90s Kids Speak Out: The Best Things We Wish Hadn’t Disappeared

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John Summers • Contributor
Nov 16, 2024 8:00 PM EST

If you grew up in the 90s, you know it was a time like no other—a world of Discmans, Blockbuster Fridays, and the simplicity of offline life. Recently, a Redditor asked fellow 90s kids what they miss most from back then, and the answers are bound to hit you right in the nostalgia. From late-night chats on AOL Instant Messenger to hands-on Tamagotchi care and the excitement of finding the perfect rental at the video store, these throwbacks will take you straight back to your childhood. 

We combed through hundreds of replies to find the most relatable responses that are sure to make you smile, sigh, and maybe even long for those simpler days. So get ready for a trip down memory lane with the best 90s memories that we all wish were still around!

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  • 01
    r/AskReddit ⚫ 12 hr. ago Holiday-Put8839 People who grew up in the '90s, what's something from back then that you wish was still around today?
    via u/Holiday-Put8839
  • 02
    Narwhal Accident 12h ago • Not being accessible 24/7 88 Reply ✓ Award Share ZealousidealWealth88 • 8h ago. I love this! I miss racing home to see if there were any messages for me on the answering machine → ↑ 6 Reply Award Share
    via Narwhal Accident
  • 03
    ThePurityPixel • 12h ago. Goths just being... around ↑ 50 ◇ Reply > Award Share ... FittyTheBone • 4h ago • They still are! Saw a couple of goth teens the other day. Made the world feel a lot more grounded. 8 2 Reply → Award Share
    via ThePurityPixel
  • 04
    Leipopo_Stonnett • 9h ago • The general sense that we were on the verge of some amazing future. It's hard to express to kids now how optimistic everything felt. To me that mostly changed after the 2008 financial crisis. 49 ○ Reply ✈ Award Share ... Pegasus 7915 6h ago • 9/11 is really what started the downward slide. 223 Reply > Award Share ... blukirbi 5h ago • Some people consider 9/11 to be the abrupt end of the 90s. 19 Reply Award Share
    via Leipopo_Stonnett
  • 05
    EponymousTitular • 12h ago • The fashion. Personally, I always loved seeing girls dressed in that grunge fashion that was popular back then. 20 Reply Award ✓ Share ...
    via EponymousTitular
  • 06
    Somguy555 12h ago • Not having a tiny computer in my pocket. 18 ○ Reply ✓ Award Share Holiday-Put8839 OP⚫ 12h ago • I totally get that! It's wild how much we've come to rely on smartphones for everything now. 33 ◇ Reply → Award ✓ Share “ Somguy555 • 12h ago • I hate what they and the constant connection to the internet have done. At the same time I forgot what we used to do with all that down time. 4 Reply Award Share ...
    via Somguy555
  • 07
    flirtysenior 12h ago • the thrill of dialing up the internet and hearing that iconic dial up sound! 17 Reply Award Share “ Holiday-Put8839 OP 12h ago • Oh wow, yes! The sound of the dial-up was like a mini-concert before you could actually get online. And the anticipation of hoping no one picks up the phone to ruin the connection! Kids today will never know the struggle of trying to sneak in some internet time without tying up the landline. 4 Reply Award ✰ Share
    via flirtysenior
  • 08
    coestitporn_inhe ⚫ 12h ago • Cartoon Saturdays-waking up early for the best shows. 15 Reply Award Share *** Holiday-Put8839 OP 12h ago • Yes! Cartoon Saturdays were the best. Waking up at the crack of dawn with a bowl of cereal, knowing you had hours of non-stop cartoons ahead of you. 4 Reply ✈ Award Share
    via coestitporn_inhe
  • 09
    ProzacFury • 12h ago. Arcades. They're still around but nowhere nearly as popular as they used to be. We had a "tournament" every Friday after school. Nothing official just a bunch of kids getting together, it was awesome. Now every game is online, which is more comfortable but not as impactful as looking your enemy in the face just before you hadokken their off the stage 15 Reply Award • zerbey 6h ago • Share ... They are, but it's usually a couple of games, and then rows of claw machines. Kids
