90s Kids Discuss What They Miss Most About The 90s

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Jan 25, 2023 8:00 PM EST

The 90s were such an exciting time to be alive; the state of the world seemed to be looking up, and as far as I can tell, there was very little to complain about. At least, that's what I've picked up from watching 90s movies and talking to people obsessed with that decade. One of my favorite things about watching movies from the 90s is when characters complain about society being run by a bunch of corporations. This problem is ever present in Austin Powers movies; in hindsight, it feels silly. Imagine living in a time when commercialism and monopolies are the main societal issue getting you down. Things have gotten so much worse since then. 

I didn't grow up in the 90s, so I have to get my information about that era from millennials who look at their childhoods through rose-colored glasses. According to them, the 1990s are a contemporary Paradise Lost, and they came to Reddit to discuss precisely what they miss most about those long-gone years. 

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  • 01
    Font - r/ask u/mydibz • 18h Those of you who grew up in the 90s. What do you miss most about back then? I miss the school lunches and Blockbuster. 41710 ↑ Share Join 3221 +
    via u/mydibz
  • 02
    Font - S rt312410 +2.16h 2 Awards Undeveloped land. I miss that more than anything. In the suburbs there was so much land still not developed that you could run around with your friends and hop in and out of different areas. Kids actually had places to go play. Now I look at my kids and I tell them to go play outside and I have a hard time figuring out where they can go play.
    via u/rt312410
  • 03
    Font - AlfaBetaZulu +3 15h ● It is crazy how much changed while I was growing up in my town. Like a "modernization" boom". We used to have lots of old barns and buildings that we played in. Weren't allowed but that didn't stop us. Lol. They've all been built over or restored and now owned by people with more money then most of the people in our town. The "bike jumps" is now a dog park. We used to have an abandoned Studebaker parked in an alleyway that all the kids used to go and smoke weed in an
    via u/AlfaBetaZulu
  • 04
    Font - CanIGetAnOooYeah 13h ● I miss that. I hate that I can't just walk through the woods between neighboring suburb communities anymore.. The woods are now congested intersections fearuring strip malls, Mcd's, Starbucks and a corner gas station. ... 440
    via u/CanIGetAnOooYeah
  • 05
    Font - GoldSolarBear • 18h 2 Awards The feeling associated with the 90s and that balance between technology and human interaction was almost perfect around that time Reply 1.7k
    via u/GoldSolarBear
  • 06
    Rectangle - annahhhnimous +2. 11h Being completely unreachable. It was bliss. G 102
    via u/annahhhnimous
  • 07
    Rectangle - Garfieldfan17. 15h imo that peaked around 2006 and went downhill when the iphone came out 45
    via u/Garfieldfan17
  • 08
    Font - ihatetothat1 - 15h Yea, my social media was getting on AIM at night for 45 minutes and talking to girls. Can't believe I'm looking at my phone as much as I do now. Felt like a healthier relationship with the internet. Now I almost feel like the internet kinda is my life some days...idk 4218 218
    via u/ihatetothat1
  • 09
    Font - mydibz OP O • 18h Yeah! We had enough to make our life easier but not too much where we left it do stuff for us. We had to actually get up and get stuff done. Rather than order it. Convenience is great but it creates a sense of laziness. 4293
    via u/mydibz
  • 10
    Font - SugarsBoogers +2.16h I miss waiting a month for new magazines to come out. The BEST day. I read Vogue, Bazaar, Seventeen, Sassy, and whatever else cover to cover. I tore out pictures for my wall, I went to goodwill to try to recreate the outfits I saw. Sigh. Loved. Reply 165
    via u/SugarsBoogers
  • 11
    Font - goosylucy 15h Remember the perfume samples in all the magazines? I miss them so much! I read almost all the fashion magazines, so I had a stack of those samples and could wear a different scent every day. It was a great time. I'm so thankful I've lived this life in the time period I did. 49
    via u/goosylucy
  • 12
    Eye - thatoneguy512 . 17h I miss not knowing the world is screwed. Reply 317
    via u/thatoneguy512
  • 13
    Font - SeashellDolphin2020 - 13h Yeah, also that if you got your college degree that you'd be set to find a job, buy a house and have middle class lifestyle with kids. 482 ...
