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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:
sall74 · 29/07/2019 08:03

I'd agree with everything the OP says apart from the benefits system, that's far more screwed up now and seems to be easiest, most generous and most in favour of the least deserving (people who choose to have children they can't afford and comfortably off pensioners ) at the expense of the most deserving (genuinely disabled)

RosaWaiting · 29/07/2019 08:05

Esto but those things are all your choice?

there was a wonderful thread about being an adult in the 90s. I should have saved it. London was fantastic - aimed at adults, full of love - yes, okay, ecstasy - the club scene was brilliant, you could still drive around, everything wasn't pedestrianised and full of people eating or kids screaming, rent was affordable.

really golden shining happy days. And parts of it were properly stylish. WTF happened?!

IntoValhalla · 29/07/2019 08:05

I was 6 years old when the 90’s ended....so yeah.
I think it would be accurate to say I miss the simplicity of my life in the 90’s for sure Grin
School, snack, sleep, repeat Grin

PancakeAndKeith · 29/07/2019 08:07

Isn’t that the case for every decade people were young in though?

Exactly. There were people in the 90s saying the same about the 60s.

transformandriseup · 29/07/2019 08:10

In the 90’s as a young child I never went abroad, we didn’t have Sky TV, never owned a new or newish car and very rarely ate in a restaurant. I had less so everything seemed more exciting, plus health and safety was more relaxed.
An evening at a fun fair was as good as Disney. Sometimes all I did on a sunny day was sit on top of my climbing frame in the garden and look at the sea. I used to tell my young brother I could see as far as New York and he believed me Grin
We were rarely stressed.

PancakeAndKeith · 29/07/2019 08:12

The decade started without video recorders or microwaves.

Nope. Had both of those in the 80s.

Xenadog · 29/07/2019 08:19

I was at uni 1992-1995 and it was great. I remember the music and fashions so clearly; it was a really exciting time. By the time Blair came into power in 97 I was working on a graduate programme (and hating it) but the sense of optimism he brought was incredible. I also remember my very favourite Ben and Jerry’s flavour ice-cream Cool Britannia which was vanilla with real strawberries and chocolate covered shortcake. I don’t think I have ever got over them discontinuing this.

Grumpyoldblonde · 29/07/2019 08:24

Had microwave and VCR in the 80’s.
I loved the 90’s - just going to the pub in jeans, nobody gave a thought to eyebrows or fake nails. The music was great and comedy was huge, tv was good to - Ab Fab, This Life. Bought a house for the equivalent of two years salary. The high street was busy and there were pubs springing up everywhere which are all gone now in my area. The late nineties had an optimistic air that’s hard to describe, the UK was cool and felt young.

DumbledoresArmy · 29/07/2019 08:27

I was a kid in the 90s.
I remember mum used to be able to buy almost everything from the local markets. If not there then Kwik save.

Most people seemed to work & could go & walk into a job easy enough (might be due to growing up in old industry factory town)

We were left to play out all day on our bikes & didn't have to come in until it was dark!

Christmas tv seemed amazing!!

A trip to the local fair or bonfire night was the thing to do.

Family seemed to be closer?

ForalltheSaints · 29/07/2019 08:28

I don't miss the 90s but have some fond memories of some events, and made several friendships that have lasted. High interest rates were the worst thing I remember.

DumbledoresArmy · 29/07/2019 08:30

Oh and chocolate bars were bigger!!

Kids actually had some respect for police.

Negatives were definitely lack of diversity & acceptance.

continuallychargingmyphone · 29/07/2019 08:30

I don’t regret being young in the 90s but I think I’d feel similarly nostalgic about the Teenies if I was young then.

There were some awful things about the 90s. Casual racism and sexism was still A-OK. Bullying at schools - Jesus, some of the things I used to see and sometimes be a target of.

continuallychargingmyphone · 29/07/2019 08:32

It was a lot easier to get a job, though. Mind you the pay was often shite.

I actually really like having a mobile phone. I like being able to browse the news, take a photo, check my bank balance, contact a friend or the DCs, watch a video or MN with it.

troppibambini · 29/07/2019 08:37

I really miss the 90's but I think as others have said it's my freedom and my youth.
I grew up in Manchester spent most of the time clubbing and off my head to be fair.
We drove off to club nights in random cars, partied hard with Manchester bands and snogged a rather famous arsehole with big eyebrows.GrinBlush
It literally was the best time ever!!

