I was born in 1983, therefore I was 16 by the end of the 90s and a junior in high school. Does this make me a 90s teen??? (or a late 80s, early 90s child?) I wore plenty of flannel in the mid-90s and listened to alot of 90s alternative rock.

I figured this out once, but I think a "main" teenager in any decade would be someone in high school the whole decade. Or roughly ages 14-18.

From a purely datewise perspective, people born around 1976-1982 are "main" 90's teens (wow, I'm barely old enough for that, LOL). Overall, yeah, I'd say you're close enough to pass as a 90's teen.;)

However, to me, the earlier 90's (late 1991-1996) lends the decade its image much more. Grunge, Beavis & Butthead, Super Nintendo, AIDS awareness, the rise of Starbucks, Seinfeld - things of that nature. If you were in high school when that was going on, that's a true pop culture 90's teen, IMO.

Those people would be born more on the 1977 side.

I'm only 1-2 years older than you, and I always called myself an 80's kid, so that would work for you also. From a personal standpoint, I prefer the 80's and the first half of the 90's over anything starting around high school, so I've tended to call 1981-96 as more my "heritage" than 1997-2005+.

I figured this out once, but I think a "main" teenager in any decade would be someone in high school the whole decade. Or roughly ages 14-18.

From a purely datewise perspective, people born around 1976-1982 are "main" 90's teens (wow, I'm barely old enough for that, LOL). Overall, yeah, I'd say you're close enough to pass as a 90's teen.;)

However, to me, the earlier 90's (late 1991-1996) lends the decade its image much more. Grunge, Beavis & Butthead, Super Nintendo, AIDS awareness, the rise of Starbucks, Seinfeld - things of that nature. If you were in high school when that was going on, that's a true pop culture 90's teen, IMO.

Those people would be born more on the 1977 side.

I'm only 1-2 years older than you, and I always called myself an 80's kid, so that would work for you also. From a personal standpoint, I prefer the 80's and the first half of the 90's over anything starting around high school, so I've tended to call 1981-96 as more my "heritage" than 1997-2005+.


I was a teen from 1989 -1995. Having said that I was in high school from 1990-1994 only. I started college in 1994, so really I am a early 90s teen. From 1996 on, I was a young adult in college, out of college, and by decade's end, I was a parent.

So, there are two camps, really. Those early 90s teens that left the teenage life in 1996 and those mid to late 90s teen just starting up that point after. There were too different pop culture trends going on. As mentioned, I experience true grunge, Starbucks, 90210, blah, blah, blah. The mid to late 90s teens had Britney Spears, the whole pop group phenomena and the rest of the downfall of society as we know it. LOL

My youngest brother was born in 1983 and he was 11 when my parent dropped me off at college in 1994. He didn't become a teen (13) until 1996 and by then pop culture was definitely different.

If you were in any of your teen years in the 90's, then I say yes.  I was a teen from 1991-1997, so I was an early-mid 90's teen :)

I was a teen from 1989 -1995. Having said that I was in high school from 1990-1994 only. I started college in 1994, so really I am a early 90s teen. From 1996 on, I was a young adult in college, out of college, and by decade's end, I was a parent.

So, there are two camps, really. Those early 90s teens that left the teenage life in 1996 and those mid to late 90s teen just starting up that point after. There were too different pop culture trends going on. As mentioned, I experience true grunge, Starbucks, 90210, blah, blah, blah. The mid to late 90s teens had Britney Spears, the whole pop group phenomena and the rest of the downfall of society as we know it. LOL

My youngest brother was born in 1983 and he was 11 when my parent dropped me off at college in 1994. He didn't become a teen (13) until 1996 and by then pop culture was definitely different.

It's funny, but from a pure biological sense, I'd be right in the middle of those two camps. I was born in September 1981, so technically I became a teen in late 1994 and until late 2001.

The time when the 2000's culture was starting to crop up, but just before Britney, etc. -- roughly 1997 or '98 -- would probably be the central point of my teen years.

I still consider the 80's to be "my time" since that's what imprinted me pop culturally.

From the 90's, I connect with the Beavis & Butthead/Starbucks-type era -- the stuff prevalent when you were in high school -- far more. Even though I never liked grunge, in a way I'm sort of nostalgic for it, just because it reminds me of when I was still technically a "kid".

