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Someone In This Online Group Asked “What Do You Miss About The ’90s?”, 25 Folks Delivered
We can all agree that growing up in the ’90s was extra fun. Probably because the whole internet thing wasn’t as consuming back then, and we all knew how to spend our days offline.
But let’s face it, the popular culture was much more authentic than it is now. We had these spectacular MTV shows, incredible bands, and the fashion was just *chef’s kiss*.
Of course, nostalgia for the era that you grew up in most likely will never end. Everything felt much more colorful when you were younger—it’s a fact. However, it doesn’t cancel out how amazing the nineties still were.
An online user that goes by the name @Youcancallmesizzles decided to open up a ’90s Reddit discussion. People took part in sharing their favorite things from those times, and as a result, this post received nearly 22,000 upvotes and almost 17,000 comments.
Bored Panda hopes that you will enjoy reading this article and is excited to find out about the things that you miss the most! Go ahead and leave your comments down below!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
Not being contactable 24/7.
Peace of leaving school/work and not having to deal with there nonsense till tomorrow.
I can still be unreachable if I want. Cell phones don't have to be answered and will turn off if need be. Unless I'm on call at work, it's my choice wether I talk or not.
Not being blinded by headlights when driving. Now everyone has LED/illegal lights.
I absolute hate these things, particularly when they are fitted to higher vehicles. They are blinding. They are supposed to have an automatic levelling control, but they don't seem to work. They are just as bad when they are following you, as they blind you from all three mirrors if they get too close. In the UK it is now illegal to retrofit them to older vehicles with the possible exception of classic cars. LED brakelights also get on my tits, as the trend seems to be to sit with your foot on the brake at traffic lights, rather than using the handbrake, and at night they ruin any chance of your eyes adjusting to low light - yes, I know autos need you to apply the brake, but in the UK there are still plenty of manuals.
Knocking on your friends door to see if they could come out.
Blockbuster/Pizza Hut on Friday nights.
I miss video stores. That was part of the fun going to pick out a movie.
Flying was so easy. Parents could meet at the gate. You could show up 10 minutes before the doors closed and be ok. You didn't have to get groped or lasered to just go to another place. It was actually quite enjoyable.
Unfortunately 9/11 saw to that, even on domestic flights. I used to rock up at the airport about half an hour before my flight, handbaggage only, hop off at the other end and straight out of the airport. Now it can take an hour to get through security and you can't take more than a tiny bag on the plane, so you have to go through baggage reclaim as well. Actually kind of glad I don't have to fly any more.
Before we had mobile phones, my wife and I would plan to meet at a certain street corner at a certain time after work. We sometimes had to wait for the other person to show up, but we knew they would.
To be honest? I miss Magazines. Like any interest under the sun had a couple of magazines. If you were on a road trip beg your parents to buy a paintball magazine or Nintendo power and just reread the articles over and over about games you could never play or kits you could never afford.
It helped feed the imagination and kept me endlessly entertained on trips.
Magazines still exist although they are disappearing. The only thing you can do is put your money where your mouth is. If you like magazines, subscribe. If you like books, buy at the bookstore. If you like the mall, don't do your shopping on Amazon. If you aren't willing to engage in the activity, don't be surprised when it becomes obsolete.
Today's magazines don't compare and the ads are way too offensive.
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I worked in Publishing many years doing all sorts of things: advertising sales, writing, marketing... I love the whole environment. I still have annual magazine subscriptions and donate the issues to nursing homes and librariesand schools when I'm finished reading them.
You can still get magazines about all if not most subjects. I recently bought a few true crime magazines along with the BBC good food magazine. Did think the cashier might be thinking I'm going to murder someone and then cook them. I just love cooking as well as reading and watching true crime stories. No correlation, honest!!!
I still get the Smithsonian magazine, and I'm the magazine designer for Kirkus Reviews, so I get that, too - just for a quality check, as I obviously have access to the content. My only issue with magazines is the amount of paper they use, but sometimes you don't want to read on a glowing device...
Children's magazines have mostly become a competition to get the most plastic crap 'free gifts' on the front, sadly. There are some good ones available for subscription (if you are British look up The Phoenix comic, which is fabulous) but it's often impossible to grab a nice comic for your kids from a newsagent or supermarket.
