“Music was great and it was exciting to be at the beginning of new technology but not have it consume our lives. You could still go out for the day and be completely unreachable and that was normal.” - queuedUp

“Unless you were around at the time, it's hard to describe the positive vibe/feeling of hope that existed in that era. The Cold War was over, that meant the threat of nuclear war was over and we could focus on moving mankind to a better place. Society felt united not divided like it is today. Daily life involved face to face interaction with people. There were stores to go to, I especially miss bookstores and record shops. Life was a lot more laid back, no one expected an instant reply; it might take a couple of days to get hold of a friend.” - extra_less

“Well there was a genuine air of positivity before the millennium, before everything went to heck after 9/11 and the phoney wars etc..” - rotwilder

“Internet wasn’t rotting society yet.” - mamadovah1102

“I'm German and the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification of Germany made many people believe that there's a wonderful future ahead. Unfortunately that wasn't true.” - ohara1250

“The Cold War had just come to an end. There was a feeling that liberal democracy had triumphed over other systems and that a new era of increasing freedom and prosperity for all had begun ("The end of history").” - HighlandsBen

“We had enough technology to get by, and make life easier but it didn’t run our lives. You could leave your house for a night out with friends and your parents wouldn’t be able to find you. The music, the fashion, malls, mass shootings every day wasn’t a thing. Gas was .89 a gallon. It was glorious!” - worldsokayestmomx3

“The goth chicks man. Loved the 90's goth chicks.” - Inner-Nothing7779

“We were forced to live in the moment and it felt amazing. When you heard your favorite song on the radio, you relished it because there was no other way for you to access the song (other than buying the tape). When you had not seen your friends in a while, you genuinely miss them because the only way to keep in touch were through letters and phone calls. When you watched a concert, you had to absorb it all in because there was no practical way you could record your experience. Life just felt more present and authentic.” - papaweir

“My take: Watch “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and then watch “Star Trek: Picard”. The hopeful, aspirational tone of the former reflected the optimism in the 90s. The rather more dreary tone of the latter reflects today’s pessimism and fatalism. If you watch and agree with this assessment, ask yourself in which setting you would rather live.” - rogless

“The economy was booming, the internet was exciting and new, culture seemed to be moving toward more inclusion, acceptance, and diversity. People my age (I'm a Xennial) were raised with a belief that every new generation in America is better and more prosperous than the generation that came before, and since we would be the most educated generation ever, the future looked bright. That dreamy ultramodern view of progress that started in the 60s -- we were living it. It was our future, and it was right around the corner. Needless to say, that amazing future never materialized. The internet has seemed to make people dumber rather than better educated, and to top it all off, America is now a "backsliding democracy." Yeah, we have electric cars and fancy phones and stuff , but life is getting worse for the average American, and our culture just generally stinks. People are so angry, about everything. I think those of us old enough to remember the 80s and 90s mostly just miss having hope.” - AccessibleBeige

“The vibes were just better. It seemed like people were happier and more content with what they did have. Now it seems like everyone is in the "hustle" mode and not truly happy. The nation also seemed more united at that time. There seemed to be more patriotism and less division.” - SquareAffectionate64

“I think it was the way people treated each other, as well as the fact that it was simpler times without social media. Also, nature in my part of the world was still flourishing. I tell my SO all the time about how many fireflies, butterflies, and other insects there used to be all over our small town. Humans have made our culture and environment worse since the 90s, in my opinion. Sure, there was still bullying and mean people in the 90s like there are now, but I felt more of a sense of community. Your friends would call your house, have to talk to a parent first usually, and then your mom and dad would yell for you to come get the phone. Then you'd all meet up in the neighborhood and have a good time doing whatever it was you were doing. People didn't seem so suspicious of one another and weird about things. People seemed a lot less narcissistic and less concerned with how others perceived them. There wasn't so much time wasted staring at your phone and you'd have to do things like talk to each other instead. People seemed a lot more caring and less selfish back then. Thank you for reading my incoherent morning thoughts about a time of my life I loved.” - Betty_Broops

“No cell phones or social media. Unplugged before there was a thing called unplugged. Really miss that.” - waterbottlejesus

“The simplicity of it. Those of us that grew up in it have seen one world end, and another begin. We saw the rise of personal computers and the internet. It was all so new and fresh and really cool. But it also signaled the end of the pre-internet era. We are the last generation to grow up outside. The last generation that didn't grow up with the ills of the world thrown into our faces 24/7. The last generation to truly have an innocent childhood. When that era ended, and social media and the internet became a big part of everyone's lives, we started seeing all the terrible things going on in the world. Kids were exposed to it. Everything became political. If you weren't angered by X then the Xers hated you. If you were angered by Y you hated the Xers, etc. All that hate and divisiveness has grown and grown until we have the angry, hateful, tired, and stressed society we have now. The 90's were simple. We had no worries. Just cool music, clothes, tv shows, etc. We lived and didn't worry about things outside our local bubble, with exceptions of course. It was simple.” - Inner-Nothing7779