Your time capsule is ready
In your 48 years you’ve been around for…
- 11 Prime Ministers
- 2 monarchs
- 12 World Cups
- +3.9 billion people on Earth
More 1978 discoveries are being added
We're filling in 1978 in detail. In the meantime, the comparisons above and below always work — and every link from here leads somewhere interesting.
When these arrived
You were only…
- 1 The Sony Walkman 1979
- 11 The World Wide Web was invented 1989
- 16 The PlayStation 1994
- 20 Google was founded 1998
- 23 Wikipedia launched 2001
- 26 Facebook was founded 2004
A gentle reality check
Things that are younger than you
- 1979 The Sony Walkman
- 1981 The IBM PC
- 1981 The Humber Bridge opened
- 1982 The compact disc
- 1985 Mobile phones reached the UK
- 1984 Tetris was created
- 1985 Live Aid
- 1987 The Simpsons first appeared
1978 vs today
A few things have changed since you arrived
A few things 1978 Today
- Everyone on Earth about 4.3 billion about 8.2 billion
Indicative sample data — being verified and expanded.
See the full Then vs Now →Pick the version you want to share
Know someone born in 1978? Send them their year — or see every way to explore 1978.
Keep exploring
-
What was the world like when you turned 18? →
The year 1996, through fresh eyes.
-
Things that are younger than you →
From the NHS to the iPhone — how much arrived after you did?
-
Your life in history →
A timeline of your milestones, matched with history.
-
Compare 1978 with 1998 →
Two birth years, side by side. Try it with family.