Are You a Child of the 80s?

Trapped between the "Baby Boomers" and "Generation Y" is a special generation ... a generation we call "Children of the Eighties." If you can identify with most of the 15 points below, chances are you are definitely one of them ...

1. You owned a *real* Rubik's cube.
2. One word: Izod.
3. You remember when MTV didn't exist. Alternatively you remember when the M stood for Music, not Mundane.
4. "Alternative" music actually was...and not popular Top 40 tunes.
5. You were a "wanna be". Madonna, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Boy George, etc.
6. "Where's the beef?"
7. You know how to use a rotary phone.
8. Max Headroom was cool.
9. You know how (or wanted to be able) to Moonwalk!
10. Atari, IntelliVision, TelStar and Coleco were the ultimate gaming systems to own.
11. Leg warmers and headbands alá Pat Benatar once looked really cool to you.
12. You remember when Jordache jeans with a flat-handle comb in the back pocket was cool.
13. Jelly bracelets & shoes!
14. Your hair defied gravity.
15. You are still baffled by the "day glo" clothing trend.

So, are you a Child of the '80s? You're facing a long uphill culture battle to stay tuned-in to that great decade, so follow our advice:

• Never forget or deny your 80s heritage. Be sure to start most of your sentences with "Back in the 80s" or "When I was your age"...
• Spend a majority of your time in your late 20s & early 30s obsessing over how much better things were "back then".
• Never let them see you sweat.

Read more about your shared cultural heritage with other Children of the Eighties in Bryant Adkins' essay "Don't Call Me 'Generation X' call Me a Child of the Eighties"