When I think of 1998, it's like, Oh I was just a little younger - but not DRASTICALLY different in life like I was in 1994. Hell, even in 98 I was beginning to wax nostalgically on the mid 90's because alot had personally changed for me.

hey i was also 16 by the end of the 90s... so i guess that made me a 90s teen..  ::)

Well I was born in 1975 and even though I graduated high school in 1993, I've never considered myself a true 90s teenager.  But I never considered myself a true 80s teenager either, like someone who would have graduated high school around 1987 or something. 

If I was born in 1978, then I'd definately be much more of a pure 90s teenager, or born in 1972 then 80s high schooler would better define me.  It's interesting how different people 2-3 years older then me are from people 2-3 years younger then me.  People born in the first half of the 70s, like from 1970-'74 are in a different camp from those born from 1976-'79/maybey even '80.  I'm sort of inbetween the decades and the age groups on either side of me.

Early 90s teen would be accurate for people my age though....the 90s hadn't fully developed at that time, and there was plenty of late 80s, 1989ish vibe still around.  Late 80s fashions clashing with 90s grunge made for a fashion ugly scene from hell in the early 1990s.  A lot of that stuff is really embarrassing to look at now.   

 

Lol, I can safely say I don't identify with the late 90s Britney Spears pop culture "downfall" because I was into rock, and I was disgusted that she ruined real music for the rest of us. Anyways, I'm pretty sure I could be classed as a 90s teen (or at least adolescent, if you want to get technical), because yes I did wear the flannel at one point and I was very much into 90s pop culture in high school and junior high. And yes, I did watch 90210 too. I know many of you are very protective of your decades though! (My fiance was born in 1979 and he's definitely a 90s teen, but we've found we've had plenty of similar experiences growing up.)

I am very much a 90's teen. Born in 1979. I remember all the alternative rock music in 1995 when groups like Primus, Live, The President Of The United States of America(they did that song Peaches, and also "lump". I also remember dance music was big that year with Runaway by Real McCoy, and Rythm Of The Night by Corona. I also remember groups like Collective Soul, and Soul Asylum were big in 1995 as well.

1996 I liked Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains. I also liked dance music with "La Bouche" and "No Mercy."

1997 I remember groups like Prodigy, and Chemical Brothers were huge. The Foo Fighters, The Wallflowers, and Everclear were cool too in 1997. Depeche Mode was good that year with hits like "Barrel Of A Gun" and "Its No Good". I also liked The Gina G, and Sneaker Pimps.

1998 was the year Rap music was so big: Puff Daddy, Mase, The Lox, Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz, Busta Ryhmes. Also R&b music was huge: Brandy, Monica, Next("Too Close" was the song that year), KiCi & Jojo, Usher, Brian McKnight and Montell Jordan.

1999 I have guily pleasures like "Genie In A Bottle by Christina Aguilera, Summer Girls by LFO, and The Hardest Thing by 98 Degrees.

I still like some music and unlike some other people I do give today;s music(2005) a chance but I can safely say music isn;t as good as it was 10 years ago.

TV:

I remember watching Seinfeld, 90210(yes I did watch it towards the end there), Family Matters, Boy Meets World(mostly non-college years), Step By Step, Hangin with Mr. Cooper, Fresh Prince, A Different World(Jada Pinkett years), Friends(first couple of years), and ER a little bit. I also remember the Saturday Morning Shows on NBC: California Dreams, Saved By The Bell(a little bit) Hangtime(ok it was cheesey no doubt but I ;loved pro basketball then.)

In conclusion I really relate to pop culture like 1990-1998. Even some of the 80's culture I feel part of that too. Like I have said about 25 times I just felt different once Britney Spears became big in 1999 like I was out of place with Pop culture or something.

^I've always felt that way about 1999 too and the Britney/boy band explosion, and I'm 4 years older then you.  I was still liking the 90s into 1998, I wasn't a teenager, but things weren't too different from the first half of the 90s and I was still down with it.  Boy bands used to be seen as so stupid, and so campy before 1999, they were complete jokes.  New Kids on the Block anyone?  The Guys Next Door? (if you remember them) 

When boy bands and someone like Britney Spears became cool, I knew that a shift had occured.  Gen Xers were kicked out as the owners of everything young, hip and cool by the Gen Yers, and the 90s weren't even over yet.   

