Why do people miss the '90s when 2012 is so similar still?

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Is it just because they were young? Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, they are all so 90s. They could EASILY be popular in 1990, 1995 or 1999, alongside Ace of Base, Tupac, etc.

And today is still dominated by 90s star such as Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, The Simpsons, Nicole Kidman, Green Day, Foo Fighters, etc. And people still have that cynical attitude and everything. Nothing has changed since 1995, aside from people getting 17 years older.

it's just an internet meme, no one actually misses the 90s

Yes. Being nostalgic for the 90s is little more logical than being nostalgic for 2008. Even though a part of the 90s is over 20 years ago now.

People say this since there wasn't as much cultural worry and panic like there is nowadays in the news.
That and I loved being a kid in those years.

In 2004, the meme was to be nostalgic over the 80s. In the 90s, everyone missed the 70s. Next decade we're going to be all retro and cultured because we listen to Beyonce and the jonas brothers. It's the way it goes.

The difference is, everything before the 90s really WAS old school. Now, pop culture stays the same perennially.

I don't miss the 90s, I can't even remember most of it.

Its true, I don't feel like much has changed culturally. Seems pretty static.

To be honest, the culture seemed to have been slowing down before then too. I mean, look at the difference between the 30s and the 50s, or the 40s and the 60s. Huge. There's a pretty big difference between 1980 and 2000, but not anything like that (culturally speaking).

Yes, I feel like the early 90s was the latest time that was even different at all from the present in a substantial way. And that's twenty years ago!

A whole generation that's pretty much the same, aside from technological differences that are ultimately trivial, like how big cell phones are or how fast Internet connections are.

I miss the 90s a whole lot but I remember other stuff about it I didn't like much. The 90s were a fun time though, but I was a kid then. What I miss most is how the economy was a little bit better and each summer my dad took us to the North Carolina coast and this group called The Costal Federation would take us on 3-4 hour boat skiffs in the sound. We would get to swim in the sound, check out all the awesome birds and wild life and it just felt so good because it was always the same group of 3-4 people with my family each summer.

After the economy worsened the CF could no longer afford these skiffs, much to my dismay.


I think what I miss more than the 90s is the Pre-September 11th world. When people weren't terrified of those with darker skin and when you could go sit in the lobby with a friend in the airport waiting for a flight. Now you can't do that and it makes me SO ANGRY. Also screw airport security. My sister would get checked SO many times just because she dressed like a hippy.

I also miss MTV, I found music more likeable and creative then BUT I also see lots of good stuff coming out now, Crystal Castles etc. I absolutely cannot watch MTV though, all my new music is acquired via word of mouth on the internet. I also miss how cartoons were actually animated and everything wasn't CG colored or whatever it is, stuff looks cleaner now. I'm not the biggest fan of the abundance of CGI in everything but movies like Jurassic Park have shown it can do great things. Rebuild of Evangelion has shown CG can also make an "old" tv show still look great...but I miss the old ways.

What sucks is that I think I've grown more tolerant of it now than other people. I went through a phase where nothing new was good and now I'm over it and have to listen to other people preach about it.

Other stuff depresses me but its more selfish, non-sensical things, tied to my love for military aviation. Seeing the beautiful F-15C phased out for the hideous, bloated 100 million F-22 raptor (which is having tons of toothing problems still) makes me sad. Kids going to airshows will never get to see the F-15 do its amazing full power take off where it goes straight up at 90 degrees. Hell, airshows will probably go the way of the dinosaur and everything will be automated by drones and computers. A good thing in the long run but I'm selfish and it just seems boring.

Also nothing can beat first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as a youth in the 90s.


Aside from that though I really think all the 90s love comes from how innocent we felt. I loved Clinton A LOT more than Bush, even with the dumb sex scandal. The world felt full of hope, generation X were our elders. Dunno how I feel about Gen Y and whatever else were on now. Hearing old Smashing Pumpkins songs turn me into an emotional wreck though .

Stuff still felt very personal too. Now everyone is hooked up to computers, iphones, chatting. This is both a great and terrible thing.

A GOOD thing is that mental illnesses get recognized more. I had tons of trouble growing up and I feel if I had been born later I probably would have been noticed faster and not just stuffed into the eccentric pile. I envy younger kids in a lot of ways despite missing the 90s.

Yes, the 90s were less far along the 'curve' towards being like now. But I really think you have to go back to the 80s, or rather, the very early 90s, to really be in an era that is qualitively different from the present moment.

People who are nostalgic about the 90s are mainly current teenagers and young adults like me. They make up a huge proportion of Internet users, are relatively tech-savvy, and perpetuate Internet memes well.
There were some technological changes mostly: The rise of the iPod, the decline of the floppy discs, the advance of cell phones, etc.
And obviously, cartoon programming isn't the same as it was in the 90s either.

I'd agree with you, I feel very nostalgic about the 90s but I was only 10 years old when they ended. I have long hair and wear plaid flannel shirts, I'm a big fan of bands like Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Pavement, Pearl Jam, Nirvana etc. I like reading Douglas Coupland books and watching 90s TV shows. I know it's silly because I'm too young to remember the decade properly but I have a lot of love for the '90s!

I think when most people say they miss the 90's I think its just because they miss their childhood, and because it was simpler and more enjoyable times as a child for most the 90's seemed better than it actually was. In terms of culture I don't think things are that much different from the way we lived then apart from technology which has certainly advanced for the better. I think the mainstream music we get on the charts and such has went down in quality though, I used to enjoy listening to the top 40 on a Sunday and now most of it is awful. But music is timeless, so I listen to many older songs still.

The decade that I miss is the 80s. I wasn't around in the 60s, so it makes sense that I miss the next best decade in my mind.

well, personally I do long for going back to the late 90's, but due to personal reasons (the time before the deaths of 3 beloved pets and my dear grandfather), not popular culture.