1954/55, nobody in space. 1984/85, regular flights with the Space Shuttle.
1954/55, B&W tvs with only a few channels, no personal computers. 1984/85, personal computers and almost everyone has a color tv and cable with VCRs.
My Dad (1908 to 1980) used to say he had lived in a very interesting time period.
From the first flight by the Wright Brothers to men on the moon.
A ha!
My dad, an engineer by trade, wouldn’t allow us to get a TV when they came out in the 50s.
His remark , when we begged him was a classic: *I don’t think they will catch on*. We were too naive to understand that probably he was too cheap to buy one. :)
So all those early shows, like Lassie, Beaver, Gunsmoke, Lucy, etc. We lived in a cultural void. Heh.
In the tri-state area ( N.Y., N.J. Ct. ) there were at least SIX different T.V. channels to choose from, in the mid '50s and color T.V.s were not all THAT "rare" to own in '56-58!
In the mid '80s there wasn't cable T.V. in much of Chicago; we didn't have it and I don't know ANYONE there who did.
Personal computers came out around '81 ( IBM ) and not many had them back then and there wasn't much on line either.
Culturally, there were still some watchable T.V. shows and movies in the mid '80s, but that's a long gone thing. And pop music wasn't mostly RAP CRAP.