If you grew up in a small town, you are probably aware that it wasn’t just a place to hang your baseball cap; it was actually a way of life. Small-town living was definitely a thing and shaped who you are.
Before Technology Shrank the World, Small Towns Felt Big Enough
Everybody knew both everybody and everybody’s business, and from the moment you got your first bike, your world consisted of the stretch between the corner store (if you were lucky to have one) and maybe the town park. Life didn’t feel small (okay, maybe it did in your late teens) because you had everything you needed.
Junked automobiles in New Mexico
Before GPS, group texts, and 24-hour stores, small-town life in the ’70s, ’80s, and even ’90s was simpler. As technology has become more accessible to more people from all walks of life, you could say small towns now operate much like larger cities — just on a smaller scale. But that difference still matters.
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Fewer Americans are living in small towns than they have in decades past. According to the Rural America at a Glance 2024 report from the USDA Economic Research Service, only about 14–16 percent of the U.S. population now lives in what can be considered rural or small-town America.
That reality hits home when you make the trip back for Thanksgiving or Christmas and notice how much has changed. Stores have closed, new housing developments have gone up, and the places you used to ride your bike are now blocked by fences. Or maybe it hasn’t changed at all… but you have.
20 Photos That Perfectly Capture Small-Town Life in the 1970s
Take a trip down memory lane — and down Main Street — with these photos from the 1970s that capture small-town life before social media and smartphones, when things were simpler, slower, and full of real-world experiences.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
Did Anyone Watch These TV Shows in the 1980s and 1990s?
While you might think “watching while distracted” is a modern habit, even back in the day the TV was just… there, humming along while you did other things. These were the shows that weren’t exactly “must-see TV,” more like “might-see TV” — part of the culture, but you had to wonder: who was actually watching?
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
