People Are Sharing The Simple Things From The '90s That They Miss, And I Personally Couldn't Agree More
Living in 2023 is actually pretty darn amazing when you think about it! We can basically watch/stream any movie, TV show, and song ever made in an instant. Do all our shopping from the comfort of our home. Remote work (if you're able to) from "anywhere" we want. And FaceTime our family and friends whenever we feel like seeing their faces. Of course, all our modern trappings can sometimes make us nostalgic for a time when life was simpler.
Recently, I came across this Reddit thread from a couple years ago where user tjapp93 was curious about just that when they asked: "What’s something from the '90s you miss?"
The thread got over 13k comments from folks sharing the simpler things they miss about the 1990s. Below are some of the top, best, and most repeated comments:
1."Being able to act goofy without having anyone record it and share with the world."
"Ugh, agreed. I had to stop drinking with one of my friends because she'd ALWAYS record everyone doing anything even remotely fun or goofy, and it'd be on Snapchat or Facebook within seconds. Like, I just wanna get a little drunk and dance and have a good time with my friends. I don't want every person I hardly know seeing me let loose."
2."I miss not being able to be reached, or being able to reach people. Back then, you'd call your friend, and it would ring somewhere in their house. If there was no one there (which was common), you'd shrug and just carry on your day. If you just wanted to chill out on your own, you'd just not answer the phone."
3."Arcades. Big, noisy arcades, full of actual video games, whose graphics were 20 times better than what you could get at home."
"And the machines took coins, not this BS refillable card system that is waaaay more of a blatant rip-off."
4."The excitement of watching a TV show with your friends at a certain time, and if you missed it...you missed it."
—[deleted]
"We used to have Friends/ER night in college; a bunch of us would gather and watch the shows together. Do people even have watch parties for shows anymore? I feel like Game of Thrones was the last gasp for that."
5."The old AOL chat rooms! I met so many cool and interesting people in those rooms. In fact, I met my long-time partner in one. :-)"
6."Concerts...now they have gotten lame. Like, everybody just stands and holds their phone up and blocks my view."
"Concerts before smartphones were amazing. You just had lighters. You lost at least one friend, every time. You had to go buy actual, paper tickets and wait in line — you weren't competing against bots, you were waiting in line with human beings. It was a whole experience."
7."Being social with people felt so different and authentic. My friends would sometimes just 'drop by' to see if I was home to say hi. We could pick up the phone and have hour-long conversations. It felt like text messages cheapened that. The lesser dependence on technology seemed to cultivate more genuine friendships, but that was just my experience."
8."TGIF night. Family Matters, Full House, Boy Meets World. What a time to be alive and a kid."
"SNICK as well/ Saturday night Nickelodeon with the more teen shows, like Are You Afraid of the Dark?, All That!, Kenan & Kel, Cousin Skeeter, and some of the cast members or the occasional special guest chilling on the big orange couch."
9."Renting movies at Blockbuster was a family event. It was special and fun. We didn't have any streaming, and I liked it that way. I wish I could still have that Blockbuster excitement."
10."Pre-9/11 airports."
11."Actual '90s aesthetic. It was extreme and alternative — example: the entire aesthetic of Nickelodeon in the '90s. Slime and over-the-top."
—[deleted]
12."Being considered smart, not weird, for refusing to make your IRL identity known online."
"Thank you! When I was an early teen in the late '90s, I was told over and over to never put your real information out there. It blows my mind that that is completely normal now."
—[deleted]
13."I miss the discovery of things like secrets and cheat codes for video games. I remember with Super Mario Bros. 3 a babysitter showed me and my sister how to find one of the warp whistles, then I learned about another one from a cousin. You couldn't just look it up; someone had to find out from someone in a big game of telephone, and you had to learn about it."
"Later on I found most cheats/secrets could be found in magazines and such, but even then, they were usually put in there sporadically, so unless you had every subscription at some point, you'd need someone's help to learn about it."
14."Waiting for film to get developed and then going through the photos."
15."Movies. A lot my favorite movies are mid-sized thrillers from the '90s. A lot of big actors, but not huge spectacles. That segment is dying out. You have huge blockbusters for international markets, some prestige period pieces, comedies, and indies."
16."Sometimes, I miss the internet from the '90s. It was less stressful if that makes sense."
17."Colorful translucent electronics."
18."Saturday morning cartoons."
"And that feeling of disappointment when the last cartoon ended and shudder golf started."
19.And lastly: "As weird as it sounds...boredom."
"Now I have an endless supply of s**t to keep my mind occupied. I never find myself wandering out for the sake of finding something to do. Trying to call everyone in my book to find someone to hang out with.
I think part of the problem is that the endless supply of distractions just aren't all that satisfying. They're rarely worth remembering or talking to people about. I don't really feel like I'm living. Just existing."
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