I subscribed to at least three of them, always displayed on my second hand coffee table. Read them twelve times over before they finally hit the trash.
My local newsagent has about 80 different magazines on the shelves, that's not counting the ones that you have to order because only two or three people want them.
I loved getting a copy of Your Sinclair (a British home computer) or Nintendo Power and drawing all of the game characters.
I had a great-uncle who used to give me his old TV guides. As a kid growing up without cable, it was magical to read up on all the latest shows.
Childhood, 90s cartoons were so much better than they are today. Kids these days are like little grown-ups, they don't have a childhood as we did back then.
Saying kids these days don't have a childhood is rubbish. I see kids around me every day enjoying their childhood. Yes, the cartoons are different but a lot of them are still really good and in lots of case even better, because they lack the undertones of racism and misogyny that were rampant in television in the 80s and 90s.
Weird I know, but commercials. Specifically Christmas commercials. They were full of hope, joy, care and didn’t quite feel as monetarily-driven as the ones today.
I honestly miss the internet from the 90s.. I spent so many hours exploring, reading things.... every webpage felt like I was visiting someone's house, they were so personal as design standards did not exist yet. I enjoyed my netscape navigator. And I LOVED my IRC chat rooms. Keep in mind I was like 9 and 10. lol, so I mostly spent time in Pokemon Chat rooms that had bots.
Discord is not the same as the IRC days.
Building cubby houses, playing in the creek, rollerblading, then coming home and playing Sega/Nintendo. I miss taping stuff off the tv, hanging out in my room, still playing with toys, reading cool magazines, going through my card collections. The hype of the cinema back in the 90’s. Not being a slave to technology, but still having wicked gadgets like Walkmans.
Having a limited selection when it comes to movies. Whether it was rewatching movies from your home collection or renting at blockbuster, the limited options made choosing something to watch much less annoying.
Prime time tv, 35mm film. There's idealism in film photography that is now missing. The medium lost the sentimental value it used to have.
I loved 35 mm cameras and still use one once in awhile. My Canon AE1 still works. There was real challenge in using 35 mm - focus, aperture, shutter speed, etc. Digital cameras still do all these things, but it was different - I didn't get any preview of what I took. The anticipation, then delight in seeing your photos after development was pretty cool.
The CD players/stereo systems. I had a beautiful Sony one with double tape deck and 3 CD changer. Had lovely coloured lights on the display and it was just brilliant to listen to Eliminator on. My dad got it for me and at the age of 10 I thought I was so cool.
I'm sorry can we just appreciate the fuzzy guitars in that photo for a moment?
I’m a Xennial, so being in middle age now, I miss everything about the 90’s- I really miss having no true responsibilities but choosing what color jelly shoes to wear that day or begging my mom to bring me to the store for more stickers for my sticker album.
Jelly shoes were gross, I refused to wear them in the 80s. Made your feet sweaty and blisters galore.
Ed, Edd and Eddie; Code Name Kids Next Door; Samurai Jack; courage the cowardly dog; Powerpuff Girls….. the 90’s had really good cartoons.
My Super Nintendo being cutting edge technology.
Urban legends. Like, the fact that we have the Internet to fact check everything is still pretty cool, but I always loved the mystique when you hear an urban legend about a band or artist you enjoy.
Like Marilyn manson having his lower ribs removed to suck himself off lol.
The pager.
And the brick phone.
My parents in the 90's: "Only drug dealers and doctors need pagers or cell phones!"
Slap bracelets.
I know these as slap bands. They came back a few years ago but have since died down again.
The rapid change in video games. Started the decade with like Sonic the Hedgehog, a fun but only minority iterative 2D sides roller. Ended it with Deus Ex and Baldur's Gate, which were practically the Citizen Kane of games. Quake if you like online FPS, all those novel-at-the-time 3D mascot platformers, JRPGs of unprecedented scale, whatever. Something for everybody. The medium feels so explored now; everything's Halo or GTA by comparison. I talked with people who remember 1970s rock and they say about the same thing.
Geocities.
