Kids today are growing up in a world of technology and gadgets. Everything they could ever want, including the Internet, games, social media and more, is at the tip of their fingers. The world of apps can accommodate to any child, tween, or teen and provide them with entertainment when needed. Although boys and girls today may think they have it all, ask anyone that grew up in the ‘90’s and they will most likely tell you that growing up back then cannot even be compared to today. ‘90’s babies may not have had Netflix, iPhones, or tablets, but we got by just fine with our dial up Internet, face-to-face interactions, and unforgettable cable television. Here are ten of the most memorable things that kids growing up in the ‘90’s were able to experience and will remember forever.
1. ‘90’s Nickelodeon
When talking about the ‘90’s, one of the first things that comes to mind is Nickelodeon. Anyone that did not experience Nickelodeon during the 1990’s has greatly missed out. To name every great show that was on the air during this time would be almost impossible, but to name a few there was All That, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, 100 Deeds of Eddie McDowd, Clarissa Explains It All, Doug, Figure It Out, KaBlam!, Legends of the Hidden Temple, GUTS, Rugrats, and Ren & Stimpy. These shows, and more, were able to captivate everyone growing up during this time period in one way or another. (the attached video is long, but it’s totally worth it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhUqCd3LkbA
2. Paint/Kid Pix
Sometimes kids got impatient waiting through the ten minuets of ear curdling noises that came from the computer when it was trying to connect to the internet, so the next best option was to use Paint and Kid Pix. These two games could keep us kids occupied for hours because we truly thought we were creating some spectacular art. Countless masterpieces have been crafted on Paint from simply drawing a ton of random squiggly lines and then filling in all of the bubbles with different colors (shown on the left). Paint was a pretty basic program, so once we graduated from Paint and wanted a more crafty software, Kid Pix is what we all turned to. Kid Pix had numerous stamps and features that it could be overwhelming for a 7 year old. Nonetheless, these two games were the beginning “apps” of the ‘90’s:
3. Blow up furniture
Why sit on a boring normal couch when you could sit on funky blow up furniture? Once you came to the understanding that every move you make while sitting on the trendy furniture would probably be heard throughout the entire house and that the chair/couch/autumn would most likely be deflated within an hour, blow up furniture was the coolest thing ever created.
4. Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64 was released in 1996. This system is Nintendo’s third home video game console for the international market. This really began the video game obsession within boys. It’s understandable though, once you start playing Mario Cart, how does anyone expect you to stop? Even today, I’m sure you can find a few N64’s floating around in the dorms here at Montclair!
5. Stick on earrings
When parents denied us girls of getting our ears pierced, they provided us with something a little less permanent. Stick on earrings were all the rage for little girls in the ‘90’s, and in many ways they could be better than the real thing. The various colors and shapes that came in the packs of fake earrings were able to match any outfit a young girl could dream of. The only downside was that they fell off almost as quickly as you put them on, but hey that’s why they put so many in the pack!
6. Girl bands/Boy bands
One of the biggest debates of the ‘90’s was, Backstreet Boys or N*SYNC? Both were amazing, of course, so it was hard to choose. Along with the two top boy bands, there were various others that followed in their tracks, including 98 degrees and LFO. Along with the boy band craze came the all girl bands. Bands such as Destiny’s Child and Spice Girls fell into this group. These two girl groups were not as competitive as the two main boy band groups. Destiny’s Child originated here in the States while The Spice Girls came from England. Although The Spice Girls were from across the pond, just about every American girl quickly became obsessed. Everyone had their favorite member of the group and pretended to be them while watching the Spice World movie. (Don’t deny it ladies, we all know it happened).
7. Grunge
Bring on the flannel, ripped jeans, and safety pins! Grunge style was the cool look in the 1990’s for the teenage crowd. Although the style was very noticeable, it went beyond just the look. Grunge became its own subculture within the ‘90’s, including its distinct style along with unique music. Bands such as Pearl Jam and Nirvana were two very influential bands during this era and still are recognized for their music today.
8. School Movie Day
Seeing this roll into your classroom made ‘90’s kids WAY too happy. This meant you were going to watch an unimportant movie during the entire class period. Since ever student knew the movie didn’t really matter, this was ample time to play M.A.S.H with your friends and your crush.
9. AOL Instant Messenger
Instant Messenger, more popularly known as AIM was extremely popular in the late ‘90’s and early 2000’s. This system allowed you to add all of your friends to your “Buddy List” by gathering their “screen names” (or an SN). Having the best SN was highly important, it was a representation of you. Once added, you could have private conversations between yourself and one other person, or create a chat room so multiple people could talk at once. Whenever there wasn’t anything to do on a Saturday night, you could always stay in and work on your collection of away messages, because everyone knew the cool thing to do was have pages on pages of saved away messages.
10. Lisa Frank
Shopping for new school supplies at the beginning of every school year was a breeze back in the day, because if you wanted to be one of the cool kids you just HAD to have Lisa Frank merchandise. Folders, pencil cases, lunchboxes, backpacks, you name it and Lisa Frank provided it. The bright colors and whimsical graphics were easily recognizable and girls loved everything about it.