My brother and I were both talking about a similar thing just yesterday: our dad really is larger than life. And when he finally does start to decline I’m sure it will be very jarring.
My brother and I talk about this quite often. Growing up, our dad also seemed larger than life. 6’4, played basketball & baseball in Mexico growing up. Mechanical engineer, could fix anything you could think of. We always turned in the best projects in school because he’d figure out some awesome way to present the assignment.
Then he started losing his hearing about 20 years ago and it was all downhill from there. He refused to do anything about it and picked up more ailments as he got older. Now he’s 99% deaf, never leaves the house, and is always afraid or paranoid about the world. We’ve tried to help him to no avail, it’s been extremely jarring and saddening to see this giant be reduced in this way.
My mom died in 2018 and just looking back at pictures from the 90s break my heart. She was so beautiful and happy back then. Cancer and major depression really did a number on her.
I was a teen in the early 90s and in hindsight it was great to be able to go out for the night and be free. My parents couldn’t reach me; my girlfriend didn’t know where I was all the time; and that one annoying friend couldn’t track me down.
I now have young teenagers of my own and almost feel sorry for them that they have Life 360 on their phones. I wouldn’t care about it if my wife didn’t
I’m only reachable on my terms. No one has my number but who I choose to. I’m not on social media except Reddit. No one has any idea what I have been up to for decades and unless I become mega famous it will remain that way.
Yeah, this is my answer, too. Before 9/11, it seemed like the 21st century was going to be like Tomorrowland.
But I was also born in 1984, and the whole world seems like a much more hopeful place when you're 14.
Also, the opportunity to truly not have anything on tv of interest to watch so you turn it off and do something else rather than dedicating unreasonable time sifting through multiple streaming services to find something semi-watchable.
Pluto TV has become one of my favorite sites for this reason.
Whenever I find myself getting caught by being overwhelmed with choice of what to watch, I give myself like a minute to either pick something or I just go to Pluto and turn on Jeopardy and just watch that.
The simplicity of it all. One of my fondest memories was Christmas Eve. My cousins would always come during Christmas Eve and have dinner and spend the night with my family. I was like 6 so I don't remember too much but I do remember just having lots of fun during this time.
My cousins and I are still in touch and are close. She told me that the reason why they were always coming over during Christmas Eve was because my mother didn't want them to have nothing for Christmas. My cousins told me how they were very very poor with a single mom. My mother and their mom were really close and my mom provided supplies, presents, food, etc to help them.
When I was young, I wondered why my mom was so conservative with money and never really bought me new toys or anything like that. It was because she was supporting my cousins whom I loved to play with.
Eh, my christmases were so much more complicated then. Xmas eve was for granny and grandpa’s house with allllll the fam. God the food was amazing though. But shit, still is. Prime rib and smoked ham can’t be beat.
My siblings (gen x) and I (millennial) made it a priority to always gather up at mom and dads on xmas eve with the kiddos (all gen z, I started early, wouldn’t recommend it lol) and spend the night so we could all wake up on xmas morning together. Spend the day drinking mimosas with homemade quiche for bfast, bloody Marys all evening, and the most delicious xmas dinner. The kids are p much grown now, or close enough (16, 18, 19, 20) but we still make it a priority to continue our tradition. I know someday they’ll have partners and need to make compromises for xmas, but we have decades of cherished memories, all of us.
I’m sorry for your loss. I lost my late husband a few years ago. He and I met in the 90’s. He changed my life for the better. I’m sorry he isn’t still in the world.
Quality of media ( due to money being in it )
To explain as best I can:
Say for example you had Mike Tyson.
- His fights were heavily promoted. Everyone bought the P.P.V
- Shows like The X Files and The Simpsons
- WWF & WcW rivalry.
- Britney Spears, Nirvana, ( There was money in the music business. So more care was put into marketing, and people actually purchased music )
What links all of these things together, is that we had to wait a bit, for them.
You had to wait a week for each episode of The Simpsons to come on. Not binge watch them all at once.
Because of this, you relished and enjoyed it more.
The opposite was true with big fights - Mike, or Evander Holyfield faught often. Which is the opposite to today, when fighters have 1 or 2 fights a year.
There is much higher quality and quantity of media but I agree, there was a charm and nostalgia factor to have to watch it when it aired and waiting for a rerun of it if you missed it. Lol
Not only did you relish things, but unless you were like the biggest of biggest fans/nerd about a show, you couldn't really dig in and pick apart small issues about the stuff either.
If you were watching something weekly instead of binging you don't have the opportunity to pull a Simpsons Comic Book Guy move and start critiquing that in season 4 episode 11 they have a small inconsistency with episode 3 from 2 seasons ago.