The pages would take forever to load because of complete nonsense but it was awesome. 36 gifs and an autoplay 20 second loop of music, just to see someone express about their favorite rock.
I just thought of another thing: I miss some aspects of buying physical music. Now it's mainly downloads. Back then it was a special trip to the record store to browse through music and when you had it, you could spend quite a while appreciating the artwork and the little booklets in CDs (and cassettes!). I was always thrilled if they included the lyrics!
Getting a new CD at the music store was so exciting. Looking around at all the music and getting in small lines to listen to clips of specific CD's. That was fun. I miss that too.
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This is probably really specific but I really miss the days when emails were meaningful. What I mean by that is that these days I open my emails and it's just full of junk mail, automated messages from whatever company I once ordered something from, bills, whatever. I remember back in the late 90s I'd mainly have emails from friends and family! It's how we kept in touch across the miles before social media and it was much more personal. I miss joyful inboxes!
Oh yes, all those “Forward this to 20 people and you will get good luck/bad luck/get better/get sick/meet the love of your life/lose the love of your life/DIE” chain emails were really meaningful.
Load More Replies... Answering machines. Coming home and seeing that red light blink was a nice memory. When caller ID first came out, it was simple. Before internet became big, actually going to the library and looking for info on that school report. It was quiet, calming and relaxing.
We still have an answering machine and we just let all calls go to it because we are so fed up with scam calls it tends to put them off having to wait for the beep and then leave a message.
Load More Replies... When people were less 'celebrity' obsessed and 'influencers' were not a thing of being self entitled a-holes. When you went for a meal or a day out people were not transfixed to a mobile device. People looked where they were walking and not at phone screens. TV wasn't full of 'reality' shows and now everything thing seems to be 'celebrity' versions of other shows. It really feels like the movie "Idicoracy" is being used as a blueprint for the future. When 'please' and 'thank you' were words that had meaning and now .when used, are just a tokenism.
I agree. All this reality and simply low quality TV is part of a big plan to dumb people down so they won't pay attention to or understand important issues that will ultimately disadvantage their lives.
Load More Replies...
The 90s were easier. People were allowed to have an opinion. Teachers were more respected. I miss some of the clothing.
Load More Replies...
The music. Music in the '90s represented a huge change from the more self-centered lyricism of the '80s. There was loads of social commentary, discussion of mental health, political awareness, etc.
You weren't listening to the right 70s - 80s music then! 😂
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Only I miss is my younger body. I could have slept for weeks on the ground, camping, with no problem...now I have back aches from "bad" hotel pillow 🙃 Plus absolutely no responsibility except homework and dishes 😒
OMG NICE MEETING YOU ALL! I thought I was the only one that's been stuck in the 90s and thinking it's the best era thus far (I was born in early 80s).
Oh us bored pandas often reminisce about the 90s here! Because it was not 30 years ago, and I won't be persuaded otherwise 😆 (I was born mid-late eighties)
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BIG HUG. My mom has severe arthritis and as I witnessed it's not easy situation for her, I struggle watching the pain she has to go through. Stay strong!
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Sorry but I have to go back a few more decades. I miss the anticipation of an upcoming holiday TV special. You planned around it. On the night of, kids got the homework done right after school, a kid-friendly dinner, then into the pajamas, brush their teeth and get back downstairs to the one room in the house that had a TV. Now kids and adults too, can watch every holiday special every day of the year. It's all no big deal. Instant gratification. No one learns how to wait. To enjoy the anticipation, the build up to the big night.
Go ahead. TrickyDick? Vietnam? Hippies? ... just trolling you a bit.
Load More Replies... The only time we got to see celebrities out and about in the real world was on award shows like the Oscars, The Emmys, MTV VMA. Now we have to see them every day, and listen to how truly dumb, elitist, and hypocritical they are. Not to mention how low the bar has fallen for what qualifies you to be a celebrity.
I miss how cool slip n' slides were, skip-its, and jump roping with friends. I haven't seen a kid using a jump rope in many years. Also the click clacker beads you could attach to the spokes of your bike. You had swag if you got the sparkly and reflective, holographic ones. Holographs were getting pretty big. Not the sparkly, colour shifting stuff. Like actual 3D reflective images on items. I had a watch with a holo image of a whale I thought was the coolest thing ever. I miss Playmobile and Barbie houses, Polly Pockets and those fuzzy critters with their own doll house. Saturday morning cartoons I sure do miss. Thank goodness for Disney+ but not all my faves were Disney.
