays in the backseat of a station wagon.
@shadyraro The 80’s was the best decade Part 2 #80s #80skid #oldschool #genx #parents #funny #family #foryou #fyp
♬ original sound – ilovethe80s
Part three plays even more of the hits: Class notes folded into triangles, Pyrex casserole dishes, pay phones, and drinking from the hose.
@shadyraro The 80’s was the best decade Part 3 #80s #80skid #oldschool #genx #parents #family #funny #foryou #fyp #nike
♬ original sound – ilovethe80s
Will the videos help today’s kids get it? Eh, not really. As one commenter put it, “I showed this to my son, his response ‘Aw so you were really poor.'” But the good old days will keep being the good old days, even if the new generation just doesn’t understand.