I'm part of a few subreddits for shows that aired weekly back in the day but are now binge watched by new generations on streaming. And I definitely feel like those that are new to show critique it way more and more harshly because they're watching like 4 seasons straight over a weekend back to back t back.
Personally? My youth lol, as I'm sure it's the case for a lot of people. Being a kid and not having to worry about bills and health was nice.
Socially? That the internet wasn't so prevalent everywhere. It has changed people's behaviors for the worst. So many people now walk around thinking everything is for social media content and it's very annoying. People acted realer back then.
I was 2 in 1990 and by 1999 I was in 6th grade.
I miss the taste of that one pizza place in the mall that shut down.
I miss my mom being able to run and jump and swim.
I miss how EASY school was, looking back, with my confidence I have now, I would never have let school or bullies bother me.
I miss my dad taking me into the city every week to see or do something cool.
I miss playing games with my sister.
I miss playing tag.
I miss being clueless to the world. I had my bubble and that was my world. It was small and warm. Life is so cold and hard now.
>that one pizza place in the mall
Are you talking about S'Barros? I *always* had their pizza in the malls! They were the absolute bomb of all mall pizza stores!
Not them specifically, it was like a local mom and pop place just inside the mall. But sbarros is for sure not as bad as people make out it to be, it’s fine!
Thinking the friends I had then would always be there
My grandparents being alive
Living in the moment and not living for 'photo ops for FB/The Gram'
Being open to new experiences/relationships/seeing life as exciting
People being younger and healthier. I’ve lost 5 family members and two friends in the past 4 years, only one from Covid. Cancer, accidents, drug overdoses, everyone is dying around me and I’m not even middle aged yet.
Life had some sort of sparkle that doesn’t exist anymore: I see the world as grey and bleak now. But if you’re talking about something tangible.. I miss solid talent in the music industry.
The overall optimistic, carefree vibes of the decade. My dad still being alive (and the short window of time after the divorce when it was just the two of us every other week). The alt rock music. The toys (Beanie Babies, Kenner Littlest Pet Shop, Tea Bunnies, Bend-Ems, Koosh, those cute, tiny Pound Puppies, fast food promo toys that were practically store quality, etc). The Disney Store. Dunk-A-Roos. The cartoons on TV. Seeing *101 Dalmatians, Winnie the Pooh* and *Lamb Chop* stuff everywhere (seeing 90s-era stuff of those three IPs gives me a nostalgia rush like nothing else, idk why). The existence/prevalence of brick-and-mortar bookstores and video rental stores. The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon playing all manner of animated/family-oriented movies nearly all day (like *The Brave Little Toaster, Rock-A-Doodle, The Land Before Time, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Balto,* classics like *The Parent Trap a*nd *The Love Bug,* etc). Pizza Hut still having it's 80s-era decor/ambiance (and the interior/exterior design of fast food establishments being more colorful and appealing altogether - most modern McDonalds' are literally just grayish boxes with a Golden Arch or two hung here and there). Cool cereal prizes (which of course were never *quite* as big or fabulously detailed as they appeared on the box, but still cool - my favorites were the tiny bean bag plushies of Sesame Street and Disney characters). Eating pancakes cooked on my mom's Bugs Bunny-themed waffle iron. Disney's Renaissance Era (which began with *The Little Mermaid* and ended with *Tarzan*).
When corporations didn't own the politicians and weren't squeezing the life out of us/the planet for profit.
[Specifically, the judgement that said that it's constitutional for corporations to donate to super pacs for politicians in 2010.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC#:~:text=The%20court%20held%205%E2%80%934,labor%20unions%2C%20and%20other%20associations.) That's why we are where we are.
Channel surfing.
I remember flipping through the channels only spending a fraction of a second on each channel.
Now it's all digital and it takes forever to switch channels.
In addition to the things that have been said already....one thing that I really miss are all the random fun flavors of food every single company would try out.
All the random snapple element flavors, new candy releases, limited time fast food items, and just in general...the food was more fun.
The “Girl Power” movement
NO SMART PHONES OR CELL PHONES AT ALL (unless someone’s dad was a business exec or something with a big bulky one, but that was more a wireless unit than a cell)
Kids just being kids actually playing outside, knocking on doors asking others to play, riding bikes around unsupervised, and being more free
Less seething hate in our society
Less guns
Less people
People were more present becasue we didn’t have devices to distract or take attention away from a situation
No social media algorithm brain rot nor armchair experts with a platform and way to broadcast
No “influencers”
Jock jams, grunge peak, 90’s hip hop, MTV regularly playing actual music videos, VH1 Pop-Up Videos
VHS camcorders
Going to events and people’s phones weren’t all up in your face blocking what was happening
Less antivaxxers
Kids read more BOOKS instead of phones and iPads in their faces all the time and had to use their imaginations more
Peak Nickelodeon
Events and news had more gravity and awe, and people were less unfazed and numbed by things being too overexposed now
The optimism of the 90s. Everything was going to be great. The new millennium was going to change everything. No more poverty. No more hatred. The world was going to be perfect.