    via ProzacFury
  • 10
    manic_schoolbus • 11h ago • Video stores, and arguing about what to rent + 14 14 > Reply > Award Share
    via manic_schoolbus
  • 11
    alexi lupin 6h ago • The way you'd make friends with kids who just happened to be around at the time, rather than being in your own bubble on your phone. Like, if we went on holiday and stayed at a caravan park or whatever then you'd just hang out all day with other kids who were there on holiday, so you had something to do. Or like, I made friends with a kid whose house was like, over my back hedge and then over one house, like a backwards diagonal neighbour? We made friends because we both had
    via alexi lupin
  • 12
    ZestyGolf7654 • 12h ago • Hanging out at a crowded mall with my buddies and meeting new people. 10 ○ Reply ✓ Award ✰ Share ... Holiday-Put8839 OP 12h ago. Now, it feels like everything's moved online, and you miss that spontaneous social vibe. (+) ↑ 5 ♡ Reply Award Share ...
    via ZestyGolf7654
  • 13
    moo juices 12h ago . i'd def crush some cherry and grape Squeezits, i was so nuts for those things, i think i was actually addicted i'd sit in school on hot days and zone out and daydream about them sitting there all cold and delicious in my fridge, i'd be like guhhhhhh, I NEED IT RIGHT NOW i'd hurry home and chug the f outta them, i'd drink like 3 in a row, just the taste and feel of that icy cold juice squeezing from the bottle, so satisfying, it's so hot down here by houston and i'd be almost
    via moo juices
  • 14
    SaltyPinKY 12h ago • Economic stability....more mom and pop stores + 8 ♡ ○ Reply ✈ Award ✰ Share
    via SaltyPinKY
  • 15
    Bugaloon • 11h ago • There were way more small sets of shops in the suburbs, so going for milk or pizza was like a 10 minute thing, and you could do it on foot. New suburbs seem to have been built all residential with a giant super centre within half hour by car, just feels bad. 873 Reply ✈ Award Share ***
    via Bugaloon
  • 16
    Sir Veritas 79 11h ago • Anticipation from not having EVERYTHING seemingly on demand. People lack appreciation because there's no waiting for much of anything anymore. 6 ○ Reply ✈ Award Share MaestroLogical • 11h ago • That feeling when you get to Blockbuster only to find the hot new release is out of stock so you resign yourself to not getting to see it for another week. 3 3 ○ Reply Sir Veritas79 11h ago • Award Share ... Hey, I went to Hollywood Video or the local mom and pop store in my neigh
    via Sir Veritas 79
  • 17
    ArizonaGeek • 7h ago Edited 3h ago • Cheap concert tickets! I think I paid $25 for Lalapalooza tickets in 1993. Edit: Just looked at my concert stub, $28.50. 8 5 ♡ ○ Reply → Award Share
    via ArizonaGeek
  • 18
    cranberrystorm • 9h ago • The relationship that we used to have with computers. The families who owned one typically had a "computer room," and that was the one and only place you could use it. Checking out websites as a kid and in my early teens was an interesting novelty, but we were all somewhat disengaged from it because our lives didn't revolve around it—so we could step away, shut off the computer, and continue with our day when we were done. (I remember the first friend of mine who had a
    via cranberrystorm
  • 19
    • zesty_try 8h ago • Music videos on MTV 4 > Reply ✓ Award Share
    via zesty_try
  • 20
    Demorant 6h ago • Going with friends to a VHS rental place and specifically looking for tragically bad B Rate movies to watch together and laugh at. 838 Reply Award Share ...
    via Demorant
  • 21
    ZealousidealWealth88 8h ago • I had a clear phone and it was awesome. Pretty sure you can still get them to this day (probably eBay) but the way it lit up made me happy 823 ○ Reply Award Share ...
    via ZealousidealWealth88
  • 22
    badger_fun_times76 My hair • 6h ago • 1 Reply Award ✰ Share
    via badger_fun_times76

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1990s 90s memes retro nostalgia 80s music Nostalgia Overload 80s 90s kids 90s memory lane nostalgia memes millennial-nostalgia 1980s
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