http://www.inthe80s.com/feelold.shtml

    On this site's sister site, there is a page about reasons children of the 80s feel old. Considering that it's been around over 10 years and I was actually reading it back then out of curiosity when I was a pre-teen, the truth is the 90s are long enough ago that people who grew up then, especially if you can remember more than half of the decade, are pretty old compared to today's teenagers and children as well!

    The 1990s now range from being 13 to 23 years ago, or 18 years ago on average. Today's 30 year old was 6 when the decade started and 16 when the decade ended. The fact that even someone a few years shy of middle aged was a tiny child for much of the 90s is pretty depressing! Someone born in 1983 is only a few years older than me - they might not even remember anything before 1990. They could have been going online and trolling chat rooms back when they were a bratty twelve year old.

    I am still super young, I was born in January 1990 and will turn 23 this Wednesday, yet I'm a full decade older than the youngest of today's teenagers starting in a few days. I'm actually already older than more than a third of the human beings alive on this planet today and someone born in 1983 is older than fully half of the people alive today!

    You know, I actually think the 2010s are kind of cool, I don't hate them as much as most people my age and older do, but watching the New Years celebration a couple weeks ago, I realized I don't really *get* today's pop culture. I didn't like the 2000s that much but I definitely *got* them and feel like they are my era, along with the 90s. Today's music just doesn't speak to people my age, sure I have a few favorites, like Owl City, Carly Rae, Cheryl Cole, Imagine Dragons and so on but I can't help but feel like today's music is aimed at people at least 5 years my junior.

    Gangnam Style was kinda cool for maybe the first couple times but I just don't understand it as a phenomenon the same way my youngest siblings born in the late 90s/early 00s do. I don't even think my sister born in 1994 can relate to it - it's pretty much a Generation Z phenomenon.

    And I'm still getting used to the fact there is a fourth Halo game (is there a fifth now?) - I still think of the 2001 game as being cutting edge. Coming from someone who grew up with Super Mario 3, Prince of Persia, Day of The Tentacle and Twisted Metal 3 and 4. I remember in the mid 90s when the N64 came out how huge a deal it was that it was 3 dimensional!  ;D Online gaming was but a dream in those days.

    Even though us 90s kids (I consider anyone born from 1979 to 1993 a 90s kid, on varying levels with some 80s/00s overlap respectively) do for the most part love iPhones, text messaging, Netflix and so on, they are fodder for the "when I was your age" stuff.

    Unfortunately many people born in the 80s and even early 90s denigrate today's teenagers for being 'obsessed' with today's technology even though I know people who are older than 40 who are equally crazy about it.

    It was only a few years ago than Generation X bashed on us Gen Yers for being obsessed with the Internet and our parents' generation were amazed at how 'diverse' and 'global' we were. Nowadays though, simply having the Web before you were a teenager or growing up with hip hop isn't enough to make you considered young.

    You know what makes me feel old? Girl Meets World. A 1981 born playing a mom on TV is just really sad to me. Someone that age is more like a sister than a mom to me but would be plenty maternal to a 13 year old born in 2000. I wouldn't be too shocked if there is a 1990 born actress like Jennifer Lawrence or Kristen Stewart (they'll be nearly 30 at the end of this decade) playing a mom on a major sitcom before we hit the 2020 mark.  :o
   

The '90s decade seems so old and dated to me right now. That is probably because I remember it well and when compared to today is just really dated and one can already tell it was another time.

The '90s decade seems so old and dated to me right now. That is probably because I remember it well and when compared to today is just really dated and one can already tell it was another time.


Especially pre-1998, yeah indeed it just felt different being alive then. Might have been my age but even people older than me seem to think much the same.

I think it was because there was more mystery and less information available, even though the Internet existed not everybody had it and the search engines and all weren't nearly as good. Internet was pretty much not mainstream technology at all for the first 5 years of the 90s too.

