By Rupali Jeganathan
Rocking bell bottoms, biking to school with friends, and sneaking off during lunch break to the nearest fast food joint… these things probably bring back fond memories of attending high school in the 1970s, right? It was the era of no rules, mood rings, and bold self expression.
Whether you want to take a stroll through your teenage years to feel young again, or just want to see what your grandparents got up to as teenagers, here’s all you need to know about high school in the ‘70s. Oh, and we have real ‘70s yearbook photos from Classmates® yearbook archive to match!
Midjourney
| Key Takeaways – Freedom, Fun, and Self-Expression: 1970s high school life centered around independence. Kids rode bikes, hung out at diners and malls, and danced like no one was watching. – Iconic 1970s Fashion: Teens rocked bell bottoms, tie-dye shirts, platform shoes, and denim jackets, with girls favoring halter tops and hot pants and boys donning leather jackets and leisure suits. – Popular Hairstyles: Long, voluminous hair ruled the decade. Farrah Fawcett’s feathered layers and shag cuts were in style, as well as Elvis-style sideburns. – ’70s Pop Culture Favorites: Students bonded over hit TV shows like Happy Days, MAS*H, and The Brady Bunch; lined up for blockbuster movies such as Grease, Star Wars, and Saturday Night Fever; and jammed to Fleetwood Mac, Queen, ABBA, and Led Zeppelin. – Retro Tech in the Classroom: 1970s students used typewriters, film projectors, and calculators, as well as newer devices, like VCRs, walkie-talkies, and the first microcomputers |
What Did ‘70s High Schoolers Do for Fun?
There were no cell phones or internet in the 70s, which meant teenagers had to actually go out, interact with others, and get creative to have fun (oh, the horror). But, boy, did they know how to create magic out of the mundane.
Lots of Outdoor Activities
High schoolers spent most of their free time outside, skating down highways, riding dirt bikes, hanging out at arcades, diners, and malls, and hosting parties in the woods.
Phone booths were everywhere those days, which meant harmful pranks were quite common. Teens would set the booths up with shaving cream and wait for an unsuspecting passerby to stop for a phone call.
Chilling & Listening to Music
Friends would hang out together, grooving to music on vinyl records, or watching TV. Some other popular activities included cruising to drive-in theatres and beaches, playing board games, and attending school dances and concerts.
The best part of this era, though, was the freedom. Once you were out of the house, there was no way to contact you.
What Fashion Trends Were Popular with High Schoolers in the ‘70s?
Mini skirts, hip-hugger bell bottom jeans, tie-dye, graphic tees, corduroys, and platform shoes were all the rage in the 1970s — all influenced by hippie culture and rock and roll. It was also the decade of the disco wave, so glitter, satin, and all-things glimmer became mainstream fashion trends. Chunky jewelry, huge belt buckles, turtlenecks, and plaid and paisley prints were also very “in.”
You could find ‘70s high schoolers in a mixture of these fashion choices:
Teenage girls in the 1970s loved to wear:
- halter tops
- hot pants
- sweaters
- wide-leg pants
- wrap dresses
- tracksuits
- fringe skirts
- denim jackets with hand-sewn patches
- their jock boyfriends’ varsity jackets
- vibrant tie-dye tops with tight-fitted jeans were the popular in vogue clothing choices
‘70s teenage girls often accessorised these with big statement necklaces such as puka shell necklaces or chokers, headbands, bandanas, and big hoop earrings.
High school boys in the ‘70s were always wearing:
- baggy jeans
- slim-fitting shirts
- tracksuits
- varsity jackets
- leisure suits
- cuffed jeans
- turtlenecks
- leather jackets
- sweater vests
- satin shirts with big collars
What Hairstyles Were Popular with Teens in the ‘70s?
Girls and boys both sported long hair that was voluminous. Another popular 1970s hairstyle was Farrah Fawcett’s feathered layers, particularly dominant among high school girls. Long hair parted in the middle with a single swoop falling over one eye, the gypsy cut, and shag hairstyles were also very common.
High school boys also sported long-ish hair with huge mustaches and sideburns a la Elvis Presley. Moptop and bowl cuts, shaggy and feathered hairstyles, long hair curled at the bottom, as well as afros and dreadlocks were also quite popular.
‘70s Pop Culture Explosion
What TV shows shaped the lives of 1970s teenagers? What movies were they catching in drive-in theatres? And which music artists featured in their precious mixtapes?
What Were High Schoolers’ Favorite TV Shows?
From stories about teen friend groups and family sitcoms to detective and cop shows, here are the most popular TV shows that 70s kids used to rush home to catch:
- M*A*S*H
- Happy Days
- Saturday Night Live
- Fawlty Towers
- Three’s Company
- One Day at a Time
- The Jeffersons
- Kojack
- Barney Miller
- Mork & Mindy
- The Brady Bunch
- WKRP in Cincinnati
ABC Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
ABC Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
You might be surprised to know that some of your favorite superheroes already had their own TV shows back in the ‘70s. We’re talking Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk.