Beelzbubble · 29/07/2019 08:38

Yep. The 1990s were amazing. Now we live in some sort of Orwellian dystopia, a lot of it thanks to the internet and the financialisation of every aspect of our lives (thanks bankers, politicians and big business!). I would go back in time in a shot!

Pinktinker · 29/07/2019 08:40

No minimum wage.

RosaWaiting · 29/07/2019 08:44

"Casual racism and sexism was still A-OK. "

I encounter more of both now than I did in the 90s. Obviously that's just one person's experience but I definitely think things have got worse. Particularly with regards to not being accepted as British because of skin colour.

Beelzbubble · 29/07/2019 08:44

really golden shining happy days. And parts of it were properly stylish. WTF happened?!

Tony Blair and NuLabour. All started to go down hill after 1997. Thanks Tone! But apparently we are all so much better off now (no, just the 1% - almost everyone else is poorer in every single way!).

fancynancyclancy · 29/07/2019 08:45

Isn’t that the case for every decade people were young in though?

Exactly. There were people in the 90s saying the same about the 60s.

Just thinking about this I would have loved to have been a teen in the 60s/70s/80s but I don’t think I would enjoy the noughties so much.

One thing I notice as someone who was born & raised in London & who lives pretty much where they grew up (SW) even though life is more diverse (racism less acceptable, more representation in the Media, etc) my children experience a far less diverse childhood then I did.

Another thing I notice is that when I was teen you very often had your tribes influenced by certain fashions & music & there seemed to be more acceptance & encouragement to look different. Now alot of the teens I see all look like clones & appear to want to dress the same.

alldownhillat40 · 29/07/2019 08:50
  • 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!*

100% agree with this

ihaveagoldenticket · 29/07/2019 09:04

I was 10 in 1990 and 19 in 1999. So all of my teens were in the 90s and I loved it! Of course there were negative things that happened and school was tough (I was bullied) but I think there was this overall feeling of optimism in the 90s, that life was good and in the new millennium it was going to get even better!
That hasn't really happened and those of us that remember how it was feel quite jaded about life now and the internet means we share these feelings and the younger generation see and read them and so they don't seem to have that joy and optimism of youth - that their future is going to work out. They seem a lot more down trodden and cynical than they should be - and old before their time.

Coolcoolcoolcoolcool · 29/07/2019 09:45

I was 14 on new years eve 1999. I remember being throughly pissed off that I was too young or maybe just not cool enough to go to a party. On a personal level I was bullied at school and had very few friends. But I definitely miss the hope, and the belief that the world was getting better. Maybe it's just that I was young, but I doubt it.

The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. The right wing are taking over politics in many countries. Everyone seems to be more selfish.
No one could have imagined back then that private companies would be able to survey us in the way that they do. Or that we would allow them to have our fingerprints or to be able to hear us in our homes, just so that life could be a little more convenient.

I think even on a personal level it would be worse to be a bullied teenager now as it would be on social media and you don't have your home as a safe haven anymore.

Life was just better when we were less aware of the terrible thoughts in each other's heads. .

Coolcoolcoolcoolcool · 29/07/2019 09:46

All over the internet

QuimReaper · 29/07/2019 10:06

One of the things which I miss about the 90s / early noughties was how comparatively attainable beauty was. If you look at pictures from the red carpet from back then it wasn't uncommon to see actresses in jeans, with fairly minimal makeup and quite natural hair. For instance, this is Angelina Jolie at the premiere for the first Tomb Raider film in 2001. She's wearing hardly any make up, a (hideous) very un-fancy outfit which doesn't even seem to fit her properly, and doesn't even look like she's so much as brushed her hair! I don't know if it was considered a bit gauche even at the time, but she'd be torn to shreds now, it just wouldn't happen. Nowadays the beauty standards are just astronomical. 2001 doesn't seem that long ago, but it was a different world in that respect.

Anyone Else Miss The 1990s?
PancakeAndKeith · 29/07/2019 10:14

If you look at pictures from the red carpet from back then it wasn't uncommon to see actresses in jeans, with fairly minimal makeup and quite natural hair.

It’s interesting how much of an impact Liz Hurley and ‘that dress’ had. It wouldn’t even get a mention today.

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