Millennials Are Revealing The Things They Don't Miss About The 1990s, And They're All Things We Thankfully Don't Have To Deal With Anymore

Yes, we've talked ad nauseam on BuzzFeed about how great it was to be a millennial growing up in the '90s. And you know what? It was. Now, obviously, everyone looks back at the time they grew up in as the best decade. But the ’90s actually were the best because it really was the last decade where life was much more simple.

However, well, things were also a little too simple back then, and there are a lot of modern day conveniences (like smartphones), technological advances, and societal changes that make living today 1,000% better. And it was with that in mind that redditor u/ADHDhamster asked millennials on Reddit: "Okay, Millennials, there's been plenty of discussion about what we miss from the days of yore, but what are some things you DON'T miss?"

Well, lots of millennials chimed in with the things they don't miss from the '90s, including the OP, who starts off the thread with not missing public smoking:

1."Smoking. I'm 40, and old enough to remember when smoking was legal in public buildings. It seemed like every adult I knew smoked, and they had no problem lighting up around babies and small children. I'm happy that smoking is currently regarded as a dirty habit, and it's no longer acceptable to smoke around young children."

2."Only having one computer for a household!"

3."Calling my friends' house and having to ask their parents if they're home first, and then maybe some weird small talk."

4."Honestly? The fashion in the late '90s. I thought I had a really long torso or something because tops were never long enough. Nope, I actually have a SHORT torso, but clothing was cut to leave an obnoxious strip of bare midriff. Not my thing."

5."Dial-up internet."

6."Having to get off the internet because your mom is expecting a phone call."

7."Yeah, one of my biggest 'back in may day' things on this is remembering how I discovered the MTV website in the summer of 1996, which had 'videos' you could watch. I sat there for over an hour waiting for one to load over our 14.4 modem only for it to end up being the last 30 seconds of the video, incredibly pixelated, and about the size of a postage stamp."

8."Having to rewind your VHS tapes. Pain in the ass."

9."Portable CD players. The CD would scratch, and the music would skip. You had to hold the CD player perfectly still to hear music clearly. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about that anymore."

10."The old boxy TVs."

11."Having to follow the paper map and/or read printed out MapQuest directions while my mom drove on a roadtrip. I love GPS! Life-changing!!!"

12."Having to give directions to people over the phone because nobody had the internet. 'OK, turn left when you know that Circuit City before the mall? No? OK, by the car wash with the dog inflatables. Then go past two stop signs take another left on Gagel. It's the third house on the left.' Like, 30% chance I won't see that person."

13."Having to worry if my parents or little brother are listening to my phone call from another landline."

14."I don't miss if you missed something on live TV, you just never saw it...that was a bummer."

15."I can listen to whatever music I want whenever I want. No more standing by the radio hoping they play my song so I can tape record it."

16."Casual homophobia."

17."Meeting up with friends, and if they aren't there on time, just not knowing why. Are they in traffic? Did they forget about the plans? Are they hurt? How long do we sit around and wait for them to show up before giving up and heading home?"

18."Not being able to reserve things online like tables at restaurants, oil changes, haircuts, etc. You had to actually CALL and talk to a PERSON, and I don't miss it one damn bit!"

19."Looking at the paper for movie times or calling Moviefone."

20."The only food you could get delivered was pizza. At least where I’m from. And if an item wasn’t at the store, you weren’t getting it. There wasn’t online shopping. TBH, I kinda miss shopping in store now. It seems you’re expected to buy everything online, and stores don’t stock as much."

21."How tedious keeping up with bills and bank balances were before internet banking. You'd make out a check, have to remember to note it down in your checkbook, keep a running tally of your balance, and then match it with your bank statements. Once you could call the bank and get your balance that way, that was a godsend, but you'd still have to wait for checks to clear."

22."Not being able to pause the TV. If I needed to pee, I’d have to dash to the bathroom like a ninja during commercial breaks."

23."The '90s rap trend where every cartoon character needed to rap to seem cool, and I just find it to be full-on cringe. 😬"

24."I honestly didn’t care for VHS tapes. They were clunky, fragile, ugly, and took up too much space."

25.And lastly: "Not being able to easily fact-check things or look up a shower thought. The amount of shit we just took as truth because a couple of people told you was true and turned out to be bullshit was way to high."

You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.