I was a military brat in the 60s/70s. Most of the places we were stationed had 2 TV stations, tops. None in Taiwan. One in Iceland, but it only came on at 5PM and played OLD movies.
So we read or played outside. I have no idea how many miles I covered on my bike. When the streetlights came on, we were expected to head home ASAP. Any adult around was a substitute parent - free to break up fights, take you out on a canoe, teach a diving technique, etc. Feral kids wandering around in packs, supervised by any adult within earshot.
The military was culturally behind the times by 20 years, so it was kind of like growing up in the 40s/50s, only without WW2.
Yes...you hit on it perfectly. I remember in Japan watching some thing where it was a still picture and only the mouth moved, and it was in Japanese...
I must say...living on bases, our parents didn’t really care what we did or where we went, they figured the Shore Patrol would get us if we were doing stupid stuff...
But, yes...it did feel more like the Forties or Fifties, from what I can tell.