75 Real Struggles Teens In The 90s Faced

If you were born in the ’90s, then you were born in the golden age of Nintendo and were a teen when people started texting. You lived through it all, millennial, and are still trying to pay off your student loans. And, you FINALLY get a cd Walkman only to realize it doesn’t fit in any of your pockets.

1) The Window of Death

Though this endless window was fun to play with, it also could mean you had to wait for fifteen minutes or restart your computer. This is what the early days of home PCs looked like.

2) Finger Cramps

Texting is so easy these days! But the first cell phones required you to type four times as much. At least they had Snake so you wouldn’t get bored while you’re waiting for a text back.

3) Try Not To Sniff

Parents and teachers told you not to sniff the Wite Out, but that only made you want to do it even more. It’s not like it actually made it where you could write over it with a pencil.

4) Ruin Your Pastels

There’s no quicker way to ruin a good set of markers than writing over your fresh dark marker marks with light ones. Your yellow will never write again after that.

Stubborn Thoughts
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Stubborn Thoughts

5) There Was No Internet Phone

So, there may have been tales and advertisements of internet on cell phones, but there really wasn’t. The only time you opened it was on accident and you couldn’t get it to close.

6) Homework Time

Going on Wikipedia is such a privilege. I’m pretty sure that using Microsoft’s Encylcopedia was actually harder than going to the library to do your research.

7) Smell Good For Fifteen Minutes

You had one of these in your locker, your purse, your bedside table, and bathroom. That’s why there’s four, right? To be honest, Bath & Body Works will never go out of business.

Laurel Mercantile
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Laurel Mercantile

8) Everyone Having The Same Backpack

For real, everyone had a Jansport, and they liked it that way. You were the weird one if yours wasn’t navy with a cacky bottom. These stuck around for a good decade.

9) Finding A Good CD

When you went to a friend’s house, you most definitely flipped through their CD books to find something to listen to. The guest always got to pick so the other person could show off.

Things My Kids Won't Know
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Things My Kids Won't Know

10) These Were The Coolest

There were sunglasses and then there were these bad boys that made you feel like Justin Timberlake or a Backstreet Boy. Anyone who had these though, had to wear a white puka shell necklace.

11) They Cut The Skin

There’s a reason these were banned for a while before being replaced with plastic ones. The cloth covered metal slap bracelets were a hazard to everyone who had one in the house.

12) Don’t Overlap!

Whenever you tape something off the radio and you don’t get the DJ talking and you don’t miss the beginning, you feel like a pro. Which never happened to anyone ever.

13) This Wasn’t Cheating

Everyone used Cliff’s Notes, even the good kids. They were the best summaries for the boring books that no one really wanted to read in the first place.

14) How Do You Say “Lit” In ’90s Talk?

Sam Goody was a must stop shop when you went to the mall. You had to check out what was on sale and take a listen to something, anything, with the headphone box.

15) To The Best Of Us

Sadly, our Beanie Baby tags ripped off of at least one of our favorite Beanies. Which really sucked because it became inauthentic and lost all of its value. It’s why we aren’t rich.

Love My Beanies
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Love My Beanies

16) Good Thing They Are Endangered

These aren’t found in parks very often anymore, and for a good reason. They burned your bottom on a hot summer day and should never have existed in the first place.

17) Imagine Carrying More Than One Device

Your phone was for calling, your iPod for music, and your Gameboy for games. You had to carry all three to do what you can already do on your smart phone.

18) Mechanical Pencils Were Boss

These pencils were so cool! Until you lost a piece and could no longer use it. Other than that, it meant no sharpening and no dull points. Bring them back!

19) Every Girl’s Dream Pen

In the ’90s, girls had these, and boys secretly wanted some too. They were especially pretty on black construction paper, so don’t pretend you didn’t thin you were Picasso with them.

20) Don’t Touch My Tapes

If you were lucky, you had your own set of blank tapes to use. Otherwise, you had to share and you didn’t think that all of Cheers was as important as the new MAD TV episodes.

21) Marking Everything

Though most catalogs were fun to look through, these delia’s magazines were the best. You literally wanted everything in them but never ordered one thing.

Tutus and Tiny Hats
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Tutus and Tiny Hats

22) Now We Have HDMIs

Most people have Rokus and Smart TVs these days. But not too long ago, you had to change the channel to use the VCR, cable, or local TV. Everything is so simple now.

23) Wind It Up

The only way to rewind some cassette tapes were to use a pencil, unless your pinky finger did the trick. But that left marks and wasn’t very comfortable.

