how come society got so prudish compared to, say, the 80s

@Bumbles perhaps... But is more than just that...

@mindless Whether society has become more prudish than the 1980s depends a lot on which aspect of society you're looking at.

In some ways, many Western societies are actually less sexually conservative than they were in the 1980s:

Greater acceptance of premarital sex and cohabitation.Much greater acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities and relationships.Wider public discussion of sexuality, consent, and sexual health.Easier access to sexual content through the internet.

On the other hand, many people perceive a new kind of caution or restraint, especially in public discourse. A few factors may contribute:

Everything is public and permanent
In the 1980s, a questionable joke at a nightclub, office party, or university event might be witnessed by a few dozen people and then disappear. Today, a comment can be recorded, uploaded, and viewed by millions. People often self-censor because the potential consequences are much larger.

Greater attention to power and consent
Since the 1980s, there has been increased focus on sexual harassment, exploitation, and coercion. Behaviors once dismissed as harmless flirting may now be scrutinized through the lens of consent and workplace power dynamics. Different standards, not necessarily stricter ones

The 1980s often tolerated things that many people today would view as racist, sexist, homophobic, or abusive. What some remember as a more relaxed era, others remember as an era where certain groups had less ability to object.

Online social enforcement
Social media allows large numbers of people to publicly criticize behavior they dislike. This can create the impression of a more judgmental culture, regardless of whether underlying attitudes are more conservative.

Fragmentation of culture
In the 1980s, a relatively small number of television channels, magazines, and newspapers shaped public norms. Today, different communities have very different standards. What is considered normal in one online space may be considered outrageous in another.

Generational perception
People often compare the most memorable, transgressive, and culturally influential parts of the past with the ordinary present. The 1980s produced provocative films, music videos, comedians, and celebrities that remain famous precisely because they stood out. Much of everyday life was more conventional than popular memory suggests.

So the picture is mixed.
Society may be less sexually conservative in many respects, while simultaneously being more sensitive to issues of consent, harassment, identity, and public accountability. Depending on which of those changes a person notices most, they may conclude either that society has become more permissive or more prudish.

@CookieCrumbs just as an example

Take nudity in movies or mainstream television

Realitively common in the eighties but blurred and avoided 40 years later

@mindless
Movie/tv— their rules have changed over the years. But that’s just visual media…

When you think about it, cosier I. General have become more accepting and open to different preferences. We are more about about same-sex relationship, sexual behaviours, etc.