As I am getting older (27). I am starting to really miss the 1990's. I was def. a 90's kid. I had the bleach blonde hair. I wore vests. Even in the mid-90s wore Jncos. The North Face fleece was the "hottest" item in the late 90s. However, life must go on. I am now married (August 30, 2008). Have a house and two dogs. Couldn't be happier. I feel that one of main reasons I truly miss the 90's is because my mother (Who passed away in 2005 from cancer) was healthy. It's small things from that decade that really stuck in my head.

It's the year 2008 and I see NO KIDS anywhere. I live in Clifton, NJ. A relatively safe city. Even in the summer, NO WHERE. I loved summer nights. What the hell do kids do now? Sit at home on their computers? Times has def. changed in the past 10 years.

I feel that one of main reasons I truly miss the 90's is because my mother (Who passed away in 2005 from cancer) was healthy. It's small things from that decade that really stuck in my head.

Welcome. :) Hey even though I'm more of an '80s and early 90s fan, I'm also 27 now and I can totally relate to what you're saying! It's like we've now been around long enough to see the world really change, and that's scary.

Sorry to hear about your mom -  I had grandparents who died by the time I was 11 so I understand how that feels. I miss how much younger everyone was when I was growing up too. Especially if I haven't seen them in awhile and I still think of them at a certain age. People who were still kinda young (like 30) when I was little are well into middle age now around 50, and that totally makes a difference.

Welcome to the information age.  When I was a kid in the 80s, as many people say, I was outside playing until dark (and sometimes afterwards).  Nowadays, as you mention, all of the kids are playing video games.

In addition to the popularity of video games, parents seem to be afraid to let their kids go outside.  Since we are in the information age, if a kid goes missing in the boondocks of Arkansas or Idaho, we all hear about it.  News travels fast via the internet and television.  Parents hear all these negative headlines and are afraid to let their kids go outside.

I think that there is the same number (or percentage) of lunatics in society today as their were 20, 30, or 40 years ago.  It is just that news travels further in this information age.  Therefore parents are paranoid to let the kids outside.  But do you blame them?  Not really.  Better to err on the side of safety.

The fact that the entire society is afraid to accept responsibility for anything (as demonstrated by lawsuits and bank/ auto industry bailouts) is a whole other topic.  LOL.

My condolences for you mother.  And, by the way, New Jersey Rocks!!!!!

I don't want to say exactly where, but I live MILES from Clifton, NJ.

Kids these days (I'm 17)..uh, a lot of them hang out at malls on Fridays and Saturdays (think Garden State Plaza, I'm sure you know where that is). But in my town at our shopping center, there aren't THAT many.

Another Jersey Representative!  Woo-hoo!   

So kids actually go outside?  Hmmm.  Interesting.  LOL.

I can relate to a lot of what HollaGeo said in the original post. I too am married, own my own home and sometimes reflect on how things have changed since the 90's. As is typical with youth, I didn't treat that part of my life as anything special while I living it. I took for granted that my friends lived down the street and my parents were down the hall. Now I miss certain aspects of that time, such as the above. I've moved a few times since college, but now am only about an hour from my old hometown. That being said, it seems that when I make the occasional visit, time seems to speed up more. Many of the people, places and things that seemed to be constant in my formative years are gone or have changed...and not necessarily for the better.

Re: Paranoid parents. I'm certain that if I have children my attitudes will change, but I can't help but wonder if parents aren't a little *too* cautious when it comes to keeping an eye on their kids. I remember growing up in the 80s and hearing the mantra "don't talk to strangers" at home and at school, and it's a wonder we didn't all grow up to be hermits. *L* In those days you'd occasionally hear about some weirdo kidnapping a kid, but it never seemed to hit close to home. My friends and I did what we pleased until dark. How did we survive?

BTW, I'm originally from south Jersey. Burlington County, to be exact.

At 21, I'm far from being an old man, but my childhood has started to seem much further away in the last couple of years. Granted, my childhood in the '90s might have been more basic than other people my age. With no computer, cell phone, DVD player, or even cable television for several years into the decade, 1995 to me might as well be like 1975 except the video games I played from time to time looked better than Atari 2600 games.

I don't really know what kids are like today, I don't really live around any of them myself, but there certainly is a stereotype on television, in movies, etc. that they don't do anything but but surf the web or play games all the time. I still see them playing outside from time to time when I'm around town, but the truth is probably somewhere in between.


In addition to the popularity of video games, parents seem to be afraid to let their kids go outside.  Since we are in the information age, if a kid goes missing in the boondocks of Arkansas or Idaho, we all hear about it.  News travels fast via the internet and television.  Parents hear all these negative headlines and are afraid to let their kids go outside.

I think that there is the same number (or percentage) of lunatics in society today as their were 20, 30, or 40 years ago.  It is just that news travels further in this information age.  Therefore parents are paranoid to let the kids outside.  But do you blame them?  Not really.  Better to err on the side of safety.


Yes, that's a great point. I don't necessarily think that our society is massively more violent today than it was say 35 or 40 years ago, its just that, in the era of 24 hour cable news networks, pretty much any random act of violence is considered to be "news" and therefore we see it everyday.