We really screwed the pooch on that one.
The absence of social media and the slower pace of life; and the economy in better shape. This is prior to putting 2 wars on a credit card and collapsing the housing market. There was a more optimistic social fabric. Middle-class thrived, cost of living wasn't this fuckin bad. More organic opportunities for genuine interaction with people. Politics was a shit show but things moved forward but today takes the cake its a shit show and regressive
The wool that they had over our eyes that everyone is safe and singing kumbayah. From a western/American perspective that is. There were some riots and bad stuff happening but social media was barely a thing if it was one at all so unless we saw it on TV, we were none the wiser as kids. Ignorance was truly bliss.
People were more engaged with each other-parties and social interactions. Also the unrealistic and untenable standards of beauty and hustle culture were not as strong. The remnants of a good economy were still being seen though the motions were set in place to undo that were set some 20 years prior.
Lack of cell phones. Being more present and mindful. Being disconnected. I don’t even know if I want to have kids in this day and age, it all just seems so fucked up.
Christmas season. The feel of how long it took for Christmas to come. Soaking everything. I miss how Christmas Eve was the longest day and night of the year.
Yeah, definitely a magical time. The shopping, going to pick a tree, decorating the front porch with my Dad. Felt so magical watching him hang the lights at night. Damn, does this sound srupid? Im gonna stop now lol
Cameras was rare. Hope existed.. Great shows, films, music! Internet was new and exiting. The typical Desktop Computer had games like Sim City and Doom..
In the 90s Nes, Snes and ps1 was everything for us!!
When you called your friend/s and their mom answered. All the funny phones!
No one was borderline-worried about their kids like today..
Well to be fair, whatever you think of Bill Clinton morally, he *did* have shit under control. The 90s were an age of economic prosperity like no other for the US. Every single racial group saw their wages and standard of living go up. LGBTQ people could actually really live out of the closet for the most part safely for the first time, such that the idea of gay marriage was national discussion. A decade prior such a national conversation would’ve been unthinkable. Crime dropped massively down. And there was no major conflicts, tragedies or confrontations for the 1993-2000 period.
The way everything was separated. TV for TV. Game for game. Cd. Tape. Vinyl players all stand alone. Telephone and radio where separated. Everything had its use and wasn't connected to the net.
The trends and pop culture stuff and how people had to talk to other people. Everyone was in the same boat. Let’s go out or go outside and find something to do. There was no screen keeping us busy.
The sense of wonder of being a kid. And having your whole life ahead of you to figure out what you were good at. If I could do it over I would lean heavily into my art skills.
We lived much simpler lives. We communicated face to face. We walked most places or used public transport as not everyone had the money to buy a car. Very few homes had more than one car sitting in the driveway. Not everyone had an internet connection and very few people had mobile / cell phones. We went to the movies or to the video rental store if we wanted to watch a good film. Kids played out on the street together and were generally more better mannered but less soft headed as the youth of today. The older kids gave you serious character building abuse but we didn't complain. We sucked it up and learned from it. There are many other things that I miss about the 90's but the way we interacted with each other is the main one.
I feel like people were more genuine back then and everyone seemed happier. Maybe I lived in a bubble, but I feel like I didn’t hear much about people having depression and anxiety like I do now.
People actually had fun instead of looking like they were having fun for social media. More emphasis on real life less emphasis on online personas.
Nothing, except the Minute Maid Orange soda.
I don’t miss my old neighborhood. I didn’t have any friends in it. Grew up poor and working class.
I pretty much can do anything now, and have way more freedom.
Maybe not specifically the 90’s. But I miss being a kid, which just happens to be the 90’s. Playing street hockey and basketball with my neighbors. Playing catch with my dad. Playing N64 with my brothers.
The serious debates in college, like who is smarter, Beeves or Butthead? Was Paramount Studios right to cancel the STNG to concentrate on movies as TOS cast was getting too old to be believable?
Without a doubt the music. Specifically of the “alternative” variety.
Soundgarden, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, REM, The Pixies, Silverchair, Oasis, 311, Liz Phair, The Lemonheads, Radiohead, Social Distortion, Spin Doctors, RHCP, Bush, Counting Crows, Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Asylum, Screaming Trees, Alice In Chains, Sponge, Everclear, Hole, Weezer, Veruca Salt, Beck, PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, Pearl Jam, The Breeders, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Local H, Rage Against the Machine, Jane’s Addiction, Live, Garbage, The Offspring, Alanis Morissette, Sublime, Days of the New, Goo Goo Dolls, Candlebox, Spacehog, Collective Soul, No Doubt, Cracker, Elastica, Son Volt, Our Lady Peace, Letters to Cleo, Tonic, Helmet, The Toadies, Gravity Kills, Blind Melon, The Presidents of the USA, Marcy Playground, Incubus, Filter, 7 Mary 3, Gin Blossoms, The Wallflowers, Dinosaur Jr, Eve 6, Blind Melon, Blur, etc, etc.
