Life was harder in the 90s: 19 things that kids today couldn’t handle

Life was harder in the 90s: 19 things that kids today couldn't handle

I’m forever hearing the youth of today complaining about how tough they have it.

Guys, try growing up in the 90s where the internet was a mere baby, our very valuable health and safety laws were not enforced so our lives were risked climbing trees and where there was no way we could find out Buffy spoilers like we now can Game Of Thrones ones.

You have a tough homework assignment? Google is your friend. You’re bored? Er, whack on your PS4 or spend literally hours immersed in more free YouTube videos than £100 could ever hope to get us at Blockbuster.

Here’s why we had it harder and you could never have coped…

1. It’s Valentines day, you have a crush, you whack together a Spotify playlist for them and their heart melts. Do you have any idea how long a mix tape took to make!?

Life was harder in the 90s: 19 things that kids today couldn't handle

2. On the same topic, we couldn’t just find the latest hits on a Top 40 playlist. We had to physically tape Radio One from 4-7pm on a Sunday. And if we wanted to listen to number 27? At least an hour of very careful rewinding and fast forwarding beckoned for the privilege.

3. Wind down time in class for you involves various interactive whiteboard games and other new age thrills. We had to make do with a kid we never liked tweaking our thumbs and then lying about it.

4. OMG CD:UK is clashing with Live and Kicking. *searches desperately for a blank VHS tape to record in the 90s* Today? No bother. We have catch up.

5. I would spend HOURS getting to that last world in Sonic and then I would fall down a hole and that was it. Game over, man. Saving your game is a luxury that you take for granted, gamers.

6. Texts were 10p. EACH. None of this bundle joy that means we can talk crap endlessly for next to nothing. Every single character had to earn its place.

7. We didn’t have Jamie Oliver to protect us from the evils of school dinners. I was able to go to school, buy a chomp, a lanky larry and a pack of cola Frosties for 30p from the tuck shop and then have a burger and chips from the canteen. Every day. I now fear that I will be dead by 30.

(Picture:

8. The responsibility of pet care. Try looking after a Tamagotchi, you lot. See if yours would last any longer. No chance.

9. The importance of currency. To be someone, you needed to have at least three shiny Pokemon cards and that one guy in the playground with swag because he had a shiny Charizard was a hero. Lack a card today and eBay is just a step away. No risk of being a social outcast for you then.

10. You think Saw is scary? We coped with real terror in the 90s. We read Goosebumps – sometimes with only a torch.

11. Oh no, you had your eyes closed on one of your 712 selfies? Try paying a large sum of money to wait up to 72 hours to have your photos developed only to be told that the sun had lightly touched the film and all of the photos were ruined. No refund.

Life was harder in the 90s: 19 things that kids today couldn't handle

12. Facebook politics can be dodgy but social media has NOTHING on MSN Messenger. Why does my crush always appear ‘Busy’ when I come online? Why does my boyfriend no longer have my name surrounded by love hearts in his sign in name? Who is referred to in ‘I love ?????’ Is the quantity of question marks indicative of the letters in the person’s name or is it a red herring? ARGGGGHHH.

13. You have an art project for school but most of it is done on Photoshop or using the contents of Paperchase’s vast array of flawless products. We had PVA glue, sequins and an art set with half of the felt pens not working. School was hard.

14. The dial up tone was the one thing holding us back from unlimited access to a Neopets webpage that took 2-3 minutes to load. Well, that and our mum wanting to make a phone call. Ever had to dance around in sheer agitation, willing through telepathy and rage faces for your mum to start saying goodbye? No, you have broadband.

15. Oh wow, you can do the Gangnam Style. Try mastering the Macarena, Saturday Night AND the Carlton Dance. If you couldn’t master these in time for the school disco, you were sitting at the side for the entire night with a lukewarm can of Panda Cola.

macarena

16. The sheer decisions in the 90s were devastatingly difficult. Do I buy the Beano or The Dandy? Am I Team Boyzone or Team A1? Should I watch Grange Hill or Byker Grove?

17. Our cartoons were merciless. The Animals of Farthing Wood lost a regular to a grizzly death almost every week and I am still not over Mufasa.

18. Catalogues don’t have search functions like eBay or Amazon. Making that Christmas list a nightmare.

19. What is that noise coming from the VHS recorder? NOOOO! That’s all of my recorded Simpsons and Friends episodes gone! And there is nowhere else to watch them, unless I want to pay £12.99 in Woolworths for four episodes.

You have Sky Plus. I rest my case.

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