Interview With Older Adults

I spoke to this American couple living in my apartments who are in their late 60s. According to them the norms of 20-year-old men and women in their times were that they would probably be in their first or second year of college. In the 1980s there was a sudden plunge of smoking among 20-year-old men and women. They were high in consuming drugs and epitomizing musical sensations like Beatles. Also these 20-year-old men and women were activists who pushed for various causes for bringing about change in the society. This was the period when 20 years old were free spirited, open to cultural diversity, and on the verge of technological innovation. By this time more and more women went to college and became the part of post feminism era.

I met another couple of about 40 years older than me in the park and as per them 20yrs old is the age for men and women when sky is the limit. They further said in the 1970s, 20 year old men and women would be college students mostly influenced by hippies, Asian religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Zen that took them to a different world of spirituality. However, family dynamics were conservative, 20 year old women often got married and became typical housewives who were supposed to take care of the house, and men became the breadwinners.