Remember your first Atari console, the Walkman and the mini disc? Would you like to revisit the wonder of the Teasmade and the Trimphone? Have you ever wondered how much technology has changed our lives?.
The search is on to find a family to travel back to the dawn of the digital age that was 1970 for a new television series, co-produced by The Open University and the BBC. The programmes will look at the impact that technology has had on family life over the past 40 years. The makers of Edwardian Country House, Who Do You Think You Are and New Tricks are looking for a family to take part in a unique living history experience for BBC FOUR.The three part series will take a modern British family back to the 1970s and then fast forward them through the domestic technological revolution of the 1980s and the 1990s…right up to the present day.
In the 1970s the family will experience life without the technology we’ve begun to take for granted; they’ll live a seventies life in a seventies house without Sky +, Facebook and the Wii. It’s a chance to see how we did homework without the Internet, how we socialised without mobile phones in an era where encyclopaedias and dial phones were the order of the day. As the family move through the 70s they’ll road test all the gadgets and appliances that would have been available during that decade, from 70’s telly, vinyl and games consoles to slide projectors and deep freezes… They’ll see first hand how far technology has come and its impact on our family life. It’s a huge nostalgia trip for mum and dad and it’s a chance to see just which family member really is the most technologically savvy.The 1980s will bring ever-advancing computers and changes in the kitchen that promised to make life easier. The family will have to adapt to the rapidly changing technology that entered British homes in the ‘80s, they’ll get to grips with walkmans, pocket TVs and early microwaves. The 90s will see even more change within the home, early email, rudimentary mobile phones and the kids’ electronic games that were all the rage. Once the family have navigated their way through ‘90s life they’ll be transported through the Noughties and arrive back in the here and now. We’ll ask what lessons they’ve learnt regarding the role of technology in family life and their attitude to the transformation of their home since 1970.
But our family won’t be going it alone. They’ll have an expert IT support team on hand to help with all of their technological enquiries. From confusing computers to misbehaving microwaves, the team will help the family deal with historical teething problems as they get to grips with their ‘new’ gizmos and gadgets.The series will chart the technological revolution of the past 40 years and assess the impact these changes have had on an everyday British family. By the end of the experiment, the family will have experienced almost 40 years of technological change in a short space of time; they’ll have an unparalleled insight into how much our lives, homes and relationships have been influenced by technology.
Are you a home-owning family with at least three children between the ages of eight and eighteen? Are you keen to show your children how much life has changed since your childhood? Are you interested in modern history and how technology has transformed the family home? Or maybe you’re looking for a challenging but rewarding nostalgia trip?