11 Simple Pleasures 90s Kids Remember That Younger Generations Missed Out On
It was definitely a simpler time.
melissamn | Shutterstock Growing up in the '90s was a completely different experience from today. In a world without iPhones, iPads, and even Wi-Fi, we spent most of our time outside with friends or watching cartoons. It was a simpler time, and looking back, it was great.
Kids who grew up in the '90s always had the best toys and the most amazing snacks. We were at the forefront of flannel shirts as fashion and grunge music. Growing up without the internet meant we couldn't be cyberbullied. It meant that if someone wanted to be mean to us, they actually had to say it to our face. There's a reason why the '90s never truly went out of style. It's because everyone wants a piece of that amazing moment in time that only a select group of kids were lucky enough to live through.
These are the 11 simple pleasures 90s kids truly enjoyed that younger generations missed out on:
1. Flintstone vitamins
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Were they vitamins or were they candy? Does it really matter? We all ate them like they were the best snack instead of, well, the medicine they were intended to be.
Truth be told, Flintstone vitamins still exist to this day, but now they also come in a gummy variety! According to one Reddit user, "they still taste EXACTLY the same!" In true 90s kid fashion, all the Reddit commenters even remembered the jingle ... let's sing it together. "10 million strong, and groooooowing!"
2. Dial-up internet
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Replaced by broadband and cellular networks, dial-up internet is a dinosaur relic that, although still exists, is not exactly useful anymore.
And while it certainly wouldn't be functional in the modern workplace or even for home entertainment, there was a beauty in its simplicity and a joy in waiting an exorbitantly long time for a song or even a photo to download. The best part, you couldn't use the phone and internet at the same time unless you had a dedicated phone line. It limited our screen time without us even noticing.
3. Cameras
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No one can deny that having a really good camera and phone combo isn't convenient, but the reality is, no one has actual photos anymore. And everyone loves looking at photos.
In the '90s, not only did you lug your camera around with you, but you dropped your film off to be developed and anxiously awaited the results. It was incredibly exciting! And then you got to look at them, and even put them in frames and an album, or simply just tack them up to your mirror.
There were no filters. It was real and it was wonderful. It's also why photo albums have been making a comeback in recent years.
4. Boy bands
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The '90s seemed like the heyday for boy bands. You had New Kids On The Block, Backstreet Boys, Boyz II Men, NSYNC, 98 Degrees, Hanson, and O-Town, just to name a few.
Our bedrooms were wallpapered with posters and pages ripped out of Bop magazine. Fans were devout in their love of not only their favorite bands but also their favorite band members. It was absolute and utter innocent joy.
5. Interactive toys
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'80s kids had Teddy Ruxpin and My Buddy, but their interactive capabilities paled in the face of two of the biggest toys of the '90s decade — Furby and Tamagotchi.
Furby hit shelves in 1998 and took the world by storm. There had never really been a toy like them. It delighted parents because they could provide their kids the joy of a pet without any of the labor, and kids were smitten. These little robotic gremlins could show emotion, and if cared for properly, even speak!
We would be remiss if we didn't mention, however, that the year prior to Furby, Tamagotchi made its mark on the toy world. These little electronic pets were both beloved and controversial because, well, if you didn't care for them, they could actually die. Yeah, you could reset your pet and start over, but parents were mixed on the macabre life lesson. Kids of the '90s weren't deterred, and their love for the interactive toy can be found on all corners of the internet.
6. 'Goosebumps' books
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Between 1992 and 1997, kids were willingly terrifying themselves by reading every one of the 62 books R.L. Stine wrote in the original "Goosebumps" series.
Stine was inspired to write his wildly popular horror books as a way to get kids excited about reading, and he accomplished his goal. Unsurprisingly, some adults weren't exactly thrilled with the series. Citing content issues, including demonic and occult themes, the series was ranked 15th on the list of most challenged or banned books in the 1990s.
7. Renting movies
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There was a time in the not-so-distant past when you actually had to leave the house to rent a movie. Nope, dial-up internet did not afford kids the luxury of streaming whatever they wanted to watch whenever they wanted. But '90s kids were perfectly okay with that.
In fact, going to Blockbuster or the local video store was the best part of Friday night for most millennials and Gen X kids. It was all about anticipation, something a lot of kids today don't really get to experience. The constant barrage of content and screen time is like a perpetual dopamine hit for kids today, and they simply don't have the stamina to enjoy the wait.
8. Playing M.A.S.H.
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'90s kids spent much of their early childhood as practicing fortune tellers and psychics. Case in point: the game M.A.S.H. An acronym for mansion, apartment, shack, or house, this game was all about determining everything from who you might marry to what car and career you'd have.
The beauty of M.A.S.H. and other games like it (looking at you, paper fortune teller) was that an entire generation played it, but it was so regional that variations would pop up from school to school. Kids invented it, and kids adapted it to fit their idea of fun. This was peak creativity and imagination.
As one Reddit user reminisced, "Never underestimate kids before social media." And they weren't wrong.
9. Mix tapes
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Streaming music services have killed the simple pleasure of curating the perfect mix tape. Okay, there's no denying that a streaming playlist is quicker and easier to make, but what younger generations don't understand is the pleasure that went along with the process.
We made these tapes for our friends, crushes, boyfriends, and girlfriends. Each song choice was carefully thought through, and there was a theme to each mix. We even painstakingly decorated the cassette sleeves with drawings and notes. And when you were the recipient of one of these amazing gifts, you would spend hours decoding the meaning of each song while feeling truly loved and cared for by the person who gave it to you.
10. Playing Oregon Trail at school
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Although initially launched in the '70s, this educational staple in elementary schools was just as popular, if not more, in the '90s. There were few moments more epic in elementary school than hearing that you could play Oregon Trail with the last few minutes of class time. Even parachute day came in second to this masterpiece of a game.
The thing with Oregon Trail is that it was really hard. You had to be patient and have tenacity to succeed for like a week on the trail without breaking a wheel or killing your oxen. There was no save like games offer today. When you died of dysentery, you had to start from the beginning again, and we all loved every beautiful moment teachers let us play.
11. Passing notes in class
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Back in the 1990s, a 13-year-old girl was likely more stealthy than a CIA spy. She could pass notes across a classroom and never get caught by using a variety of techniques from "Can I borrow a pen?" to "You dropped something."
Passing notes was an art form. Actually, so was writing notes. These were the first text messages. And they were integral to gleaning pertinent information like who your bestie was crushing on that week and what the latest gossip from the lunchroom was.
Lindsey is a writer obsessed with TV and movies, especially "Star Wars" and "Gilmore Girls." She has previously written for Seventeen, Tiger Beat, and The Frisky.