When 1999 came, things changed so much, and I painfully realized that at age 24 I had just gotten too old for the youth culture.  And holy crap, that's already 6 years ago.   

^I've always felt that way about 1999 too and the Britney/boy band explosion, and I'm 4 years older then you.  I was still liking the 90s into 1998, I wasn't a teenager, but things weren't too different from the first half of the 90s and I was still down with it.  Boy bands used to be seen as so stupid, and so campy before 1999, they were complete jokes.  New Kids on the Block anyone?  The Guys Next Door? (if you remember them) 

When boy bands and someone like Britney Spears became cool, I knew that a shift had occured.  Gen Xers were kicked out as the owners of everything young, hip and cool by the Gen Yers, and the 90s weren't even over yet.   

When 1999 came, things changed so much, and I painfully realized that at age 24 I had just gotten too old for the youth culture.  And holy crap, that's already 6 years ago.   
You know I was thinking about this a little bit every 10 years it seems a generational or pop culture shift happens. I mean in the late 70's punk and disco gave way to New Wave and POp/R&B. In the late 80's freestyle/dance and hair metal gave away to club/dance music and grunge/alternative of the 90's. In the late 90's stuff like pop/rap and teen-pop gave way to bling/bling rap. Rap and R&B really dominate most of the charts now. I think teen-pop is seen as passe as early mid point 2001. So the next year a generational or pop culture shift shift should take place would be 2007 maybe.

I'm 1985, I think I'm half 90's teen and half 2000's teen, though I don't really care much about either though, I always felt being born in the wrong time and hated to see things like Britney Spears and Limp Bizkit to happen, though I really think Spice Girls was the first thing that really showed the music moguls on record labels that you don't have to have a real good and talented artist to sell records... and we're still paying the price of that, I don't think i've liked one single song on top charts in the last 5-6 years. And my music taste is wide, I like everything good music, regardless of the genre... just can't find anything to listen from today's music you'll hear on radio and tv.

I'm 1985, I think I'm half 90's teen and half 2000's teen, though I don't really care much about either though, I always felt being born in the wrong time and hated to see things like Britney Spears and Limp Bizkit to happen, though I really think Spice Girls was the first thing that really showed the music moguls on record labels that you don't have to have a real good and talented artist to sell records... and we're still paying the price of that, I don't think i've liked one single song on top charts in the last 5-6 years. And my music taste is wide, I like everything good music, regardless of the genre... just can't find anything to listen from today's music you'll hear on radio and tv.
What do you mean the spice girls were the first thing to show music moguls you don't have to be real talented? There were teen artists way before the Spice Girls: New Kids On the Block, Vanilla Ice, Tiffany, Donny Osmond, Menudo. The diffrence between music now and music in the early 90's is rap music is now the mainstream and most older people in their 40's are not going to listen to rap music. I do think the late 90's teen-pop did turn alot of people to mainstream music especially older people(25 and older.) In addition alot of radio play the same songs because of the telecommunications act of 1996 where a company like Clear Channel owns alot of stations. There was a limit to how many radio stations a company could own a city I think before the Telecommunications act of 1996. Finally, I just think radio just wants to cater to young people not even people in their 20's. Thats a bad move in my opinion.

Well I was born in 1975 and even though I graduated high school in 1993, I've never considered myself a true 90s teenager.  But I never considered myself a true 80s teenager either, like someone who would have graduated high school around 1987 or something. 

If I was born in 1978, then I'd definately be much more of a pure 90s teenager, or born in 1972 then 80s high schooler would better define me.  It's interesting how different people 2-3 years older then me are from people 2-3 years younger then me.  People born in the first half of the 70s, like from 1970-'74 are in a different camp from those born from 1976-'79/maybey even '80.  I'm sort of inbetween the decades and the age groups on either side of me.

Early 90s teen would be accurate for people my age though....the 90s hadn't fully developed at that time, and there was plenty of late 80s, 1989ish vibe still around.  Late 80s fashions clashing with 90s grunge made for a fashion ugly scene from hell in the early 1990s.  A lot of that stuff is really embarrassing to look at now.   

 


so true. being a year younger than you. I would agree even more.

