It's quite a common sight these days to see people look back fondly on the '90s.

However, I was browsing through the archived posts on this website, and I noticed that a lot of the people who were members of this site during the late '90s didn't seem to like the '90s all that much. They commonly complained that it was too dark and bleak, and they similarly looked back positively on the '80s.

For the older members of this site who clearly remember the '90s, were people during that time really all that crazy about the decade they were in?

It is always a cycle when a decade is coming close to the end of the year, people start hating the decade and wishing the previous decade to come back.  In the late 90s/early 00s people wanted the 80s to come back, we see the same thing happening now.  In ten years, people are going to hate the 10s and want the 00s back.

It's quite a common sight these days to see people look back fondly on the '90s.

However, I was browsing through the archived posts on this website, and I noticed that a lot of the people who were members of this site during the late '90s didn't seem to like the '90s all that much. They commonly complained that it was too dark and bleak, and they similarly looked back positively on the '80s.

For the older members of this site who clearly remember the '90s, were people during that time really all that crazy about the decade they were in?


The vibe in the '90s was dark and bleak.  I was in middle school in the late '90s and all I remember was goths, trenchcoats, bomb threats, school shooting drills, Columbine, Marilyn Manson, etc.  Violence was glorified at the time in music, movies, and video games.  9/11, as horrible as it was, did a lot of good in changing the attitude and mood in this country. I think as humans as time passes we have selective memories about the past.  We remember all of the great things about the '90s but have forgotten about the bad.  As a result, we look back on the '90s in a much more fond light than we actually experienced them. 

The vibe in the '90s was dark and bleak.  I was in middle school in the late '90s and all I remember was goths, trenchcoats, bomb threats, school shooting drills, Columbine, Marilyn Manson, etc.  Violence was glorified at the time in music, movies, and video games.  9/11, as horrible as it was, did a lot of good in changing the attitude and mood in this country. I think as humans as time passes we have selective memories about the past.  We remember all of the great things about the '90s but have forgotten about the bad.  As a result, we look back on the '90s in a much more fond light than we actually experienced them. 


I had a pretty fun childhood in theh '90s, so the violent culture of the time didn't phase me. In fact, I wasn't even aware of any of the violence that was going on. I didn't hear anything about Columbine, the terrorist bombings, or the glorified violence until my teen years, which was in the mid '00s.

I had a pretty fun childhood in theh '90s, so the violent culture of the time didn't phase me. In fact, I wasn't even aware of any of the violence that was going on. I didn't hear anything about Columbine, the terrorist bombings, or the glorified violence until my teen years, which was in the mid '00s.


Same. All I remember in the 90s were the great cartoons of the late 90s and Boy Band/Teen Pop. This explains my avatar  8)

The vibe in the '90s was dark and bleak.  I was in middle school in the late '90s and all I remember was goths, trenchcoats, bomb threats, school shooting drills, Columbine, Marilyn Manson, etc.  Violence was glorified at the time in music, movies, and video games.  9/11, as horrible as it was, did a lot of good in changing the attitude and mood in this country. I think as humans as time passes we have selective memories about the past.  We remember all of the great things about the '90s but have forgotten about the bad.  As a result, we look back on the '90s in a much more fond light than we actually experienced them.  


I remember that all as well, especially the bomb threats. I think that in most cases you had to be in Middle or High School during the time to understand the darkness of that time period.

I remember that all as well, especially the bomb threats. I think that in most cases you had to be in Middle or High School during the time to understand the darkness of that time period.


Yeah I remember a kid in my class actually made a bomb threat after Columbine and got expelled.

I think a lot of people who were teenagers in the 80's didn't like the 90's much. The 80's was 'in your face' and larger than life while the 90's was subtle and all about minimalism.  I knew a girl once that didn't like 90's music after I kept humming a Sarah Mclaughlin song, she told me to shut up and that she hated 90's music because she loved 80's music so much! She told me that 90's music was boring and plain. Sigh:.  Oh boy...  ::)

I remember that all as well, especially the bomb threats. I think that in most cases you had to be in Middle or High School during the time to understand the darkness of that time period.


Agree.  I am sure the 90s was a great time to be a young adult (endless career opportunities with the booming economy) or a young child.  It was NOT a good time to be a teenager.

Agree.  I am sure the 90s was a great time to be a young adult (endless career opportunities with the booming economy) or a young child.  It was NOT a good time to be a teenager.


The late 90s and early 00s (00 and 01 in particular) were very dark for anyone between 6th and 12th grade. I was both a young child and an early adolescent in the 90s. My childhood was incredible and carefree but my early adolescence was extremely turbulent. I noticed the extreme contrast between my core childhood and early adolescence when entering 6th grade. 

I, as a person born in 1988 LOVE the 90's  http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/05/heartline.gif. It was a great time to be a kid. I have a very rosy impression of the 90's. The 90's seem like a lifetime away in my eyes.

The late 90s and early 00s (00 and 01 in particular) were very dark for anyone between 6th and 12th grade.


I could understand why 2001 would be a dark year (9/11, obviously), but what was so dark about 2000? The stolen Presidential Election? I honestly don't think that would make the year "dark" or "depressing", at least not for teens. It certainly is a bummer and makes you pissed off, but nothing like Columbine or bomb threats. To my memory (and from my basic knowledge about history and culture), the year 2000 was probably one of the lightest, happiest years in memory. Even the burst of the Internet Bubble I find hard to believe put too much of a damper on things.

