A decade that began on January 1, 1981 and ended on December 31, 1990 by the technical definition of a decade (counting 1-10 instead of counting 0-9, same as 2001 began the millennium). However, the politics, music, fashion, and general culture that defined the 1980s stretched beyond the technical definition. Many see the entire first half of the 1990s as simply a continuation of the 1980s, and the last few years of the 1970s as a precursor to the 1980s. The reason this occured was because the 1970s and 1990s for the most part did not contain as many decade-specific defining cultural traits and were simply interim decades between two major decades (ie: the 1960s, the 1980s, the 2000s). Broadest definitions of the 1980s can typically range from 1976, the year Jimmy Carter was elected, to 1994, the year that the internet became easily accessible to the public.

Possibly the best time period there ever was to live in.

A decade ranging from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989.

Worst decade ever.

Nearly everything was cheesy - the pop music, the over the top fashion, the movies and their soundtrack, makeup, the hair....

What's even worse about it is that its fashion didn't fully die out until like 1997. Yes, there were some people who still didn't get over the 80's fashion!

The most worst thing about the decade was the women's big, fluffy hair - ugh! Men had those awful thick, mullet hairs where they resembled llamas. The music was the 2nd worse with its cheesy synthpop sound alongside those cheap drums - AARGH!

Most of the time the term "80's" is used in a negative manner, just like how the word "gay" is.