Ah, the ‘90s. That magical era when hair was bigger than our hopes and the only thing we had to worry about was whether to play with our Tamagotchis or watch the latest episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Who would’ve thought that our families’ clunky, dial-up internet connections would lead us to this brave new world of social media fights and TikTok dance-offs? Back then, the most tech-savvy person in the room was your uncle, who could make a mean mixtape on his cassette deck. Now, he’s probably trying to “log on" to the Internet Archive to relive the glory days of GeoCities—good luck with that, Uncle Dave.
Let’s not forget our infatuation with all things “futuristic.” We all thrilled at the idea of flying cars, only to find ourselves dealing with a future where the coolest gadget is the smart toaster that tells you it’s gluten-free. And speaking of cool gadgets, remember the sheer thrill of getting your first cellphone? It was less of a phone and more of a brick, but hey, it was a brick you could use to smash a window if someone dared to ditch you at a mall. Fast forward to today, and we’re all walking around with mini-computers in our pockets, desperately trying to figure out how to turn off autocorrect before it makes us sound like we’re texting from a pirate ship.
As we navigate this world filled with influencers, meme culture, and retro fashion making a comeback (seriously, how many pairs of mom jeans do we need?), I can’t help but roll my eyes at how the younger generation thinks they invented nostalgia. Newsflash, kids: we were having vintage sales at yard sales before it was "cool" to have old-school items. And don't even get me started on the return of grunge—if I see one more 12-year-old wearing a flannel over a $50 rock band T-shirt, I might just faint into a pile of VHS tapes. Just make sure to grab your walkman before you carry me out!
So, as we gather around our devices (which, remember, used to be used pretty exclusively for playing Tetris), let’s collectively chuckle at how far we’ve come. We may have traded our slap bracelets for smartwatches, but deep down, we know that we can still be just as rebellious—albeit in the comments section of the next viral TikTok. Just remember, every time you roll your eyes at the "kids these days," we were once them, jamming out to the sounds of the Backstreet Boys while we tried to figure out how to beat that last level of Sonic the Hedgehog. Cheers to that!