I could understand why 2001 would be a dark year (9/11, obviously), but what was so dark about 2000? The stolen Presidential Election? I honestly don't think that would make the year "dark" or "depressing", at least not for teens. It certainly is a bummer and makes you pissed off, but nothing like Columbine or bomb threats. To my memory (and from my basic knowledge about history and culture), the year 2000 was probably one of the lightest, happiest years in memory. Even the burst of the Internet Bubble I find hard to believe put too much of a damper on things.


There were bomb threats to schools in the year 2000 (I remember having to miss school those days), rampant bullying, and lots of angsty music on the radio. 2000 had a lot of the same vibe the late 90s did.

The late 90's to the mid-00's was a big time for school shooting. Before you guys misunderstand me, 'big time' doesn't equal 'good time'.

I think it was a very strange time to be a teenager, the 90's it was.

I loved the 90s while they were going on. Although then again I was a little kid.

I think it was a very strange time to be a teenager, the 90's it was.


Isn't anytime a strange time to be a teenager?

Isn't anytime a strange time to be a teenager?


Hell no, the fashions and the fads of the 90s told you to hate your parents, do crazy sheesh(like xtreme sports) and **** the world because there is no meaning to life.

At least the 80s had cheerful music.

Agree.  I am sure the 90s was a great time to be a young adult (endless career opportunities with the booming economy) or a young child.  It was NOT a good time to be a teenager.


Excuse me? I was in middle school in the late 80s (1988-1991), and  I was in high school in the early 90s (1991-1995), and even though I had some bad times as a teenager, I also had some good times as well, so please don't be judging all 90s teens by saying that being a teenager in the 90s was not good.  In the early 90s when I was a teenager, even though the war in Kuwait was going on, we didn't have any shooting massacre in high school, bombings and all of that foolishness. The early 90s was a good time to be a teenager in my opinion.  By the time all of that bombing and shooting up in schools started, I WAS OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL!  I was a young adult at that time, so this DOES NOT apply to those who were teenagers in the first half of the 90s.

Isn't anytime a strange time to be a teenager?




Your right




Hell no, the fashions and the fads of the 90s told you to hate your parents, do crazy sheesh(like xtreme sports) and **** the world because there is no meaning to life.

At least the 80s had cheerful music.


No different than the 50s-60s-70s-or 80s-00s-10s. 

Your right

No different than the 50s-60s-70s-or 80s-00s-10s. 


Late '00s teens were less rebellious to parents.  That said, the boomer parents of most millennials were very tolerant of their culture (this guy I know's parents let him run around his home naked at age 19).  Millennial "rebellion" is free love, sex, nudity, and marijuana, as opposed to the more violent rebellious culture of Gen-X teens.  Boomer parents were tolerant of it because after all they were hippies once.

Excuse me? I was in middle school in the late 80s (1988-1991), and  I was in high school in the early 90s (1991-1995), and even though I had some bad times as a teenager, I also had some good times as well, so please don't be judging all 90s teens by saying that being a teenager in the 90s was not good.  In the early 90s when I was a teenager, even though the war in Kuwait was going on, we didn't have any shooting massacre in high school, bombings and all of that foolishness. The early 90s was a good time to be a teenager in my opinion.  By the time all of that bombing and shooting up in schools started, I WAS OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL!  I was a young adult at that time, so this DOES NOT apply to those who were teenagers in the first half of the 90s.


You are probably right.  The first half of the '90s were much less violent than the second half.  Not sure what caused it but I have a few theories.

1. Gangsta rap culture ('90s rap was much harder and much more violent than '00s rap which focused more on sex and drugs)
2. Glorification of the goth lifestyle as portrayed by many metal artists of the era
3. The coming of age of the last Gen-Xers, who unlike millennials who were coddled by their parents were more neglected and therefore more cynical

You are probably right.  The first half of the '90s were much less violent than the second half.  Not sure what caused it but I have a few theories.

1. Gangsta rap culture ('90s rap was much harder and much more violent than '00s rap which focused more on sex and drugs)
2. Glorification of the goth lifestyle as portrayed by many metal artists of the era
3. The coming of age of the last Gen-Xers, who unlike millennials who were coddled by their parents were more neglected and therefore more cynical
 Yeah, the first half of the 90s (1990-1994) wasn't as violent as the second half (1995-1999).  I'm one of those last Gen-Xers who were coddled, and then being neglected.  Most Gen-Xers like myself were latchkey kids.  I was one. And speaking of gangsta rap, even though it started in the mid 80s, it blew up when Dr. Dre's The Chronic hit mainstream in late 1992, but by the time I became a senior in high school, that's when it dominated the 90s culture, and you can't forget grunge.  The 90s were hardcore, but I think that the first half of the 90s weren't as violent as the second half.

I remember hearing about Columbine in 1999 when I was only 10, I was in 4th grade then.

  The 1990s were a struggle, but with better music.  More-so than now, and more-so than before...

  The 1990s were a struggle, but with better music.  More-so than now, and more-so than before...


Music from the 90s were better.  All I listen to is 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s music.

  The 1990s were a struggle, but with better music.  More-so than now, and more-so than before...


Because of all the school shootings?  ???

Because of all the school shootings?  ???


  No.  It's because I was told there would be cake...

I was in Kindergarten in 1990 so I can offer a kids perspective, I was completely unaware of grunge and gangsta rap as I was way to young to be listening to that kind of music at its height. Didn't help my parents were hard-core mormons. I enjoyed the 90s. For some reason everyone would say, "It's the 90s!" in response to anybody who had reservations to do something risque or if they were old-fashioned. It seems that once the 90s happened along, there was a new mandate or view on how things should be. A real: This is a new decade, let's abandon the old, in with the new now! Obviously, some pop culture continued into the early 90s, but that was in the mainstream, as the early rumblings of 90s grunge/gangsta/slacker culture were fast approaching.