Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share The Typical 90s Scenarios Gen Z Will Never Experience

Woman with 90s side ponytail and makeup
Photo by Nancy K on Unsplash

Reddit user MediumRareTaint asked: 'What was a typical 90s scenario that today's youth will never experience?'

Make us preferred on Google

From latch-key life to knowing when someone's home based on their bike being thrown on the front lawn to the earliest, cringiest days of social media, 80s and 90s kids are full of stories from their childhoods.

But these stories are uniquely nostalgic as kids today will never quite experience this type of childhood ever again.


Redditor MediumRareTint asked:

"What was a typical 90s scenario that today's youth will never experience?"

Landline Etiquette

"Talking to someone's parent and asking for your friend, because it was the landline and no caller ID."

- MixedSyrup

"Answering the phone in the kitchen, then running back to your room to take it there, and yelling, 'MOM, HANG UP THE PHONE! MOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM, HANG UP THE PHONE!'"

- manderifffic

The Dial-Up "Song"

"Dial-up internet. That tone is ingrained in my memory."

- Reeeeaper

Downloading Woes

"The experience of losing connection when you downloaded 99% of the file because your mom picked up the phone. Still hurts."

- Cute_Panda9

"Telling everyone in your family you're downloading a big file; don't pick up the phone."

"Reminding your family that you're downloading a big file; don't pick up the phone."

"Telling your family the file is almost done; don't pick up the phone."

"Then someone picks up the phone with ten seconds left... and you have to start the 14-hour download again tomorrow."

- Mustang46L

Internet Sounds in the Home

"The dial-up internet tone that was like nails on a chalkboard."

"'Welcome! You've got mail!'"

"The happy logging onto AIM sound."

"Someone yelling from another area of the house, 'Get offline so I can make a call!'"

"Starting a file download/upload... walking away to make a sandwich, brew coffee, fold laundry, start a new load of laundry, put the laundry away... and coming back and the download/upload is still not complete."

"Getting disconnected from the internet because someone picked up the phone to make a call while you were in the process of the aforementioned download/upload, and losing your everlovin' mind on that person."

"The best part: The original Oregon Trail game."

- Just_another_Sue

Renting Movies

"Getting a video to rent and watch at home made you feel like you were going 'out' to do something."

- ekimlive

"Oh God, movie rental, a pizza, some microwave popcorn, and some soda. It was such a fantastic night if those things were planned."

- GreenOnionCrusader

True Quiet and Disconnection

"The feeling of coming home free from school or work, and the outside world was very separate from you until the following day."

"You couldn’t easily find out what your friends were doing (they weren’t doing anything anyway), you couldn’t easily catch up on the news unless it happened to be on, and you couldn’t catch up on new movies or celebrity gossip unless you had a magazine lying around, which would come out monthly."

"It’s a level of relaxation that we took for granted, but we were likely the last generation to experience it."

- Own-Firefighter-2728

"Man, this is a really good one. We are so, so connected and it's so, so unhealthy for us."

"It was really nice when we were an entire phone call away. I didn't need to know anything about anybody, the focus was on the people you were with, and experiences outside of the home were more special."

- artemasfoul

The All-Important Meeting Place

"Making plans beforehand and having a meeting place since no one owned cell phones."

- MixedSyrup

Being Stood Up

"My youth and adulthood perfectly straddle cell phones. Last-minute cancellations became increasingly more common throughout my 20s but were rare in my teens."

"What really sucked was when a date didn’t show up and you had no way of knowing whether 1. they were ok, 2. they had a good reason, or 3. they just decided to stand you up. You generally assumed the worst, or at least I did."

- Dudley_Do_Wrong

"I never adjusted to this. I still hold true to my original plans and am confused with today's culture on this. Like, we made plans. If you didn't want to, don't say yes."

"And I am only 39."

- x-Mowens-x

No Cameras Rolling

"I grew up in the 70s and 80s, but this applies to the 90s as well…"

"You could do the absolute dumbest, craziest, most embarrassing s**t you could possibly imagine, and no one was recording it."

- FrankNStein

Safer Surroundings

"A parent saying, 'Here's $20, I'll pick you up at 8:00 when the mall closes. Don't talk to strangers.'"

- Nonsenseinabag

Airport Security

"Meeting people at the gate when you pick them up from the airport."

- Main_Maximum8963

"Romance movies have been ruined because of this."

- lifejustice

Cramming Commercial Time

"Making a dash through the house from the kitchen to the couch when someone yelled out, 'It’s back on!'"

- NicGyver

"This is how my mom used to get my sister and me to clean the house. One commercial at a time during a movie."

- reklawpuck

Live Television Programs

"Missing an episode on tv and never knowing when you can see that episode again unless some chance someone recorded it."

- Cute_Panda9

School Delays and Cancelations

"Waiting for your school district to be announced as on time, late, or canceled on the news when it snowed."

- SuitableNegotiation5

"Seeing your school scroll across the ticker was like winning the lottery."

- umanousti

Simpler Travel

"Stopping at a gas station and asking for directions."

"Or driving around aimlessly looking for a place to eat."

- Actuaryba

"Using an actual physical map. Then trying to fold it again."

- he77bender

Anyone who was a kid or young adult in the 90s will surely get feelings of nostalgia from at least some of these memories, but with the way technology is rushing forward, it's unlikely that kids today will ever get to experience these.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Katie Zacharia
Real America's Voice

Katie Zacharia Just Gave A Bonkers Excuse For Why She Calls Herself A Lawyer Despite Failing Bar Exam—And Yikes

MAGA Republican President Donald Trump's new White House Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia, sat down with MAGA propagandist and noted Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec to defend calling herself both a "lawyer" and an "attorney" despite never passing a bar exam in any state or foreign country.

In her explanation, Zacharia falsely claimed she'd never called herself an attorney.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @lillys.healingera's TikTok
@lillys.healingera/TikTok

Woman Shares 5 Exercises She Credits With Helping Her Get Over Her Ex—And We're Taking Notes

We can all agree that breaking up with someone we loved hurts, and it can be really hard to get over them, especially if we envisioned some huge future with them.

Fortunately, TikToker @lillys.healingera received five exercises from her therapist to help her say goodbye to her ex and the future she'd no longer have, and she's not being shy about sharing her notes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Riley Gaines (left) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (right).
Fox News; Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vox Media

Riley Gaines Tried To Slam Hillary Clinton For Bringing Up Her 2016 Loss—And The Irony Is Off The Charts

The audacity of Riley Gaines lecturing anyone about moving on from a loss is something that really should be studied by scientists.

Because apparently, self-awareness finished sixth.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @whatsinthekoolaid's TikTok
@whatsinthekoolaid/TikTok

Former Grocery Store Employee Details 'Profound' Interaction With 88-Year-Old Woman—And We're Sobbing

Sometimes we do things wtihout knowing just how much it could change a person's life.

TikToker @whatsinthekoolaid, who used to be a grocery store employee, shared a special memory she had dating back to the year 2013 when she was still working in the grocery store primarily as a cashier.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @palladiumpaladin's TikTok
@palladiumpaladin/TikTok

Single Man Who Just Got Out Of Long-Term Relationship Sparks Debate After Calling Out Today's 'Odd' Dating Scene

Since the pandemic, there's no denying that most people's social skills have shifted. While not everyone's staying home and isolating anymore, it's harder to connect with other people, trust, and maintain new relationships than it used to be.

TikToker @palladiumpaladin recently discovered that this has impacted how people approach dating, too.

Keep ReadingShow less