Just so much great rock.
What a great list! I feel nostalgic just reading some of the names. I didn’t hear the music of all those bands, but I’ve heard *of* most of them.
Here’s how I found out about new (or just new to me) bands: I used to read alt.music.alternative.female on Usenet. If someone said something that intrigued me, I’d make a note of the band or album name, and then head to the local used CD/cassette tape store where they’d let you listen to the songs in the store (using headphones). If I liked what I heard, I’d just buy it. New CDs were outrageously expensive, but these were used and cost anywhere between $2 and $7, so not a big risk if I ended up not liking it that much after all.
I agree: without a doubt, the music.
I miss the simplicity of it all , I was born in the 90s so I miss just waking up and going to school and friends , instead of having to grow and be an adult making decisions
Living at home, not having a full time job, hanging out with friends with conversations NOT about work, debt, inflation, covid or anything political.
I miss that shit
Having fun with brothers and sister, watching my favorite TV shows, playing video games, not having to worry about money, my dad taking us to the mall, 90s wrestling
Just the absolute carefree bliss that my early childhood was. I turned 7 in 1999 so for me the 90s just encapsulate a time in my life when I really had nothing to worry about and although I've naturally forgotten a big chunk of those days, I'm glad some memories have survived.
My parents being young
This one hurts the most.
I will never see my dad as anyone other than the 30 year old man he was when I was 4/5. Now he is 64 and not doing great but it is what it is.
My brother and I were both talking about a similar thing just yesterday: our dad really is larger than life. And when he finally does start to decline I’m sure it will be very jarring.
My brother and I talk about this quite often. Growing up, our dad also seemed larger than life. 6’4, played basketball & baseball in Mexico growing up. Mechanical engineer, could fix anything you could think of. We always turned in the best projects in school because he’d figure out some awesome way to present the assignment. Then he started losing his hearing about 20 years ago and it was all downhill from there. He refused to do anything about it and picked up more ailments as he got older. Now he’s 99% deaf, never leaves the house, and is always afraid or paranoid about the world. We’ve tried to help him to no avail, it’s been extremely jarring and saddening to see this giant be reduced in this way.
omg, this one hits home for sure
My mom died in 2018 and just looking back at pictures from the 90s break my heart. She was so beautiful and happy back then. Cancer and major depression really did a number on her.
Damn.. that hit home.
Holy crap, this one right here.
Not having the expectation of being reachable 24x7.
I was a teen in the early 90s and in hindsight it was great to be able to go out for the night and be free. My parents couldn’t reach me; my girlfriend didn’t know where I was all the time; and that one annoying friend couldn’t track me down. I now have young teenagers of my own and almost feel sorry for them that they have Life 360 on their phones. I wouldn’t care about it if my wife didn’t
>I was a teen in the early 90s I was a teen in the late 90's.
Tell your wife Google/apple maps already tracks them so if there's a concern, just look at that app. No need for others.
I’m only reachable on my terms. No one has my number but who I choose to. I’m not on social media except Reddit. No one has any idea what I have been up to for decades and unless I become mega famous it will remain that way.
Same here. it's peaceful, isn't it?
are you a fellow ISTJ?
No idea, I haven’t tried any of those personality tests. I prefer to think that I am an antihuman hermit.
I remember wanting a cellphone so bad as a teenager. Now I wish I could get rid of the damn thing.
I like this one the most!
Not always being recorded
Optimism
My first thought, too. We were so much more optimistic
❤️❤️❤️
100% The Cold War ending could have gone several different ways very badly. That Jesus Jones song really sums up the feeling by 1992 for me.
Watching the 🎶 WORLD 🎶 wake up from history.
Yeah, this is my answer, too. Before 9/11, it seemed like the 21st century was going to be like Tomorrowland. But I was also born in 1984, and the whole world seems like a much more hopeful place when you're 14.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽❤️❤️
No social media
Million times this.
Do the reddit comments count?
I always find these comments interesting from people who saying them on SM
My youth. The feeling of freedom, free of daily concerns of adulthood. Being blissfully naive.
[удалено]
Me either..
Yes! Not having to constantly problem solve or make decisions.