Being the era of the Vietnam War and the Cold War, cop shows absolutely dominated television.
What Were ‘70s Teenagers’ Most-Loved Movies?
The 1970s were the years for cinephiles with some of the greatest blockbusters of any time to hit theatres. Teenagers would go to drive-in theatres, armed with their own lawn chairs and snacks, to catch these classic ’70s films:
- Grease
- Rocky
- Star Wars
- Jaws
- The Godfather
- Slapshot
- Saturday Night Fever
- Harold and Maude
- Smokey and the Bandit
- The Exorsist
- Rock ‘n’ Roll High School
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
What an iconic list, with many of them counted among people’s rewatches even today.
File by User:KAMiKAZOW, original logo by Suzy Rice, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Fox, 20th Century Fox Television, Morgan Creek Productions, New Neighborhood, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
What Music Were ‘70s High Schoolers Grooving to?
Unlike today, where you can just stream your favorite songs on loop, back then, you had to buy the vinyl CDs, attend concerts, or tune in to the radio and wait till your favorite song played. It just made everything more sacred.
The most beloved bands and artists from the 70s were:
- Led Zeppelin
- Fleetwood Mac
- Bee Gees
- Elton John
- Marvin Gaye
- Janis Joplin
- ABBA
- Kiss
- The Carpenters
- Aerosmith
- AC/ DC
- Stevie Wonder
- Bob Marley
- Pink Floyd, and, of course,
- The iconic Queen
Epic artists. Timeless music.
What Was Technology Like in the ‘70s?
The ‘70s were filled with tech innovations such as the VCR, walkie-talkies, the first ever cell phone, which was huge and very expensive, and the first microcomputer, which actually looked like a TV. It was also the decade during which the Atari 2600, a video game console, was introduced.
Color television started becoming more mainstream in the ‘70s. Every house had a rotary landline phone with long cords, which teenagers liked to wind between their fingers when talking to friends and crushes. Film cameras also existed, but the photos were always a hit or miss as there was no preview. You had no idea what you had captured until you got the pictures developed!
What Tech Was Used in 1970s High School Classrooms?
High school students and teachers those days had to make do with the most basic technology in their classrooms. These included film projectors, basic calculators, photocopiers, scantron machines, cassette recorders, and VCRs.
What Career Paths Were Most Common for High Schoolers in the ‘70s?
The classes that high schoolers took in the ‘70s vastly differed from the ones from today. Some obsolete classes from that timeline include:
- Typing classes: These were taught on those old typewriters (that can only be found in antique shops now) as becoming a secretary was a popular career path after high school, especially for girls.
- Home economics: Here, students learned real-life skills such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning.
- Handwriting: Learning to write in cursive was a rite of passage!
- “Shop” classes: These taught basic trades, such as woodworking and mechanics.
Schools also taught kids Latin (among other foreign languages) and some practical life skills like setting a budget, learning how to take out mortgages, and navigating student loans.
What Jobs Did High Schoolers Do After Graduation?
Unlike today, where college education is a necessity, in those days, you could get a decent job right after high school. The most common career paths included clerical and entry-level office jobs, factory jobs, and service-industry jobs. Teenagers aimed to become teachers, school administrators, or tradesmen. Government jobs and military careers also boomed around this time, giving high schoolers more options.
What Was High School Like in the 1970s vs. Today?
High school in the ‘70s:
It was all about pen and paper. Researching your homework meant scouring through the books in your local library, hoping you would find one with the relevant information. Assignments had to be written by hand and could take hours!
If you had to send your friends a secret message during class? You had to rely on passing handwritten notes and run the risk of being intercepted by the teachers. Communication outside of school meant using landlines that were shared by the whole family.
The school curriculum was also less rigorous. Attending college after graduating was entirely up to you. Teenagers roamed wild and free, less worried about grades, and more focused on just living life.
High school today:
Today, though, high schools are super competitive. The thought of not attending college after is unthinkable, as is taking notes on paper (laptops and iPads for the win). In fact, technology is part of teenagers’ identities.
With the internet, high schoolers today have access to all the information they could possibly need. Research today just means Googling something or asking AI, and assignments can be typed up in a jiffy. Competition to get the top grades is also at an all-time high. In short, teens today are expected to know more, do more, and be more.
Step Back Into the ‘70s with Old High School Yearbook Photos
Enjoyed that little jaunt through memory lane? Why not catch up with an old friend and share the memories? Or maybe you’d prefer to sit back with a drink of your choice and look through your high school yearbooks.
The Classmates archive has over 480,000 yearbooks. You can browse yearbooks from elementary, middle, and high schools from all of the decades, start up conversations with your class, or just reminisce about the good old days!
Sign up for free today.
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