    via u/SeashellDolphin2020
  • 14
    Font - Numbah8 4h ● 1 Award Greatest lie ever told to Millenials. I don't know about today but College was such a big part of the discussion when talking about the future. If you didn't go to college, well you might as well spend your life at McDonalds, or being a plumber.. Turns out these trades that don't require degrees, just some commitment until you make money, can make quite a lot more than the jobs I've gotten that require college degrees. 444
    via u/Numbah8
  • 15
    Font - opetJa7 • 18h Hmm, almost every answer is that we were better without technology...interesting... Reply 274 274
    via u/opetJa7
  • 16
    Font - mydibz OP. 18h It was fascinating. I remember learning how computers worked in middle school. We had Oregon trail in elementary. I didn't have a cell phone untill I was about 20 years old. That transition period of having to be on time everywhere and or just showing up to events and finding someone you knew or seeing them for the first time in months was an amazing feeling. Social media has kinda just, it's kinda like spoilers now. Except it's spoiling life experience as it was. Not its a
    via u/mydibz
  • 17
    Font - chickenpotpioneer • 16h So true with the change that happened now that we don't have to be on time and scout the party/event when we get there looking for a familiar face. Social life took a degree of trust and "throwing yourself" out there in a way that, in my opinion, has been stunted in the newer generations, and even older generations getting comfortable with the new social norms. "Getting stood up" was the equivalent of "ghosting", but getting stood up was worse because you actually
    via u/chickenpotpioneer
  • 18
    Rectangle - George_H_W_Kush 15h ● It was so great when you'd just be like "everyone meet here at 4 after school" and that's all it took. 21 21
    via u/George_H_W_Kush
  • 19
    Font - tcrhs +1 17h . I miss living in the moment and being present instead of everyone trying to take perfect pictures to capture the moment for posting on social media. Reply 483 ...
    via u/tcrhs
  • 20
    Human body - Novel-Item-6584 - 17h . Being young with my whole life in front of me. Reply 236
    via u/Novel-Item-6584
  • 21
    Font - Dita VonFleas +2 15h There was a general feeling of optimism and hope for the future everyone had back then too. Now everyone is way too self-aware of how much humanity is marching straight off a cliff without being able to do much to stop it. 88
    via u/DitaVonFleas
  • 22
    Rectangle - Euphoric Rooster1856. 17h 1 Award No social media. Every nut case didn't have a microphone. ... Reply 207
    via u/Euphoric_Rooster1856
  • 23
    Font - aecarol1 16h The world was in a better place. The Iron Curtin had come down, Russia was becoming a democracy. For the 1st time in a generation, the US military budget was coming down and there was a "peace dividend". The bomber base I had been stationed at was closed as part of a large downsizing of the military. The US budget was balanced for the 1st time in decades, and there was serious talk of paying off the US debt completely in just over a decade. China was taking tentative steps in
    via u/aecarol1
  • 24
    Font - PandaMayFire +2 18h 1 Award I distinctly remember Pop-Tarts being made with real Smuckers jelly, and McDonald's fries being a lot better. Toy's R Us had regular Pokemon events, and Blockbuster on a Friday night with a pizza was the norm. There were also a lot of now discontinued snacks that were absolutely amazing. Pizzarias Pizza Chips, P.B. Crisps, Butterfinger BB's, Jell-O Pudding Pops, Philadelphia Cheesecake Bars, and Waffle Crisp anyone? Reply 240
    via u/PandaMayFire
  • 25
    Font - Awkward_Ad8740 My flat stomach +2 18h ... Reply 155
    via u/Awkward_Ad8740
  • 26
    Orange - S Important-Pudding-81 I'll add to that... my flat stomach that I SWORE wasn't flat enough! +1 15h ... . 57
    via u/Important-Pudding-81
  • 27
    Font - Someoneblahblah521 • 17h The music, clothes, AOL chatrooms, movies like the Crow and the Craft, Daria, early MTV Real World, grunge culture, general eccentricity, and bath beads. Reply 47 47
    via u/Someoneblahblah521

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1990s childhood memory 90s music 90s memes childhood millennials nostalgia askreddit the 90s millenials mtv nostalgic daria 90s kids 90s social media reddit thread Reddit AOL
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