Watching TV as a family because we only have one TV. There is always that show after the news that is perfect for the whole family. Now every room have a TV and we each have our own devices that we can use to watch.
I miss the old film cameras. I loved taking pictures and thinking about what photos you would take. I loved that excitement of dropping your film rolls off at the chemist to be developed and then getting your packs of printed photos.
Waiting to hear a band you liked who were in session on your favourite radio show (John Peel) and getting your tape ready so you could record it. Also, waiting to hear what other songs unknown to you were like and recording it if you thought it sounded like it was going to be good. I had plenty of tapes with the first 30 seconds of a song missing!
As a young adult in 1990 I used to go out with literally money in one jeans pocket and my keys in the other. If I was going to be out all night then I popped a clean pair of knickers and a fold up travel toothbrush in the inside pocket of my leather jacket. That was it, all that was needed. Now we have to take out a mobile phone, multiple folded shopping bags, face masks, a purse or wallet to hold debit card and loyalty cards as well as money, and even a collapsible reusable cup. Plus boring stuff because I am now a grown up such as paracetamol, plasters, a diary and pen, and so on. No option but to use a handbag. Grrr.
I also miss the physical Yellow Pages. Recently I needed a service but I really wasn't sure what to google, or even if I'd made it up. With the Yellow Pages you could look at the front for over all categories, or try different words and get redirected, and just flick through. Much more user friendly.
Load More Replies... Hilarious at those young people commenting without a clue why we miss these things. If you don't know, you seriously just don't know.
Two thing: the arcades and especially pinball machines. We had an arcade in Scheveningen with 100+ pinball machines. And the yearly national computer supply sell off days, the Hobby Computer Club days in December where every firm tried to boost sales and get rid off surplus supply's. Always a feast, with a special vibe, where grown men became boys again, with money burning in their pockets.
I just thought of another thing: I miss some aspects of buying physical music. Now it's mainly downloads. Back then it was a special trip to the record store to browse through music and when you had it, you could spend quite a while appreciating the artwork and the little booklets in CDs (and cassettes!). I was always thrilled if they included the lyrics!
Getting a new CD at the music store was so exciting. Looking around at all the music and getting in small lines to listen to clips of specific CD's. That was fun. I miss that too.
Load More Replies... This is probably really specific but I really miss the days when emails were meaningful. What I mean by that is that these days I open my emails and it's just full of junk mail, automated messages from whatever company I once ordered something from, bills, whatever. I remember back in the late 90s I'd mainly have emails from friends and family! It's how we kept in touch across the miles before social media and it was much more personal. I miss joyful inboxes!
Oh yes, all those “Forward this to 20 people and you will get good luck/bad luck/get better/get sick/meet the love of your life/lose the love of your life/DIE” chain emails were really meaningful.
Load More Replies... Answering machines. Coming home and seeing that red light blink was a nice memory. When caller ID first came out, it was simple. Before internet became big, actually going to the library and looking for info on that school report. It was quiet, calming and relaxing.
We still have an answering machine and we just let all calls go to it because we are so fed up with scam calls it tends to put them off having to wait for the beep and then leave a message.
Load More Replies... When people were less 'celebrity' obsessed and 'influencers' were not a thing of being self entitled a-holes. When you went for a meal or a day out people were not transfixed to a mobile device. People looked where they were walking and not at phone screens. TV wasn't full of 'reality' shows and now everything thing seems to be 'celebrity' versions of other shows. It really feels like the movie "Idicoracy" is being used as a blueprint for the future. When 'please' and 'thank you' were words that had meaning and now .when used, are just a tokenism.
I agree. All this reality and simply low quality TV is part of a big plan to dumb people down so they won't pay attention to or understand important issues that will ultimately disadvantage their lives.
Load More Replies... The 90s were easier. People were allowed to have an opinion. Teachers were more respected. I miss some of the clothing.
