by Mark Belter – CEO, Father, Husband, Coach & Community Champion
Something Kids Today Will Never Understand
The excitement of flipping through the TV Guide! It was a big deal to check out what was coming up on our five or six available channels for the entire week.
At my house, we usually got our TV Guide with the newspaper, but I also remember seeing the fancy, glossy ones in the grocery store. We’d grab one every now and then, but those always felt like they were for the more upscale TV watchers!
Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s was a different kind of fun, and one of the highlights was watching our favorite TV shows. But back then, TV was an event. It wasn’t something you could just watch anytime—it required planning.
Nowadays, my kids mostly watch YouTube. They sit and watch other kids playing video games! The idea of sitting down at a specific time each week for a show is completely foreign to them. I still remember scanning the TV Guide, searching for showtimes, and making sure I was in front of the TV at the right moment.
Watching TV in the 1980s and early ’90s was an experience that can’t be recreated today. Back then, you had to plan around showtimes—if you missed an episode, you were out of luck until a rerun aired (if it ever did). There was no pausing, rewinding, or recording—you either watched it live or missed out.
Having just a handful of channels meant that TV was something people experienced together. Families and friends gathered around the TV at the same time, often watching the same handful of hit shows. The next day at school or work, everyone talked about the same episodes because we all saw them at the same time. That kind of shared experience just doesn’t exist today. Now, everyone has their own TV, tablet, or phone, watching whatever they want, whenever they want.
Today’s on-demand world, with endless streaming services and hundreds of channels, has completely changed the way we consume TV. Instead of eagerly anticipating a weekly episode, people endlessly scroll through menus, overwhelmed by too many choices. That special feeling of excitement and anticipation is gone.
Back in the day, TV was an event. Missing an episode actually meant something. It made watching TV feel special. Now, with unlimited content at our fingertips, TV has become something we take for granted—just background noise instead of a true experience.
Shows I watched in the 80’s (Mark Belter or North Ridgeville’s List)
Growing Pains
He-Man
A Team
Greatest American Hero
Dukes of Hazard
Three’s Company
Big Valley
The Lone Ranger
Hall Of Justice Cartoon
Smurfs
Family Ties
Different Strokes
Laverne and Shirley
Saved by the Bell
Who’s The Boss
The Fall Guy
Knight Rider
CHIPS