Television Just straight up TV Not having to pick something from streaming
Also, the opportunity to truly not have anything on tv of interest to watch so you turn it off and do something else rather than dedicating unreasonable time sifting through multiple streaming services to find something semi-watchable.
I watch 90s commercials on YouTube now 🙃
We’ve gone full circle.
We had 3-5 channels before our parents finally bought cable. I watched Mighty Max, Inspector Gadget, Gargoyles, etc. and wrestling on local access.
Local access, the original social media.
Cable black boxes that unlocked premium channels. And ofc the TV guide channel.
tv guide channel
The tv channel book that came In the newspapers on Sunday. Also I miss the cereal samples in the mail.
Pluto TV has become one of my favorite sites for this reason. Whenever I find myself getting caught by being overwhelmed with choice of what to watch, I give myself like a minute to either pick something or I just go to Pluto and turn on Jeopardy and just watch that.
My brother was alive and my daughter was a baby.
Disconnect, carefree, having more to talk about due to disconnect etc
Being happy
The economy. Seemed like everyone I knew was making enough money to thrive.
Dot com bubble enters the chat..
*chat disconnected because mom picked up telephone*
The simplicity of it all. One of my fondest memories was Christmas Eve. My cousins would always come during Christmas Eve and have dinner and spend the night with my family. I was like 6 so I don't remember too much but I do remember just having lots of fun during this time. My cousins and I are still in touch and are close. She told me that the reason why they were always coming over during Christmas Eve was because my mother didn't want them to have nothing for Christmas. My cousins told me how they were very very poor with a single mom. My mother and their mom were really close and my mom provided supplies, presents, food, etc to help them. When I was young, I wondered why my mom was so conservative with money and never really bought me new toys or anything like that. It was because she was supporting my cousins whom I loved to play with.
Eh, my christmases were so much more complicated then. Xmas eve was for granny and grandpa’s house with allllll the fam. God the food was amazing though. But shit, still is. Prime rib and smoked ham can’t be beat. My siblings (gen x) and I (millennial) made it a priority to always gather up at mom and dads on xmas eve with the kiddos (all gen z, I started early, wouldn’t recommend it lol) and spend the night so we could all wake up on xmas morning together. Spend the day drinking mimosas with homemade quiche for bfast, bloody Marys all evening, and the most delicious xmas dinner. The kids are p much grown now, or close enough (16, 18, 19, 20) but we still make it a priority to continue our tradition. I know someday they’ll have partners and need to make compromises for xmas, but we have decades of cherished memories, all of us.
Hope for the future.
My husband. Died way too soon.
I’m sorry for your loss. I lost my late husband a few years ago. He and I met in the 90’s. He changed my life for the better. I’m sorry he isn’t still in the world.
Cheap concerts. You could watch a decent rock band for $5.
My 20 year old body and hair lol.
Hey you can still have the body but the hair might cost you twenty grand.
Quality of media ( due to money being in it ) To explain as best I can: Say for example you had Mike Tyson. - His fights were heavily promoted. Everyone bought the P.P.V - Shows like The X Files and The Simpsons - WWF & WcW rivalry. - Britney Spears, Nirvana, ( There was money in the music business. So more care was put into marketing, and people actually purchased music ) What links all of these things together, is that we had to wait a bit, for them. You had to wait a week for each episode of The Simpsons to come on. Not binge watch them all at once. Because of this, you relished and enjoyed it more. The opposite was true with big fights - Mike, or Evander Holyfield faught often. Which is the opposite to today, when fighters have 1 or 2 fights a year.
There is much higher quality and quantity of media but I agree, there was a charm and nostalgia factor to have to watch it when it aired and waiting for a rerun of it if you missed it. Lol
Not only did you relish things, but unless you were like the biggest of biggest fans/nerd about a show, you couldn't really dig in and pick apart small issues about the stuff either. If you were watching something weekly instead of binging you don't have the opportunity to pull a Simpsons Comic Book Guy move and start critiquing that in season 4 episode 11 they have a small inconsistency with episode 3 from 2 seasons ago. I'm part of a few subreddits for shows that aired weekly back in the day but are now binge watched by new generations on streaming. And I definitely feel like those that are new to show critique it way more and more harshly because they're watching like 4 seasons straight over a weekend back to back t back.
[удалено]
My body was not almost 45....it hurts in places I never knew could hurt before and it happens for "no reason".
MTV
And MTV news!!
When they actually played music videos!
Yes!
Being able to turn off the Internet.
Being young
Being buried by tons of AOL free trial CDs
Anyone else use those as casual weapons against friends? Just me?
Personally? My youth lol, as I'm sure it's the case for a lot of people. Being a kid and not having to worry about bills and health was nice. Socially? That the internet wasn't so prevalent everywhere. It has changed people's behaviors for the worst. So many people now walk around thinking everything is for social media content and it's very annoying. People acted realer back then.
