It was WAY easier to hide from everyone 30 years ago. I had friends who would outrun the police in their cars. A large percentage of young folks had fake ids. When the drinking age was 18 (or lower), kids had to just be cool to get into bars. The penalties for bars and kids were diminished and the police were not as efficient. Kids brought knives to school, and some brought guns to school. Heck, kids learned how to shoot in school. (I'm not talking about inner city scenarios, I took riflery in school). girls and boys got together. Pregnancy was the visible symptom. Kids were horrible to each other. Fights were common. Bullying even more common. It generally went unchecked.

The stuff I didn't realize until decades later -- there was lots of dark stuff, but one surprising thing in front of my eyes every day was one teacher had been habitually drunk in class and I never knew.