24) Trial and Error

You didn’t have to type in https and all that, but you did have to type in www or else you might be considered a robot. Why else would they make you do it?

25) Who Had Remotes?

Perhaps some TVs came with remote controls, but who used them? The youngest in the room was the one who had to change the channel or turn the volume up or down.

26) You Only Sent Twelve

It didn’t take long for your space to fill up in your message box. And deleting them wasn’t as easy as long clicking. Age test: do you call it a “pound” or “hashtag”?

27) No Internet Required

This was one of the best solo games that old PCs ever had. Every day, you tried to get a new high score and every day, a sibling tried to get even higher. Pinball was the best.

28) You Know This Guy

There was always the guy in school with this necklace. He didn’t make it himself but he told everyone that he did even though you saw the same one at the gas station.

29) Not Gang Related

For some reason, parents had an adversity to wearing chains. But they went so well with JNCO jeans that you had to get one that attached to your wallet if you wanted to be cool.

30) Conveyor Guides

When these guides came out, it was a luxury. Now you didn’t have to look in the TV Guide anymore because it was already on the screen if you would just wait for it to pop up.

31) These Were The Bomb

If your jeans didn’t get dirty when you walked across the street then you were wearing the wrong jeans. Your only salvation were platform shoes, because they were also cool.

32) There’s No Themes?

When everyone left MySpace and went to Facebook, we were a little disappointed that we couldn’t customize our page. But at least messaging was easier, right?

33) And Proud Of It

We all dressed like kids when we were kids and that’s a good thing. We are proud of this fact, but that doesn’t explain why we are dressing our kids like we are.

34) And Gone With The Wind

There were a few different movies that were on two or three VHS tapes. Sometimes, it gave you an excuse to split the viewing up into two days. Sometimes it felt like a marathon.

35) For The Rich Kids

It really felt like only the rich kids got real Skechers while the rest of us got Keds or Walmart shoes. We tried to pretend they were the same but they really weren’t.

36) Before There Were Backlights

The old Game Boys didn’t have backlights, so we had to get adjustable lights if we wanted to play in the dark. This wasn’t ideal and is way less efficient than backlighting.

37) All The Best Shows

Getting your whole series on VHS was quite an accomplishment. If someone made you lose your place when you were watching, then you got upset because you had no idea where you were!

38) This Was GPS

Whenever we all got our own PCs at home had could print out Map Quest directions, it felt like a new age. No more atlases and no more calling people for directions.

39) Blocking Someone

The only way to block someone on a corded phone was to remove the phone from the dock and “end” the call. They knew what you were doing even though it just sounded “busy” on their end.

40) Sponge Walls For The Win

This craze was a unique one. it meant you had to paint your walls twice but that extra effort was so worth it because then you had retro walls to match your lava lamp.

41) Only The TV

This one sound silly but these days, you can use your computer, phone, tablet, or whatever else you have to “watch tv.” But once upon a time, there was just the tv.

42) The Best Cereal

This cereal was amazing and it was all because of the shape of the cereal. Whenever they reinvented French Toast Crunch and made it the same shape as Cinnamon Toast Crunch, we all died a little inside.

43) Don’t Need An Adult

Manual windows were a blessing and a curse. They built up strength and were safer in some ways. But they were also a hassle and got stuck in cold weather quite often.

44) They Should All Have Lyrics

If the CD booklet didn’t have all the lyrics so you could sing along, then the artist was doing it wrong. No one wants tiny posters, give us lyrics to Fall Out Boy.

45) This Is The Assignment

Carrying your assignment around on floppy disks was something else, especially if you didn’t have a computer at home and the teachers told you to use the library one.

46) Did You Have A Combo?

If you had a TV with a built-in VCR in it in your room, you felt special. It seemed to work better but also stopped working faster. Maybe they weren’t the best idea after all.

47) The Best Fruit Snack

The worst part about Fruit Gushers is that “someone” ate them all the first day of getting them. There weren’t nearly enough in each pack so can you really blame “someone”?

48) Click And Wait

Taking a whole roll of pictures and waiting for it to be developed taught a new form of patience that kids these days never have to learn. But then again, they won’t get the excitement of it either.

49) This Card Was Priceless

Getting to take your parents’ Blockbuster card into Blockbuster all by yourself and pick a few movies out was a feeling like no other. Time for something new.

50) When These Fell On Your Head

If one of these fell of your ceiling and onto you while you were sleeping, you were 100% sure it was a bug that may or may not kill you. Silly sleepy thoughts.

