Growing up in the 90s was pretty cool indeed as we were the generation that got to witness the insane evolution of technology and the increasing reliance on the internet over the years. We saw the change of social media from MSN Messenger, MySpace and Friendster to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. We saw the change from using VCR tapes to CDs, and now to USB and hard drives. We grew up experiencing this technological evolution, yet sometimes we forget how things used to be as we gradually take things for granted. Lagging on the internet? Flips the computer. New iPhone 7? Must get one. Can’t find a location? Let’s Waze there.
Here are some struggles we used to face back then that no longer applies today:
1. Texting Took Longer
Back in the days, texting wasn’t always that easy. You want to type that S? You better be sure you work hard for it and hit that 7 button FOUR TIMES. Imagine the amount of time it takes to flesh out a lengthy reply.
2. Sending Songs Like This
When Bluetooth hasn’t existed, this was pretty much how we send songs to each other. Y’all still remember how Twinkle Twinkle Little Star sounded, right?
3. The Hunt For Your Favourite CD
The 101 illegal CDs you keep in this large album and the struggle to find your favourite jam is real.
4. Downloading Songs from Limewire
What was 4shared, or iTunes? We only had Limewire back then. The struggle to find your favourite song to download, only to realise later that it’s a fake or a recording of it on the radio. And all that time down the drain for nothing, grr!
5. When Internet Explorer Clouds Your Entire PC Screen
Now you’re stuck with this screen and have no choice but to wait for at least 20-30 minutes, so you either click them all, or just painfully hit the power button to fix this.
6. Playing This Game Even Though You Had No Idea How To Play It
Okay let’s face it. Most of us LOVE playing spider solitaire back in the days, but we don’t really know how solitaire even works! YET we play it anyway, simply clicking on any higher cards and somehow, we’ll win most of the time.
7. When the VCR Destroys Your Favourite VHS Tapes
What’s worse than watching your favourite perfect VHS tapes going into your VCR, only to come out like a monster had regurgitated it.
8. The Struggle of Playing Game Boy in the Dark
Those long night drives can be utterly annoying. You’re trying to play the Game Boy at the back seat of the car, only having to constantly wait for the next street light to illuminate your screen. Thankfully, some of those games had the Pause option.
9. MSN Messenger
What Whatsapp? What Facebook Messenger? What Skype? Back in the days, THIS was all we had, and we thought we were the BOMB.
- Deleting Files From These to Make Space
Back in the days when there were no thumb-drives or hard-drives, this was the only thing we had to rely on. I mean, 1.44 MB per floppy?