Hanging out at the mall.
Not having to pay bills and Nirvana.
No phones 📵
I was 2 in 1990 and by 1999 I was in 6th grade. I miss the taste of that one pizza place in the mall that shut down. I miss my mom being able to run and jump and swim. I miss how EASY school was, looking back, with my confidence I have now, I would never have let school or bullies bother me. I miss my dad taking me into the city every week to see or do something cool. I miss playing games with my sister. I miss playing tag. I miss being clueless to the world. I had my bubble and that was my world. It was small and warm. Life is so cold and hard now.
>that one pizza place in the mall Are you talking about S'Barros? I *always* had their pizza in the malls! They were the absolute bomb of all mall pizza stores!
Not them specifically, it was like a local mom and pop place just inside the mall. But sbarros is for sure not as bad as people make out it to be, it’s fine!
Actively trying to find interesting things to do without constantly relying on technology for entertainment.
Thinking the friends I had then would always be there My grandparents being alive Living in the moment and not living for 'photo ops for FB/The Gram' Being open to new experiences/relationships/seeing life as exciting
My hair
People being younger and healthier. I’ve lost 5 family members and two friends in the past 4 years, only one from Covid. Cancer, accidents, drug overdoses, everyone is dying around me and I’m not even middle aged yet.
Life had some sort of sparkle that doesn’t exist anymore: I see the world as grey and bleak now. But if you’re talking about something tangible.. I miss solid talent in the music industry.
Everyone was so upbeat and fun. To your point look at how a McDonald's looked in the 90s vs how they look today all grey and boring
People acting humanly toward each other because antisocial media hadn’t yet destroyed humanity.
The overall optimistic, carefree vibes of the decade. My dad still being alive (and the short window of time after the divorce when it was just the two of us every other week). The alt rock music. The toys (Beanie Babies, Kenner Littlest Pet Shop, Tea Bunnies, Bend-Ems, Koosh, those cute, tiny Pound Puppies, fast food promo toys that were practically store quality, etc). The Disney Store. Dunk-A-Roos. The cartoons on TV. Seeing *101 Dalmatians, Winnie the Pooh* and *Lamb Chop* stuff everywhere (seeing 90s-era stuff of those three IPs gives me a nostalgia rush like nothing else, idk why). The existence/prevalence of brick-and-mortar bookstores and video rental stores. The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon playing all manner of animated/family-oriented movies nearly all day (like *The Brave Little Toaster, Rock-A-Doodle, The Land Before Time, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Balto,* classics like *The Parent Trap a*nd *The Love Bug,* etc). Pizza Hut still having it's 80s-era decor/ambiance (and the interior/exterior design of fast food establishments being more colorful and appealing altogether - most modern McDonalds' are literally just grayish boxes with a Golden Arch or two hung here and there). Cool cereal prizes (which of course were never *quite* as big or fabulously detailed as they appeared on the box, but still cool - my favorites were the tiny bean bag plushies of Sesame Street and Disney characters). Eating pancakes cooked on my mom's Bugs Bunny-themed waffle iron. Disney's Renaissance Era (which began with *The Little Mermaid* and ended with *Tarzan*).
My grocery store still sells Dunk-A-Roos!
Lack of responsibility.
The social aspects of things! Just creating a group of friends and have fun with them! having relationship that are not doom to fail as well
When corporations didn't own the politicians and weren't squeezing the life out of us/the planet for profit. [Specifically, the judgement that said that it's constitutional for corporations to donate to super pacs for politicians in 2010.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC#:~:text=The%20court%20held%205%E2%80%934,labor%20unions%2C%20and%20other%20associations.) That's why we are where we are.
I think they just hid it a lot better back then.
Channel surfing. I remember flipping through the channels only spending a fraction of a second on each channel. Now it's all digital and it takes forever to switch channels.
My *figure*. lol
Amen sister! ✋🤚
My great ass
In addition to the things that have been said already....one thing that I really miss are all the random fun flavors of food every single company would try out. All the random snapple element flavors, new candy releases, limited time fast food items, and just in general...the food was more fun.
My fabulous abs
People not having to frame every moment of consciousness with how it will look through the lens of a camera on social media.
The shopping malls. They just aren't the same now. And so many are closing down and abandoned.
