90s: Why are we lucky to have grown up in this era?

We are Generation X (i.e. those born between 1955 and 1990)

A time paradoxically perhaps, simpler before the deployment of technology. We did not yet know about social networks, we were amazed by the slightest little technological progress.

Our generation has been in full retro mania for several years, seeking to rediscover old trends, in an endless cycle of reboots, remakes, etc.

So what makes us nostalgic for the 90s? What made that decade so great that we keep coming back to it?

I have my own ideas on the matter and here are the reasons:

• We are the last generation to play outside until dark.

I remember the cabin created by my big sister and I, in which we spent our days and evenings, among ourselves or with the neighbors of the subdivision where we lived at the time.

We had arranged this space to our taste and it was our space.

• We were the first to play video games and the last to record songs on an audio cassette.. To create your own playlists to record all the songs you like on a single cassette.

I also think that we have experienced the richest musical era

• We loved playing hopscotch at recess and even after school, playing with rubber bands, jumping rope or roller skating.

• We were riding our bikes without helmets, going on little trips around our house with friends.

• We survived the fashion of that period . I still see what we used to call " shit crusher ", these stylish platform sneakers Buffalo Spice Girl that I had when I entered college.

Besides, which have come back into fashion in recent years. Just like the unbeatable Dr Martens And Levi's 501.

The plastic choker necklaces we used to get when we bought our favorite boy band magazines. Or the tear-off sheets of lyrics to our favorite songs we used to collect. Lovers of Star Club, you will understand me 😉

• We walked to school, alone or with our neighbors. We spent a lot of our time outside, playing marbles, barbies or with our pogs, without fear of being bothered.

• We watched cartoons on Wednesdays when we didn't have school, at the grandparents' house who looked after us. Or on Saturday mornings again, with our bowl of Chocapic.

It was off to Club Dorothée or Récré A2

On the TV side, we are the generation of MacGyver, Funny ladies, Benny Hill, Candy, Olive and Tom, Arnold & Willy, Knights of the Zodiac and so on

• We are the generation of unknown or some Zeros, and we still use their most iconic lines in our daily lives today.

Who has never said "But that's none of our business!" or "Hey Manu, are you coming down?" in a discussion?

(A little aside: for those who are really nostalgic for Les Inconnus, they are reforming this year and will be returning to the theatre to re-enact their most cult sketches. Not to mention a film in preparation!)

• We also programmed the VCR before everyone else.

To record broadcasts among other things Dance Machine broadcast too late on Saturday nights on M6. And thus be able to catch up by dancing to the hits of your favorite boy bands on Sunday afternoons (for me personally it was the Worlds Apart And you ? ;-))

Moreover, nostalgia is collective since in recent years we have seen the boy bands of our childhood reforming and going on tour (Spice Girls, Worlds Apart, or even Frank des 2Be3 with Allan Théo and Chris des G-Squad). Or even many reboots of cult series from the 90s appear.   

https://a-girl-next-door.com/les-remakes-reboot-de-series-cultes/

• We have seen the invention of the laser disc video and the CD.

In the same vein, we learned to use a computer for the first time. We got to know the Minitel. Especially as in my case, to check my brevet results (and even my baccalaureate I think).

The Internet only entered our lives when we were young adults.

• We lived without cell phones, flat screens, iPads, Facebook or Twitter.

The first phone I had (well I should rather call it a phone booth given the size of the device), simply had a few games on it. The Internet did not exist yet and I used Mobicartes to have credit for my calls and messages.

And I was already in high school.

• We have traveled in cars without seat belts, child-safe rear door locks or airbags.

So, we have experienced a before and after the current world, dominated by technology.

We knew what it was like to truly spend time together, without a phone in our hands. With lots of things to tell each other and experience together.

And we lived unforgettable moments…