11 Things You'd Only Know If You Lived Through The '90s Because They're Very Much Forgotten About Or Completely Skipped Over Today
BuzzFeed
·13-min read
If you've been on TikTok or are around young Gen Z or Gen Alpha kids, then you know some of them really, really have an affinity for '90s culture — the clothes, the music, the movies, etc.
And honestly, there are many, many things to appreciate and love about the '90s. However, if you lived through them then you know there are a lot of things that '90s nostalgia today gets wrong or just skips over completely.
Harry Langdon / Getty Images, Getty Images
So, it was with that in mind that I put together a list of things that will make millennials and Gen X'ers say, "Yup! That was very much the '90s," and give Gen Z and Alpha a look into what life was like:
1.Most people did not own computers.
2.Very old people during that time were from an era before sliced bread, chocolate chip cookies, and television were invented.
If you didn't live through the '90s, you might be saying, "Duh, of course, everyone watched the same shows!" or "What do you mean everyone watched the same shows?" Well, today in the US streaming accounts for nearly 40% of what's viewed on TV, while broadcast TV is just 22.5% (with cable at 28.3% and "other" being 10.7%). However, back in the '90s that competition just did not exist for broadcast TV — even cable offered few original things that could rival it.
Most people watched primetime shows from one of the big four networks: CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox, which meant they got HUGE audiences. For example, in the week of Sept. 22, 1997, the highest-rated show that week was the season premiere of E.R., which had 42.71 million viewers (and no other show in the top 10 had below 20 million viewers). By contrast, in the 2022–23 TV season, NCIS was the most-watched primetime broadcast (non-sports) show with 9.86 million viewers.
There also were no DVRs, so — unless you programmed your VCR to record it — you watched things as they aired live. Also, if you didn't watch something live you risked someone spoiling it for you the next day.
5.People didn't have huge VHS movie collections and did actually rent a lot of movies.
6.Not everyone lived in homes decorated with '90s interior design trends.
7.Celebrities from the '40s and '50s were still very much part of the cultural zeitgeist.
Getty Images, Fotos International / Getty Images
Believe it or not, some people in the '90s still thought Elvis was alive and had faked his death. This had started not long after he died in the late '70s, but even in the '90s, there probably wasn't a month that went by without a front-page story about him in a tabloid (at the supermarket checkout) about somebody spotting him alive.
Elizabeth Taylor still acted occasionally but was a humanitarian who worked to raise money and attention for AIDS research (through her foundation). However, she was still in the tabloids (usually speculating on her health or who she would marry next) and was still a go-to punchline of late-night comedians' jokes because of how many marriages she had had.
Marlon Brando still acted regularly and, like Elizabeth, was a go-to for punchlines, but because of his weight (like on The Simpsons).
Frank Sinatra still performed in Vegas until the mid-'90s and was even the subject of a recurring SNL skit, "The Sinatra Group," where he was portrayed by Phil Hartman.
And these are just a few examples of Golden Age of Hollywood celebs that were still around and part of pop culture.
8.People did not take a lot of photos.
9.Titanic was an unexpected blockbuster movie; in fact, most people thought it was going to be a box-office bomb.
10.People refused to wear seat belts while driving.
11.Lastly: We lived in a media black hole.
Okay, folks who lived through the '90s, do you remember these things? Did they sound right? What did I miss? Let me know in the comments below!!!
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