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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Anyone Else Miss The 1990s?

128 replies

JediJim · 28/07/2019 23:16

With everything that’s been going on in the world and the UK over that last decade or so, did anyone else think that life seemed more simple two decades ago? I’m talking about the 1990s...
To me life seemed so much more simple. Lots of people still had just the four channels( well at least in the early 90s anyway) , no mobile phones, no internet as such, not until the late 90s anyway. I remember the kids tv programmes seemed good at the time, maybe down to the fact there was less choice, but the BBC used to make decent kids dramas, like Byker Grove and Grange Hill. I remember starting secondary school and being terrified of the older kids ( 16 year olds seemed old when you are 11).
People seemed to live within their means more and if you couldn’t afford it you didn’t get it. I remember the early 90s when interest rates were really high, people were hard up but rode it out. Politics didn’t seem to be on the news constantly, and Brexit was a word that hadn’t even been thought of yet. John Major was the PM, but I can’t think of anything of significance that he did. People on benefits seemed to get left alone, unlike the constant scrutiny they have now.
I remember people used to collect CDs and people smoking in shopping centres and restaurants. People still paid for things with cheque books, town centres seemed busier( probably down to no amazon back then).
Euro 96 seemed to bring the country together like nothing else I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, it really was a great time. Then Tony Blair came into power, promising to change the country from a tired Tory Government. The D:Ream song things can only get better was the anthem for Labour. It seemed a turning point for the decade.
The summer holidays seemed to go on forever with decent summer weather.
Life just seemed generally easier back then, to apply for a job you could hand in a cv to a real person.
Anyone else miss the 90s?

OP posts:
CarpetMeCarpetYou · 28/07/2019 23:17

I was young then, so I think it was rose tinted.

But HELL YES.

BykerBykerOoh · 28/07/2019 23:18

I’m glad I got to do my teenage years without mobile phones/computers/social media.

Obviously I agree about the TV too Smile

Noonemournsthewicked · 28/07/2019 23:24

Having a big nostalgia moment for the 90s at the moment. I think mainly social media makes you aware of things that you just wouldn't be aware of otherwise. For example I have to hide a university friend on FB because she has everything I want and I'm envious. Pre Internet I wouldn't have a clue what she was up to.

Looking back it feels like the 90s and 00s were a safer simpler time but there was still so much fear around terrorism and still so much worry over unemployment and recession.

Witchofzog · 28/07/2019 23:24

I suspect rose tinted spectacles to some extent but I do too. No social media / internet so people would actually communicate with each other when they met up. You had to be on time when you went anywhere otherwise your mates would go without you. Grunge - enough said. No cheating at pub quizzes cos as I said before- no internet. Teenagers looked like teenagers. Not like now where 13 year olds look 20 because of make up, Instagram, false lashes etc. Bay Trading, Etam. Hennes (Not H n M), Mood Rings, Mad Dog 2020. I miss this decade so much

Paintingtheroseswhite · 28/07/2019 23:26

Oh god I want my 1990s back, if only for the music

Chochito · 28/07/2019 23:26

When uni tuition fees were £1,100 per year (or non existent).

The Good Friday agreement!

Waiting all week for the next episode.

Yes, I miss the 1990s.

IamPickleRick · 28/07/2019 23:27

Yeah, more so every day. I just finished watching Stir of Echoes and the nostalgia for the cut of the jeans hit me. All the clothes in new look are so 90s at the moment as well. I just want that carefree, youthful, whole life ahead of me feel. Walking down Camden high street laughing my head off, jumping on the night bus, going shopping with my mates on Saturday for what we were going to wear that night!

Wish I could go back and give my 90’s self a bloody good talking to as well!

Sparklesocks · 28/07/2019 23:27

Isn’t that the case for every decade people were young in though? Because you don’t have adult problems (work/mortgage/marriage etc) so when you look back at that time you remember when you were free of responsibility and things were breezy.

Things were simpler in the 90s in some ways but I’m sure there are people who feel/felt the same way in the 80s\70s\60s\50s - as far back as you can go!

bebeboeuf · 28/07/2019 23:27

I was so young, and I actually owned rose tinted specticals so yes

bingbongnoise · 28/07/2019 23:27

Not really no.

I do miss the 1980s though, when I was a teenager!

Verily1 · 28/07/2019 23:28

Yes but I also remember Major’s ‘back to basics’ and constant Tory sleaze in the papers. David Mellor yuk! The Maastricht treaty was never out the news and the Eurosceptic and europhiles were at war in the Tory party (nothing changes).

Trainspotting was what the bad council estates were like.

The decade started without video recorders or microwaves.

Calling your friends meant an awkward chat with their dad when they answered the phone.

The AIDS epidemic made a generation scared that sex would kill them.

A pair of jeans cost £45!

There was no minimum wage until about 1998 when I was only £3.

Most people didn’t have combi boilers so got a bath once a week when the immerse was switched on.

Houses were cold with double glazing a luxury.

But I do miss, cheap housing, cheap cinema tickets, cheap transport and great films/ music.

TheHandsOfNeilBuchanan · 28/07/2019 23:29

Ahhh the nineties when we all believed Tony Blair was honest

bingbongnoise · 28/07/2019 23:31

@Sparklesocks

Isn’t that the case for every decade people were young in though? Because you don’t have adult problems (work/mortgage/marriage etc) so when you look back at that time you remember when you were free of responsibility and things were breezy.

