"Back Then Was A Simpler Chaos": People Are Sharing The Things They Miss Most About The '90s And 2000s
It's easy to feel nostalgic for the past, and looking back on your childhood, you probably remember a simpler, more wholesome time. Well, Redditor innocentxmelody asked, "What's that one thing you miss the most from the 2000s generation?" Here's what people seriously miss about the '90s, 2000s, and the good ol' days.
1."The excitement of getting a new CD; specifically the thrill of driving around aimlessly and listening to it with friends. Then burning everyone a copy."
2."Having to actually meet people outside in the real world. Everything was purer that way."
3."Video games being finished releases. I’m so tired of developers releasing broken games with the 'we’ll fix it with updates later' mindset."
4."Blockbuster/Pizza Hut on Friday nights."
5."Life could be compartmentalized more easily. Work is at work. School is at school (except for homework/studying). Your neighborhood was its own world. In many respects. Your social life might tie some of these things together, but only if you were intentionally in contact with them..."
"Now, we’re all available 24/7 and live parts of our lives online. You might be expected to handle emails from home after you leave the office. Whatever crap you might have caught at school is now in your face online all the time. You’re texting with friends from your cubicle or the back of math class. There’s no natural separation anymore, and they bleed together. I think a decent analogy is that the parts of your life used to be like a department store with most things in their species places, but now it’s more of a messy thrift store where it’s all mixed up, and everything feels a little gross."
6."I honestly miss the internet from the '90s. I spent so many hours exploring, and reading things. Every webpage felt like I was visiting someone's house; They were so personal as web design standards did not yet exist. I enjoyed my Netscape navigator. And I LOVED my IRC chat rooms. Keep in mind I was like nine or ten, so I mostly spent time in Pokemon chat rooms that had bots. Discord today is not the same as it was in the IRC days."
7."The shopping mall. Even though I was a little kid, it was still an experience for me. Going to all the little stores, getting candy, and eating at the food court. Breaks my heart to see so many are dead or barely hanging on."
8."Before we had mobile phones, my wife and I would plan to meet at a certain street corner at a certain time after work. We sometimes had to wait for the other person to show up, but we knew they would."
9."In the 2000s, politics was a boring thing to talk about. Now, it’s the only thing people talk about these days, at least in the US."
10."Being able to cut loose and have fun without worrying that you're going to be filmed by everyone on their phones and posted everywhere."
11."In a weird way, monoculture. Sure, it’s great that nowadays, everyone can have a different movie, show, music, and style they like, but try to remember the blissful ignorance of everything but what was on mainstream TV or magazines. Everyone got hyped for the same music, shows, and movies, and that brought people together. Remember Lost, Survivor, Blink182, and how everyone wore similar styles. Now there’s just so much out there it’s hard to find a community sometimes."
12."Air travel. Damn, I miss '90s air travel. Did you know before 9/11, it wasn't a massive pain in the ass to go anywhere?! Loved ones could walk you right to the gate. You could bring snacks, sandwiches, and drinks onto the plane with you. The prices at Hudson News were perfectly reasonable because if they weren't, you could just walk out of the terminal and grab something else. You never had to take your shoes off for anything. In fact, it used to be rude to take your shoes off at the airport. I used to fly three or four times a year, and it was usually pretty easy. I fly maybe once every five years now, and I absolutely dread it."
13."Spending hours customizing your Myspace profile like it was a digital diary...and those brutally honest Top 8 friend dramas. Back then was simpler chaos."
14."The point where technology started to be more integrated into our lives but not so much that we can’t last ten minutes without instinctually reaching for our devices."
15."Lack of social media. The idea of people actually living their lives instead of trying to look cool for an audience."
16."Saturday morning cartoons. The variety and the quality of the cartoons were unmatched. They were far above what kids have today."
17."Business was still being done in brick-and-mortar stores. I still think this is underrated. Yes, now we have a much wider selection of stuff available instantly, but it used to be extremely fun to go out on a Sunday, go to a record store or video rental store with your friends, discuss options, and settle on one. Scrolling on Netflix never produces the same enjoyable experience for me, but maybe I remember those trips with rose-colored glasses, and today's youth will remember this too."
18."Honestly the thing I miss the most, and the thing that is so hard to explain to modern kids, is 'hanging out.' Before cell phones, people used to just go to each other's homes or to some public space and just spend time together..."
"...This continued well into the internet era, but smartphones killed it. Early cell phones were basic and functional, just like having a landline in your car/bag/pocket. You could call someone or receive a call, but what did you say? Most of the time, it was just making plans to hang out in person. You weren't using the cellphone for long calls just to chat; those minutes were expensive."
19."The privacy. I was just a kid/young teenager but I only knew my best friends intimately. The rest of my class I didn't know or care. Now, it's like all your followers are in your bedroom/home when you post to social media."
Do you have something to add? What do you miss most or what was the best thing about the decade in which you grew up? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
