Things now, that 90's kid would have mocked?

[H202too]

This is light hearted. Working in a school it is interesting to see how trends change. Sure some of this is regional, but what things do kids do now that just wasn't the done thing in the nineties?
I have noticed

1. Double strappers. This was so uncool at the time. I am sure I still get shoulder pain now from carrying mountains of books on one shoulder. Single strap now is a bad thing. ( Good!)

2. The star spot patches. Some kids wear about 6. Not seen any adults do this yet.

3. Boys with massive brushes in their pockets which they whip out and swish their fringe. They even borrow each others and swish each others fringe. It is actually quite cute. My mind chuckles when I think of the 90s boys spiking their hair with pointy hair gel. But absolutely no to carrying a brush about.

4. Water bottles. I once got in trouble for taking a drink from my water in 1998 in a lecture. In 1991 it just wouldn't have been a thing to have a watsr bottle.

I am sure there is more. AIBU to think most new trends are probably better but to miss the 90s nostalgia.

Kids of today would rip us for backing our books in wrapping paper.

See, I started using both straps on my backpack when I was in y10 (mid 90s). I was already the biggest geek in the school and my back was hurting so it didn’t seem like a big deal. I was mocked mercilessly but my back felt better so I didn’t care. By sixth form, we were all using both straps and enjoyed not being in pain!

I can imagine what today’s teenagers would think of the clipped section of hair at the front pushed forward into a little mound. See also pushed down socks.

I'm in my sixties and went to Pilates this week with my socks pulled over my leggings and a spot patch!

Ah no, Vintage and Secondhand was very cool in the mid eighties and early 90s. We used to buy imported US clothes - jeans, baseball jackets, 50s and 60s prom gowns. I still have some, probably worth ££££ now!

I don’t think they care as much about how other people look though.

Isn’t placky just short for plastic?

I see lots of these things in the school I work at but can’t say I've noticed the bag strap thing. We seem to have a wide variety of different bags including tote bags on one shoulder. I’m in the SE.

This! My twins are 14, their music taste is eclectic. Favourite at the moment is nirvana and they’re so confused as to why I know the songs. they’re listening to Bon JoviA, Pearl Jam, David Bowie. I love it so I don’t comment too much!

@H202too Boys with massive brushes in their pockets which they whip out and swish their fringe.

Is this actually a thing? That's something I would be mocking today, along with many other people. All boys and men are ugly, so it does make me cringe a bit whenever I see a boy or man who thinks he's attractive.

To add to your list...

• People taking photographs of themselves. My 90s self would have been in disbelief to see modern phones that have been manufactured with a camera pointing the wrong way, specifically to allow people to photograph themselves.

• Broccolli hairstyles would have been extensively ridiculed in the 90s.

Coats! All the kids near us are in their puffer coats and have them done up. I think teen DD’s North Face was the most expensive item of clothing anyone in our family has ever bought but, given how often she wears it and that it actually keeps her warm and, unless it’s chucking it down; dry, it was totally worth it!

All boys and men are ugly, so it does make me cringe a bit whenever I see a boy or man who thinks he's attractive.

What an extremely weird thing to say.

Kindness, compliments and acceptance!

I know kids can still be unkind to each other but generally they are a more positive generation, they freely compliment each other, even when it’s someone who’s not in their close friendship groups and as someone mentioned above it’s more accepted to have alternative styles that don’t conform to whatever the current trends are.

kids (especially girls) during my teen years were brutal and I feel like there are still lots of mean girls who are fully grown adults!

This! Coupled with white socks not just on show but pulled right up! 🤣

Early 90s, it was just not cool to wear trainers! We all wore DMs. Trainers were for the gym/aerbics!

The bag straps definitely. I think I have given myself life long back issues thanks to that bloody ten ton rucksack.

The telly. No binge watching, having to be in and watching an episode of something and if you missed it that was it forever (unless you tapped it of course). Having to wait months for a new series of something after a cliffhanger and not being able to see any spoilers beforehand (it was agony waiting for the outcome of Ross & Emily's wedding on Friends).

And weirdly Noels house party, which I was trying to explain to someone the other day. I just remembered it being an absolute mega hit and everyone watching it on a Saturday night but when I looked back at an episode on YT it was terrible.

Just to add, the style of New Balance trainers everyone wears now seem to my mid 40's eyes as old man trainers and they all look hideous to me.

Fully prepared to accept I'm just not cool, I've only just embraced a pair of 'mom' jeans and have even left the house with socks on show maybe once or twice 😱

I feel ankles must be visible, socks hidden and trousers on the fitted side. Everything else feels weird 😁

I see that in the younger people at work as well. Both sexes are more gentle with other people.

I cannot quite remember when Leslie Ash was ridiculed for her 'trout pout', it might have been post-millenium, but today, they are everywhere and often more extreme.

That’s really lovely to hear. I’m not a lesbian but when I was at school in the 70s girls would call other girls lesbians as a form of bullying and intimidation. If you had a really close best friend you were genuinely scared of being accused. It was absolutely pathetic of the bullies.

I know this is about the 90s but also back in the 60s/70s as a school kid you were terrified of wearing glasses and/or having braces as they were automatic targets on your back. Today they are perfectly acceptable, thank goodness. Kids in the 60s/70s were absolute intolerant shits.

Angry birds style eyebrows and men wearing pearls.

Needing extra help in some subjects meant you were thick rather than needing a bit of assistance. Private tutoring if your parents could afford it was considered cheating. Being neurodivergent in the 80s wasn’t cool. Idk about the 90s.

Encouraging your mum or dad to dress like you. Could you imagine teens doing that back then? Older adults had a certain style once they hit 50 or something. It was not ok for women over 50 to have long hair for example. They had past their prime and should accept their fate as young style was for the young.

Thick eyebrows. Possibly contouring. Socks pulled up. Socks and sliders. Vaping instead of smoking. Not drinking alcohol.

When I was at school you got bullied if you bought in superman own crisps, yoghurt or chocolate bars.

My friend’s DS has Aldi own crisps and chocolate bars. No one batters an eyelid

It used to be having a big arse was a BAD thing. Now it is a booty and an OK thing. Even better if you display it with near transparent leggings and a crop top.

Cardigans and brogues . If my mother tried to make me wear them I would have cried . And never white socks unless you wanted to be called a virgin .

We had the ‘remedial room’ at my secondary in the 80s for those with SEND - it was used as an insult as well to ask if you were going there!

I remember in the mid 90s wearing slouchy white socks and school shoes. Plus socks over leggings.

although my students don’t understand how I managed to complete my first degree without internet and having a photocopy card for journals, where I actually had to read them. Admittedly it’s much easier now.

The only white socks I have are a few trainer liners. They are not plain. They have stripes around the ankle or have coloured heel and toes.