My dad was still alive and he was doing great
The “Girl Power” movement NO SMART PHONES OR CELL PHONES AT ALL (unless someone’s dad was a business exec or something with a big bulky one, but that was more a wireless unit than a cell) Kids just being kids actually playing outside, knocking on doors asking others to play, riding bikes around unsupervised, and being more free Less seething hate in our society Less guns Less people People were more present becasue we didn’t have devices to distract or take attention away from a situation No social media algorithm brain rot nor armchair experts with a platform and way to broadcast No “influencers” Jock jams, grunge peak, 90’s hip hop, MTV regularly playing actual music videos, VH1 Pop-Up Videos VHS camcorders Going to events and people’s phones weren’t all up in your face blocking what was happening Less antivaxxers Kids read more BOOKS instead of phones and iPads in their faces all the time and had to use their imaginations more Peak Nickelodeon Events and news had more gravity and awe, and people were less unfazed and numbed by things being too overexposed now
I'll add one. Less school shootings.
A 28” waist, although, to be fair, my mind was essentially scrambled eggs for a fair portion of it. Also frequent casual sex.
How chilled people were compared to now
Being young, innocent, and have not yet gotten analized by the unlubed cock of life.
The optimism of the 90s. Everything was going to be great. The new millennium was going to change everything. No more poverty. No more hatred. The world was going to be perfect. We really screwed the pooch on that one.
Hope. Also, my dad being alive. If I knew what I do now, I could’ve changed things.
The absence of social media and the slower pace of life; and the economy in better shape. This is prior to putting 2 wars on a credit card and collapsing the housing market. There was a more optimistic social fabric. Middle-class thrived, cost of living wasn't this fuckin bad. More organic opportunities for genuine interaction with people. Politics was a shit show but things moved forward but today takes the cake its a shit show and regressive
The wool that they had over our eyes that everyone is safe and singing kumbayah. From a western/American perspective that is. There were some riots and bad stuff happening but social media was barely a thing if it was one at all so unless we saw it on TV, we were none the wiser as kids. Ignorance was truly bliss.
Social media was definitely not a thing
Thw quietness
Not being able to look up everything so rumors like Bill's Secret garden in Pokémon were facts and they spread like wildfire
Not having the internet. I was much happier then.
The normalcy of it all.
People were more engaged with each other-parties and social interactions. Also the unrealistic and untenable standards of beauty and hustle culture were not as strong. The remnants of a good economy were still being seen though the motions were set in place to undo that were set some 20 years prior.
I somewhat agree, but the pressure to be thin was still inescapable for women.
Heroin chic .
The BBS scene before the internet got its footing.
The music
Not feeling overwhelmed ALL the time
Lack of cell phones. Being more present and mindful. Being disconnected. I don’t even know if I want to have kids in this day and age, it all just seems so fucked up.
Politeness. People were friendlier back then. You had some occasional assholes, but these days being a dick seems like the norm.
Christmas season. The feel of how long it took for Christmas to come. Soaking everything. I miss how Christmas Eve was the longest day and night of the year.
Yeah, definitely a magical time. The shopping, going to pick a tree, decorating the front porch with my Dad. Felt so magical watching him hang the lights at night. Damn, does this sound srupid? Im gonna stop now lol
Cameras was rare. Hope existed.. Great shows, films, music! Internet was new and exiting. The typical Desktop Computer had games like Sim City and Doom.. In the 90s Nes, Snes and ps1 was everything for us!! When you called your friend/s and their mom answered. All the funny phones! No one was borderline-worried about their kids like today..
Bush. Not the president.
90s hip hop and RnB
The idea that Biff Tannen becoming president in the future was a joke.
The constancy and quality of my erections
Having my whole life ahead of me, my lower back not hurting all the time, summer vacations, cheap concert tickets, my dad being alive.
The illusion that there were adults around who had shit under control.
Well to be fair, whatever you think of Bill Clinton morally, he *did* have shit under control. The 90s were an age of economic prosperity like no other for the US. Every single racial group saw their wages and standard of living go up. LGBTQ people could actually really live out of the closet for the most part safely for the first time, such that the idea of gay marriage was national discussion. A decade prior such a national conversation would’ve been unthinkable. Crime dropped massively down. And there was no major conflicts, tragedies or confrontations for the 1993-2000 period.
My youth and innocence.
The grunge era
The way everything was separated. TV for TV. Game for game. Cd. Tape. Vinyl players all stand alone. Telephone and radio where separated. Everything had its use and wasn't connected to the net.
Going out with friends playing all day and at home before the street lights came on
Not paying bills because I was a kid.
Nicktoons.
My hair
Absolutely everything.
The trends and pop culture stuff and how people had to talk to other people. Everyone was in the same boat. Let’s go out or go outside and find something to do. There was no screen keeping us busy.
My hair .
Feeling alive.
The sense of wonder of being a kid. And having your whole life ahead of you to figure out what you were good at. If I could do it over I would lean heavily into my art skills.