Load More Replies... The music. Music in the '90s represented a huge change from the more self-centered lyricism of the '80s. There was loads of social commentary, discussion of mental health, political awareness, etc.
You weren't listening to the right 70s - 80s music then! 😂
Load More Replies... Only I miss is my younger body. I could have slept for weeks on the ground, camping, with no problem...now I have back aches from "bad" hotel pillow 🙃 Plus absolutely no responsibility except homework and dishes 😒
OMG NICE MEETING YOU ALL! I thought I was the only one that's been stuck in the 90s and thinking it's the best era thus far (I was born in early 80s).
Oh us bored pandas often reminisce about the 90s here! Because it was not 30 years ago, and I won't be persuaded otherwise 😆 (I was born mid-late eighties)
Load More Replies... BIG HUG. My mom has severe arthritis and as I witnessed it's not easy situation for her, I struggle watching the pain she has to go through. Stay strong!
Load More Replies... Sorry but I have to go back a few more decades. I miss the anticipation of an upcoming holiday TV special. You planned around it. On the night of, kids got the homework done right after school, a kid-friendly dinner, then into the pajamas, brush their teeth and get back downstairs to the one room in the house that had a TV. Now kids and adults too, can watch every holiday special every day of the year. It's all no big deal. Instant gratification. No one learns how to wait. To enjoy the anticipation, the build up to the big night.
Go ahead. TrickyDick? Vietnam? Hippies? ... just trolling you a bit.
Load More Replies... The only time we got to see celebrities out and about in the real world was on award shows like the Oscars, The Emmys, MTV VMA. Now we have to see them every day, and listen to how truly dumb, elitist, and hypocritical they are. Not to mention how low the bar has fallen for what qualifies you to be a celebrity.
I miss how cool slip n' slides were, skip-its, and jump roping with friends. I haven't seen a kid using a jump rope in many years. Also the click clacker beads you could attach to the spokes of your bike. You had swag if you got the sparkly and reflective, holographic ones. Holographs were getting pretty big. Not the sparkly, colour shifting stuff. Like actual 3D reflective images on items. I had a watch with a holo image of a whale I thought was the coolest thing ever. I miss Playmobile and Barbie houses, Polly Pockets and those fuzzy critters with their own doll house. Saturday morning cartoons I sure do miss. Thank goodness for Disney+ but not all my faves were Disney.
Watching TV as a family because we only have one TV. There is always that show after the news that is perfect for the whole family. Now every room have a TV and we each have our own devices that we can use to watch.
I miss the old film cameras. I loved taking pictures and thinking about what photos you would take. I loved that excitement of dropping your film rolls off at the chemist to be developed and then getting your packs of printed photos.
Waiting to hear a band you liked who were in session on your favourite radio show (John Peel) and getting your tape ready so you could record it. Also, waiting to hear what other songs unknown to you were like and recording it if you thought it sounded like it was going to be good. I had plenty of tapes with the first 30 seconds of a song missing!
As a young adult in 1990 I used to go out with literally money in one jeans pocket and my keys in the other. If I was going to be out all night then I popped a clean pair of knickers and a fold up travel toothbrush in the inside pocket of my leather jacket. That was it, all that was needed. Now we have to take out a mobile phone, multiple folded shopping bags, face masks, a purse or wallet to hold debit card and loyalty cards as well as money, and even a collapsible reusable cup. Plus boring stuff because I am now a grown up such as paracetamol, plasters, a diary and pen, and so on. No option but to use a handbag. Grrr.
I also miss the physical Yellow Pages. Recently I needed a service but I really wasn't sure what to google, or even if I'd made it up. With the Yellow Pages you could look at the front for over all categories, or try different words and get redirected, and just flick through. Much more user friendly.
Load More Replies... Hilarious at those young people commenting without a clue why we miss these things. If you don't know, you seriously just don't know.
Two thing: the arcades and especially pinball machines. We had an arcade in Scheveningen with 100+ pinball machines. And the yearly national computer supply sell off days, the Hobby Computer Club days in December where every firm tried to boost sales and get rid off surplus supply's. Always a feast, with a special vibe, where grown men became boys again, with money burning in their pockets.