I remember watching Seinfeld, 90210(yes I did watch it towards the end there), Family Matters, Boy Meets World(mostly non-college years), Step By Step, Hangin with Mr. Cooper, Fresh Prince, A Different World(Jada Pinkett years), Friends(first couple of years), and ER a little bit. I also remember the Saturday Morning Shows on NBC: California Dreams, Saved By The Bell(a little bit) Hangtime(ok it was cheesey no doubt but I ;loved pro basketball then.)




Just to add, I loved Family Matters. I watched it in the earlyish to mid 90s with my best friend at the time.

So are you slightly older people saying you couldn't relate to me because I'm a few years younger? My fiance was born in early 1979 and he's often said he doesn't notice a difference in our ages or for the most part the things we experienced growing up. I wasn't a true 90s teen, having turned 13 in 1996, but I definitely was a teen in the 90s.

So are you slightly older people saying you couldn't relate to me because I'm a few years younger? My fiance was born in early 1979 and he's often said he doesn't notice a difference in our ages or for the most part the things we experienced growing up. I wasn't a true 90s teen, having turned 13 in 1996, but I definitely was a teen in the 90s.


I know this is an old post, but I didn't see it the first time.

If I came across that way before, I didn't intend to, so I apologize. As for me, I relate to people based on what they're like themselves as opposed to their age.

For instance, I know people born in 1988 who love the 80's, and I know people born in '84 who think the decade was stupid and want nothing to do with it. So even though the 88-er is six or seven years younger than me, I'll probably relate to that particular person alot more than the 1984-er almost my age who doesn't think as I do.

On that note, I used to think (more back in high school) there was a MAJOR, massive difference between someone born in 1981 or '82 like me, and someone born around 1985. When I was 16 and they were 12, I kinda thought of them as little kids when they were deep into the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys, etc.

But with the passing of time, I learned (a) not everyone stays the same, and (b) it depends on the person more than anything - we're all different. I stopped basing my overall opinion on what some of them were like.

P.S. Today I'm friends with alot of 1985-ers who I think of as older than me in some regards, lol. ;)

The "core" of the 90's teens were from 1976 to 1982. However you do have a right to claim the years 13-16 as your 90's years.

I'm currently a 90's teen living in the 00's.

My teen years range from July 1994 to July 2000 so that makes me a true 90's teen.

I agree with the 76-82, but I think I'd add '83 in, because they graduated HS before 9/11, and 1975 could probably also be thrown in there. But I'm most definitely an '00s teen-HS years 2004-2008.

I was in 13 in 1999...does that count?

I was in 13 in 1999...does that count?


Not really, you were a '90s kid and preteen, though. You were more of an '00s teen.

Nope - my teen years are 2003-early 2008 or 2003-early 2010, depending on how you define "teenager" :)

I think of a teenager as someone between 13 and 18. The middle of 18 on once you're either in college or living on your own out of high school is young adult.

Hard to believe I'm not a teenager anymore. Though it seems nothing has really changed since I was 13 :D. My teenage years spanned the years 1999-2005: Hmm, what changes have happened since then?

1999: portable CD players, Nintendo 64, ICQ and Napster, nu-metal/boy bands, pre september 11 world
2005: video ipods, near movie realism games, MSN Messenger, Myspace, 80s-like music...

fashion, society.etc hasn't changed that much in my eyes.

Hard to believe I'm not a teenager anymore. Though it seems nothing has really changed since I was 13 :D. My teenage years spanned the years 1999-2005: Hmm, what changes have happened since then?

1999: portable CD players, Nintendo 64, ICQ and Napster, nu-metal/boy bands, pre september 11 world
2005: video ipods, near movie realism games, MSN Messenger, Myspace, 80s-like music...

fashion, society.etc hasn't changed that much in my eyes.


2006 is a worn-out 1999; some things about today are even held over as far back as 1997 or even 1995.

I do think the pre-1999 "world" is quite different from the 2006 world though.

Sorry to say but I'm your textbook ipod,emo,myspace,glam rap,hipster 00's teen(my teen years span 2000-late 2005 if you think your teen years end when your 18). So many people in my class liked that stuff I'd swear that 1987 must be the peak of Gen Y ;D

I'm an early 90's teen with a high awareness of the 80s, being born in 1976. I fully absorbed the culture from 1990-1994. I finished college when Britney and the gang entered stage right, and it really felt depressing. Even though the grunge era was dead, I thought it had at the very least wiped away hair metal and teen pop to the point where it would never again pollute our culture....boy how wrong was I. It came back like a slap in the face, and it felt like it marginalized the highly influential grunge years.