Yeah this exactly. ^ The 1990s were tough for me, with 2 young kids, very high interest rates on our mortgage, a stressful job, and lots of bills to pay.

Now the 1980s........... Wonderful decade (for me....) Grin Also 2005-ish onwards has been OK too (better off financially, work part time, kids a bit older...)

IamPickleRick · 28/07/2019 23:32

Ah cheap cinema. £3.50 and they used to let you take in a bag of chips.

Esto · 28/07/2019 23:32

Yes I really do. If I had the choice I would want my children to grow up then rather than now! I'm only 35 but struggle to deal with the modern world and feel so out of touch with everything, and everyone, including myself.

I used to spend a lot of time doing nothing, or reading books, drawing, playing music, being bored, playing games and cards, thinking about stuff, chatting with my partner or family. Now I spend it on my phone, as does my partner, and my family. Utterly depressing. I don't think anyone pays full attention to anyone else anymore.

I used to be unavailable sometimes. Even throughout the naughties on holiday abroad I wouldn't use a phone. Now we have roaming everywhere and it's just like being at home, it's not a break from it at all. At home in normal life anyone can reach me any time of day or night for any reason. And if they're not reaching me, I'm checking in case they are trying to reach me. Wtf!

Pleaser256 · 28/07/2019 23:33

I was aged 6-16 in the 90s so for me, it is definitely nostalgia related to the fact I was young and care free
I think about the 90s literally every day. My car radio is tuned into Absolute Radio 90s and on the tv I watch the Now Music 90s Channel (best thing ever).i often watch re-runs on youtube of 90s episodes of Neighbours or Heartbreak High

Would do anything to re-live those years (yep, even go back to school!)

JediJim · 28/07/2019 23:40

Agreed, terrorism was still a factor mainly from the IRA, and recession and unemployment was very much a worry for lots of people. Still I think the UK was a safer place back then, even with the IRA threat.
Rose tinted glasses, probably and the fact I was a kid/ teenager. Still nostalgic times though, in some ways I wish I could go back to it!
Oh, and I still think the Xmas’s of the 90s were brilliant, seemed a really magical time. Good television, I can still hear the “BBC ones got a lot of things on” song now! ( I seem to recall it was sung by Tracy and Sharon from Birds of a feather).

OP posts:
Verily1 · 28/07/2019 23:41

Yes neighbours and home and away every day!

PearlandRubies194 · 28/07/2019 23:42

1990s were tough for me, my mum was abusive, her partner was abusive. They were both on drugs, in and out of refuge, no money, no days out or anything and then my grandad died, bullied at school.

But I look back and I do remember the hope of “growing up”, that things will get better and that I’d do differently when I was an adult and a mum.
No social media and mobiles to record every mistake and share it publicly. I feel so sorry for teenagers today.

Bad hair dye jobs, poor fashion choices (no money) but I remember feeling envious of the older girls at school who wore lovely dolly dresses, Top shop and Tammy Girl clothes and shoes.

I love 1990s music; the Cranberries! Watching Derry Girls brings so many memories back purely from the music! The flip of that is also listening to the news and hearing horrific updates of bombing in Ireland.

Going out to play and just having to be home by the time it got dark. Going to buy cigarettes for my mum and buying sweets with the change!

I didn’t have a good experience of school though, I always felt like the teachers thought I was hopeless. A hindrance. Lots of shouting at me. Definitely a difference in the way children were treated depending on their family backgrounds and I don’t see this at my children’s school today.

Time40 · 28/07/2019 23:49

I used to be unavailable sometimes. Even throughout the naughties on holiday abroad I wouldn't use a phone. Now we have roaming everywhere and it's just like being at home, it's not a break from it at all. At home in normal life anyone can reach me any time of day or night for any reason. And if they're not reaching me, I'm checking in case they are trying to reach me. Wtf!

It sounds to me as though you would be happier if you tried to break your phone habit. I'm unavailable a lot of the time - it's great! I don't think I could stand it if I knew that people could always get hold of me; it would make me feel on edge.

TheHandsOfNeilBuchanan · 28/07/2019 23:51

@Verily1 they still are neighbours it's the only soap I watch. Dee Bliss just came back from the dead!

JediJim · 28/07/2019 23:52

This thread is aimed mainly for the folks who were growing up in the 90s.. of course it depends on what era you’re from....No on demand Tv or catchup! You used to have to record a program using the VCR, which seems really complicated by today’s technology. I remember going on a family holiday and my dad spending ages trying to set up the date/ time so he could record a program whilst we were away.
And people contacting other people- employers can now text, email people straight away now. Unlike the days when people had to rely on mainly land line phones. It seems there is no escape from the modern world! My company now puts lots of messages and notices on our internal social media site. 20 years ago this wouldn’t be possible!

OP posts:
fancynancyclancy · 28/07/2019 23:58

OMG loved the 90s, I was a tween/teen so obvs carefree but if felt really exciting & cool & I could achieve anything. Maybe everyone feels like that whatever decade when they are young though.
TV was great, nightlife was great, music etc. I feel it’s perhaps the last decade that can be defined by a certain look/culture.

JediJim · 28/07/2019 23:59

Pleaser- I remember Heart break High.. it was Australian wasn’t it? And wasn’t it on BBC 2?
Anyone remember the summer holidays kids programs on channel 4? Saved by the bell and a similar program called California dreams.. I can still hear the theme tune now.. such a chilled and mellow song...

OP posts:
TwistyTop · 28/07/2019 23:59

Byker Grove was class. Loved that show

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