The 90s was an exciting time to grow up in, it was all about being yourself and an amazing time for self expression. Pop bands like the Spice Girls and N Sync were taking over the world and anything felt possible. As a thirty two year old in 2015 looking back as a teenager growing up in that era, I must say it was a privilege.
Life seems to be all go, go, go nowadays. I’m sure it has something to do with my age but even looking at the teenagers in my family, I see such a difference to their pace of life compared to mine back then. I’m all about changing with the times, and I feel extremely fortunate to live in an era of technological advancements that we are experiencing but, I must admit there are a few things I miss from the naughties!
Things I Miss About the 90s
1) The House Phone – obviously back then I didn’t enjoy having to ask for permission to use the house telephone to talk to my friends about “homework” on but, it would be nice to hear that ringing sound in the house every now and then rather than an irritating buzzing noise in my handbag. You know smartphones have definitely taken over when your parents are constantly attached to their iPhones!
2) One TV – remember the days of fighting over the remote control to watch your favourite TV show? Or setting the video recorder to record one show while you’re watching another? Those were the days, okay maybe not! I love Sky Plus and being able to go on holiday and come back to two weeks worth of trashy TV shows to watch. But, back in the good old days it was how we all got to have a bit of family time, kind of like how they do on Googlebox. Nowadays there’s someone (usually dad) watching their program in the living room on the 50 inch widescreen TV, whilst someone else (usually mum) is cooking dinner watching their show in the kitchen, whilst someone (usually a child) is sitting at the kitchen table with headphones plugged in watching YouTube on their smartphone, whilst someone else (usually another child) is upstairs in their bedroom on the laptop streaming last nights episode of whatchamacallit from the wifi. Wow that was a rant!
3) Visitors – another annoying thing back then, when you’re trying to enjoy your Saturday evening slumped in front of the telly in your jim jams and then your not so favourite aunty comes to visit and you have to be on your best behaviour and help your mum in the kitchen. But, at least people made the effort to pop over and you physically got to see a person in all their glory. Nowadays we only see the best bits of our friends and families lives via social media. I’m all for catching up on Whatsapp and Facebook as it makes a 10 year reunion slightly less awarkward when you finally do meet as, you feel like you see each other all the time online but, it just isn’t the same as meeting in the flesh every so often.
4) Real Books and Newspapers – I used to love popping to the corner shop to buy my dads daily newspaper and I adopted the habit of reading the newspaper myself on a daily basis too, Sunday papers are my favourite because you get a free magazine! But, these days I’ve taken to just catching up on all the happenings of the world via my Daily Mail app, lazy I know but it’s free and convenient! The same goes for books, it’s just easier to download a book on my Kindle or iPad rather than lugging a massive hardback copy around and then forgetting it on the train or somewhere. But, nothing beats the smell of a book or licking your fingers to turn the page so, when there’s a book I really like I do make the effort to buy the physical copy of it.
5) Photo Albums – oh how I miss looking at awful, cringe worthy photos of myself…not! But I do miss sitting around an old album and reliving the memories of certain events. I’m so guilty of taking a gazillion photos on my iPhone and cameras and uploading them to my computer or the “cloud” and never seeing them again.
Listing all the things I miss about the 90s definitely makes me appreciate how far and advanced we have come in the world of technology in 2015 but it also makes me realise how important it is to occasionally step away from it all and reconnect with our loved ones and live a simple life whenever it’s possible.
Now to record a TV show, via my smartphone whilst I’m on my laptop skyping my cousins in America!!! 🙂