I agree with the 76-82, but I think I'd add '83 in, because they graduated HS before 9/11, and 1975 could probably also be thrown in there. But I'm most definitely an '00s teen-HS years 2004-2008.


I was born in '83 and was in high school from 1997 to 2001. I started university exactly one day before 9/11, so my high school and university years were cut pretty sharply in half by that event.

I was born in '83 and was in high school from 1997 to 2001. I started university exactly one day before 9/11, so my high school and university years were cut pretty sharply in half by that event.


i have to agree with that, i finished school in the summer of '01, and when 9/11 happened, everything changed, we seem very serious and negative? a lot compared to the 80s and 90s. judging by what people are saying my teen years were 1998 to 2003.

my theory is ignorance. these days almost everyone is online in some form, we can't help but absorb information about things we just wouldnt know about 10 years ago. we know too much, and knowing too much usually ends in depression! i don't know whether it's just the fact that i'm getting older, but i seem to be worrying about stuff now that, even 5 or 6 years ago, wouldnt have been an issue.

I'm an early 90's teen with a high awareness of the 80s, being born in 1976. I fully absorbed the culture from 1990-1994. I finished college when Britney and the gang entered stage right, and it really felt depressing. Even though the grunge era was dead, I thought it had at the very least wiped away hair metal and teen pop to the point where it would never again pollute our culture....boy how wrong was I. It came back like a slap in the face, and it felt like it marginalized the highly influential grunge years.


I know what you mean.  I relate to your post so much.  I was also raised in the 80s and then an early 90s teen.  I remember thinking the grunge years were pushed to the side very quickly by the teen pop of 1999.  I remember thinking that after New Kids on the Block and their various rip offs that were even worse then them, that we would NEVER see something like that (boy bands) again.  I couldn't believe it when stuff like that became "cool" with kids in 1999.

I believe a 90's teen would be someone who turned 13 in 1990 up until someone turned 13 in 1999. That may be stretching it, but that would be it in the most technical sense. I was a teenager for 5 years of the 90's, so to me, that feels like the most appropriate era to claim my teen years to. I barely spent more than a 1 1/2 years in the 2000's as a teenager, so I don't really count those years as my "teen" years. I would claim the 2000's as my "twenties" Since I'm spending 8 years of my 20's in this decade.

Sorry to say but I'm your textbook ipod,emo,myspace,glam rap,hipster 00's teen(my teen years span 2000-late 2005 if you think your teen years end when your 18). So many people in my class liked that stuff I'd swear that 1987 must be the peak of Gen Y ;D


I notice the whole 'emo/glam rap' think is also alot less prevalent in our year than 87ers (my sister was born in that year, and many of her friends are sort of like that). I guess that might be taken as a dividing line between 'early' and 'mid' or 'late' Gen Y...

I notice the whole 'emo/glam rap' think is also alot less prevalent in our year than 87ers (my sister was born in that year, and many of her friends are sort of like that). I guess that might be taken as a dividing line between 'early' and 'mid' or 'late' Gen Y...


Actually, I think the '86ers became more "Y" in college, but were still pretty peak Y overall. I think of the peak as 84-90, "early" peak as 84-86, "height" as 87-88, and "late" as 89-90.

Actually, I think the '86ers became more "Y" in college, but were still pretty peak Y overall. I think of the peak as 84-90, "early" peak as 84-86, "height" as 87-88, and "late" as 89-90.



Yeah I see that 1984-1990 time period as the "peak" of Gen Y. I do agree that '87-'88 is probably the absolute peak.

Yeah I see that 1984-1990 time period as the "peak" of Gen Y. I do agree that '87-'88 is probably the absolute peak.


Yeah, those two years love their iPods, text messaging, reality TV, emo, and glam rap more than anybody, it seems.

The peak of emo/glam rock was probably about 2002...

So if you were born in 1987/88 you'd be about 15...

Maybe those born in an era are associated with the pop culture when they were around 14-15-16. I remember new Punk Rock (Blink 182, Sum 41, Jimmy Eat World)  and well as Korn, Limp Bizkit New Metal was particularly popular when I was in high school. It reached its peak around 2000-2001, so it would kind of work out.