Differences between then and now are quite staggering really.
I have 6 kids and due to my falling under the global media spell, I ended up stupidly raising them with more and more fear (my fear). Fear of them being run over, kidnapped, sexually abused, shot, knifed, or beat up by the neighbors. That's generally what happens when "if it bleeds it leads" media saturates the masses.
I didn't know what divorce, pedophiles, gun crazed students, etc... Were when I grew up. We didn't watch more than 4-5 hours of television each week. We definitely didn't focus on terrorists, although we feared the impending nuclear strikes.
I grew up with a hoards of kids my age amd we were never indoors. My parents never told me when to come home, I instinctively knew when to. My teen years is when the new reality started to creep in via saturated media. But drinking and driving from 17-21 was a normal event, I got drove home by the police 7 times in my reign and never came close to an accident. It wasn't until I was 18 that I lost a friend due to their booze soaked driver rolling a jeep that I considered it possibly dangerous. Them miss Teen Canada's brothers got killed in a alcohol related car rollover, and I knew them personally. That's when it started coming home that it was a very bad thing. I almost quit drinking totally because even today if I drink, I drive. So, no drinking... No worries. It works for me.
But you younger people did miss out on a very worry free, no internet, no saturated media influence period.