51) Taste The Elements

There was nothing like tasting the earth and the sun. You most likely had a favorite and it had nothing to do with the way it tasted. You were connected to the element. Deeply.

52) Straight On Through

Is anyone else getting thirsty? These Capri Suns may have had graphic commercials, but they tasted so good. The straws didn’t work so well but at least they punctured.

53) Haircuts Never Worked Out

Getting the same haircuts as celebrities doesn’t work out today, let alone in the ’90s. At that time, you picked your own cut and your parents let you go through with it no matter how awful.

54) Don’t Move Off Of It

If you got all the way to games and your mouse shifted, you no doubt had to start all over. So you careful scrolled on over and over until you reached your destination.

55) Who Knew How To Play?

You didn’t learn how to play this until you were well into your teens. No one read the Help, they just kept clicking until thing started to make sense. Which took three to five years.

The Humor Train
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The Humor Train

56) The Moment That He Died

The moment that your Tamagotchi died was one of the worst moments of your childhood. It let you think that you didn’t deserve to have a dog because you’d forget to feed it.

El Confidencial
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El Confidencial

57) The Most Comfortable

You probably went weeks without taking these off in the summer because they were so breezy and comfortable. And if you were a boy, you felt grown up wearing them without a shirt.

58) Don’t Let Them See

If this warning was on a CD that you wanted, you were not getting it if your parent was there. And if they weren’t, the cashier might not let you have it either.

59) How Embarassing

If you were still stuck on a cassette Walkman and all of your friends had a CD Walkman, you literally felt like you lived in poverty. They probably got American Dolls too.

60) What The Cool Kids Ate

Everyone wanted Bagel Bites but most of us didn’t get them. Usually, we ended up with the ingredients and making them ourselves on full sized bagels. Took all the fun out of it.

61) Took A Genius To Open

Getting these things started without a tool was nearly impossible. Everyone used their teeth, so don’t lie about it. After that, it was the most satisfying feeling in the world.

62) Drop A Fat Beat…Or Not

You were cool if you had a CD Walkman. But with that, comes great responsibility. You needed to keep that thing charged. If you’re lucky, you could afford rechargable batteries.

63) Burn Your Tongue, One More Time

Does anyone stille at Totino’s Pizza Rolls? Probably, because they are the best after school and after work food to exist, right? Just be careful with that sauce!

64) Evil Night Noises

Anyone who was anyone had a Furby. Even if it was just a McDonald’s Happy Meal one. Too bad no one kept theirs or else they could pay their rent for the next three months!

65) So Many Clicks

The iPod Shuffle was cool and all, but as a teenager, you wanted to listen to a specific song to fit your mood. By the time you found it, the mood was over.

66) Everything Is Intact

Everyone had this exact pencil box for their school supplies. But for some reason, everyone also dropped theirs in the hallway. At least your new glue stick was still good as new.

67) They Weren’t Even Comfy

Everyone wanted one of these in their room. They were cool, could deflate, and came in your favorite color. But they were also loud and uncomfortable. Was it really worth it?

68) VCRs Were Hungry

Why did your VCR eat The Land Before Time so you could never watch it again? No one knows, but that tape was torn, tangled, and never to be mended again.

69) By The Time You’re 120

Dial Up was actually the worst. You downloaded at kb a second. Sure, most things were fairy small but that didn’t mean you didn’t wait all week for your download to finish.

70) Tangled Cords Galore

Not only did corded phones not give you privacy, but they were a mess to work with. Whoever put it on the dock seemed to always get it twisted, again and again.

71) Gift Certificates Just Because

There was something about gift certificates that made you feel special. They were ten times better than store credit. Mostly because you often got the money back for what you didn’t spend.

72) Failed Recordings

Sometimes you tried to record a show while you were gone and sometimes it worked. Othertimes, you got rainbow torture, no matter how many times you ran the headcleaning tape.

73) Socks And Sandals

For a while, socks and sandals were a big no-go and kind of still are. But Tommy Hilfiger set the bar with socks in those navy sandals and showed us that it really didn’t look bad.

74) No Spoilers

It’s hard to avoid spoilers these days, but at one point, all it took was closing your eyes. That way, you wouldn’t see anything and you’d know it was done because it clicked.

75) Fight Over Whose iPod To Use

You and your siblings probably fought over who got to plug their MP3 player into this thing so you could listen to your tunes in the car. For the first time ever.

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