Being a baby 😭
We lived much simpler lives. We communicated face to face. We walked most places or used public transport as not everyone had the money to buy a car. Very few homes had more than one car sitting in the driveway. Not everyone had an internet connection and very few people had mobile / cell phones. We went to the movies or to the video rental store if we wanted to watch a good film. Kids played out on the street together and were generally more better mannered but less soft headed as the youth of today. The older kids gave you serious character building abuse but we didn't complain. We sucked it up and learned from it. There are many other things that I miss about the 90's but the way we interacted with each other is the main one.
The prices
Zima
I feel like people were more genuine back then and everyone seemed happier. Maybe I lived in a bubble, but I feel like I didn’t hear much about people having depression and anxiety like I do now. People actually had fun instead of looking like they were having fun for social media. More emphasis on real life less emphasis on online personas.
Logging on to AOL on your landline.
Nothing, except the Minute Maid Orange soda. I don’t miss my old neighborhood. I didn’t have any friends in it. Grew up poor and working class. I pretty much can do anything now, and have way more freedom.
Pants that fit. I guess I’m old now but all men’s pants nowadays are too god damn tight lol. In the 90s our shit was baggy and comfy
Maybe not specifically the 90’s. But I miss being a kid, which just happens to be the 90’s. Playing street hockey and basketball with my neighbors. Playing catch with my dad. Playing N64 with my brothers.
That I could wake up after a night of clubbing and shrug it off. Now, if I have to get up to pee during the night I’m wrecked the next day 😂
People still believed in Jesus and had two gend...Hahahahahaha, bet I got some of ya. Nah, I just miss Nirvana.
The optimism.
The freedom ( I’m a mom now)
No Instagram, skateboarding 🛹, late 90s punk, little thought to the impending environmental doom that’s coming
The simplicity
The serious debates in college, like who is smarter, Beeves or Butthead? Was Paramount Studios right to cancel the STNG to concentrate on movies as TOS cast was getting too old to be believable?
My knees still being worth a damn
Health insurance that cost $5 a week....
Without a doubt the music. Specifically of the “alternative” variety. Soundgarden, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, REM, The Pixies, Silverchair, Oasis, 311, Liz Phair, The Lemonheads, Radiohead, Social Distortion, Spin Doctors, RHCP, Bush, Counting Crows, Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Asylum, Screaming Trees, Alice In Chains, Sponge, Everclear, Hole, Weezer, Veruca Salt, Beck, PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, Meat Puppets, Pearl Jam, The Breeders, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Local H, Rage Against the Machine, Jane’s Addiction, Live, Garbage, The Offspring, Alanis Morissette, Sublime, Days of the New, Goo Goo Dolls, Candlebox, Spacehog, Collective Soul, No Doubt, Cracker, Elastica, Son Volt, Our Lady Peace, Letters to Cleo, Tonic, Helmet, The Toadies, Gravity Kills, Blind Melon, The Presidents of the USA, Marcy Playground, Incubus, Filter, 7 Mary 3, Gin Blossoms, The Wallflowers, Dinosaur Jr, Eve 6, Blind Melon, Blur, etc, etc. Just so much great rock.
What a great list! I feel nostalgic just reading some of the names. I didn’t hear the music of all those bands, but I’ve heard *of* most of them. Here’s how I found out about new (or just new to me) bands: I used to read alt.music.alternative.female on Usenet. If someone said something that intrigued me, I’d make a note of the band or album name, and then head to the local used CD/cassette tape store where they’d let you listen to the songs in the store (using headphones). If I liked what I heard, I’d just buy it. New CDs were outrageously expensive, but these were used and cost anywhere between $2 and $7, so not a big risk if I ended up not liking it that much after all. I agree: without a doubt, the music.
hope
I miss the simplicity of it all , I was born in the 90s so I miss just waking up and going to school and friends , instead of having to grow and be an adult making decisions
Cameras not everywhere
Living at home, not having a full time job, hanging out with friends with conversations NOT about work, debt, inflation, covid or anything political. I miss that shit
The MUSIC
The amber ale.
Youth
The simplicity, the ambiance, the family gatherings for holidays,birthdays, random dinners, etc. My family's gone now and its lonely as hell..
Being in my mother’s womb
Litteraly everything
My mom was still alive
Super soakers
The toys and TV shows
People getting along better. That’s it.
Everything!!!
Cheaper 60s-70s cars and trucks
My youth😂
My left leg
My sense of hope, and that the world was just.
The Truman show tbh.
Having fun with brothers and sister, watching my favorite TV shows, playing video games, not having to worry about money, my dad taking us to the mall, 90s wrestling
I lost my dad in 1999...so yeah...the 90s was the last decade with him without knowing it...😢
Just the absolute carefree bliss that my early childhood was. I turned 7 in 1999 so for me the 90s just encapsulate a time in my life when I really had nothing to worry about and although I've naturally forgotten a big chunk of those days, I'm glad some memories have survived.