The ’90s was a great decade. It was so much more than Beanie Babies, slow modems, and the Spice Girls. If you know, you know.
For those looking for a double-barreled blast of nostalgia for this bygone time, head on over to the r/AskReddit thread, “What is something outdated from the ’90s you want back?” It’s just like a time machine .
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Malls
“Indoor malls. So many have been replaced with ‘lifestyle centers’ where everything is accessed from outside. I miss being able to go shopping on a cold/ugly day without being cold and getting wet. And yes, I know they still exist, but they seem fewer and farther between.”
Limited selection
“When I could just sit on the couch and play some crappy N64 game and enjoy it because I didn’t have a library of 1000 better games I could be playing instead, sitting in the back of my mind telling me I’m wasting my time.”
Bookstores
“I used to arrive early to this one movie theater growing up because there was a Borders next door. Would sit and read books or comics for about an hour before the showing. Missed the start of plenty movies because of it.”
Being a kid
“There were a lot more fun things for kids back in the 90s. Kids stores, indoor play centers etc. My poor kids have ridiculously boring childhoods in comparison to mine.”
Slight isolation
“People being…a bit different from each other. Like, more settled around things that surround them. Not some internet celebrity obsession or easy access for the echo chambers, but a bit isolated microcosms of the stuff you could physically touch.”
The pre-9/11 airport experience
“Remember when you got to see family/friends off at the gate and welcome them at the gate on their return? Oh, the simpler times. People watch 90’s romance movies now and wonder how the [heck] they made it to the gate without getting tackled to the ground or shot.”
A time before social media
“People NOT recording every aspect of their lives. People NOT faking [junk[ for the all important internet clout.
“I guess the lack of social media in general I miss.”
The old way of listening to music
“It was kind of fun waiting around the radio for the Top 10 songs countdown and standing by to hit record onto a cassette tape.
“Also kind of fun ripping and burning songs into blank CDs so I could add it to my big ass CD binder in the car to cruise around on $0.99/gal gas.”
MTV and VH1
“I was just thinking about this last night. I was at a bar with one of those video jukebox things and I was thinking to myself that I can’t remember the last time I watched an actual music video, and I was kinda surprised that people still make them. Maybe it’s just me.”
Jelly shoes
“Unpopular opinion. I really liked the jelly shoes. Did they leave red marks on my feet? Yes. But I never felt so stylish since lol.”
When computers were exciting
“All the wacky new PC accessories from when people weren’t quite sure what PCs were gonna be in the future. How about that barcode scanner for magazines, or that device that could create scents from different chemicals, or that one horror game by Konami that would heat up the floppy disk to make the room smell like blood?”
Getting stuff in-store
“Radio Shack! I needed a simple little connector recently. Years ago I would have just gone to Radio Shack, grabbed it off the display, declined to give the clerk my contact information, paid the $1.79 for the thing and been done. Now it’s search for it on Amazon, wait three or four days, etc.”
News that didn’t run on a 24-hour loop
“I feel like this is a big part of the problem and divisiveness we have these days.
“If you have 24 hours to fill, need to draw a viewership, sell ads, etc. Then you need to be sensational, editorialize, and maybe pander to your base.
“Repetition and dull stories won’t fill up 10 channels worth of 24 hr cable news networks.”
Being less connected
“Remember when the only people who had cell phones or pagers were doctors and high end business professionals that NEEDED to be reached at a moments notice. Now, everyone is expected to be available at any time. And if you elect to stand your ground and establish a separation between work/personal life you’re considered ‘rude’ or ‘difficult to communicate with.'”
A simpler internet
“This is probably more late 90s/early 00s than the 90s as a whole, but a social media-less internet.
“It felt like an escape from real life, as opposed to an extension of it.”
Not needing to create a million different accounts
“I’m so over this. Especially when you’re supposed to make a different password for every account you have. My brain only has so much memory for passwords anymore .”
Going to the video store
“That was a fun Friday night as a kid. Going to Blockbuster to pick out a new movie to watch.
It’s not the same getting on Netflix and spending an hour looking for something to watch to only wind up watching something you’ve already seen.”
Columbia House
“I remember being taught young how to cheat this system by canceling the subscription and resigning up as someone else. Grandma would talk to them for us if we had to call, she uh, was a little morally lax haha. Only time the older cousins gave me anything but grief lol”
Cheap rent
“I lived in a one bedroom apartment in San Diego in the nineties to the tune of $400 a month. I’d like that back, please.
“Edit: I looked up the specific place I lived. That one bedroom runs $1,650 now.”
The simplicity of PC games.
“Westwood Studio’s real time strategy games featuring cheesy live action videos between the levels. I’m fine without the dial-up multiplayer though.”