I will admit that I do (non jokingly) feel old from time to time, which I'm sure would seem silly to some of the older people on this site as I'm only 25 and a half years old. I think, for me, it's the fact that for my entire life I was always used to constantly being "the youngest" (particularly when I first started going online and people used to always tell me that the fact that an '87er could even go on message boards made them feel old), or having the only people considerably younger than me still be in like preschool. Heck, even when I first started lurking on this site back in 2005 I was basically the youngest person here. Now, out of nowhere, there are people more than a decade younger than me in high school. In the next few years, people born in the year I started high school, 2001, will be freshmen themselves. I think your mid 20's is the first time in your life when people born a significant amount of time after you (around 10 or so years or more) actually start getting old enough to make you feel kinda old yourself.

Technology is part of it to though. I grew up with a very low tech lifestyle, even for people my age (no cable until I was 7, my only computer was a Commodore 64 with no internet until I was 13, didn't own a 3D game console until I was nearly 11, no cell phone until I was 18, still buying cassette tapes until I was 13, didn't have an HDTV until I was 21, etc.) and it does feel weird that even people who are now well into high school, on average, grew up with a very different experience than mine. Now, like I said in the other thread, I don't think that makes them any worse of a person than me, but it damn sure does make me feel a little old. ;D

I agree on the music issue too. I did like a few 2012 songs, but I, for the most part, seemed to have checked on new musicians around the time I graduated high school. This isn't a brag either by the way, because alot of the music I liked growing up was pure garbage (Nu Metal anyone? ;D).

Like it or not folks, the 90's are getting old and there's nothing any of us can do to stop it. In less than 7 full years, 1990 will be 30 years old! :o

Someone born in 1983 is only a few years older than me


Only 7 years? 7 years is quite a generational gap when it comes to childhood memories and teenage experiences: What was 1990 for them was 1997 to you... or 2000 vs. 2007. Just keep this in mind. I also can't really relate to late 70s born people when talking about childhood and my teens. Even 4-5 years is pretty much on the edge in this case.

Oh yeah, for sure. If you have to be at least about 25 to remember 1990 (even older to have more than toddler memories), then there is no way that the 90s can reasonably be seen the same way that they were seen in say, 2005 (although I can see the older members on this website disagreeing with this, no matter how much time has passed). Even to remember 1999 beyond toddler memories, you'd basically need to be legal (as in 18 years old). There are teenagers alive today who weren't even born yet, not even on December 31st, 1999 and with each passing day, the percentage of teenagers born in the 2000s will slowly but surely rise. 

I spoke to someone born in 2000 the other day. She is going to be a teenager in two months. I asked her about her earliest memories and she has virtually no recollection of 2002 (she remembers a traumatic event, but I wouldn't really count that). This is one of this year's teenagers who has a surprisingly vivid memory. By that same standard, someone born in 1997 has no recollection of 1999. Memories at two or even three are rarely more than traumatic events and the like, so 1999 pop culture is probably alien to someone currently under the age of seventeen or eighteen.

Only 7 years? 7 years is quite a generational gap when it comes to childhood memories and teenage experiences: What was 1990 for them was 1997 to you... or 2000 vs. 2007. Just keep this in mind. I also can't really relate to late 70s born people when talking about childhood and my teens. Even 4-5 years is pretty much on the edge in this case.


Yeah, a few years is usually about three. If you are born in 1990, someone born in 1987 or 1993 is a few years either way from you.

I think your mid 20's is the first time in your life when people born a significant amount of time after you (around 10 or so years or more) actually start getting old enough to make you feel kinda old yourself.


Yeah, that's what I have experienced - or I am still feeling too. Additionally, the government shortened the overall school time (elementary/middle/high school) from 13 to 12 years in my state in Germany and abolished compulsory military/civil service for males in 2011. That means, that young people are able to start university earlier and are therefore now MUCH younger than me. I started university at age 23 and now there are people born as late as 1994/95 on my campus.

Yeah, that's what I have experienced - or I am still feeling too. Additionally, the government shortened the overall school time (elementary/middle/high school) from 13 to 12 years in my state in Germany and abolished compulsory military/civil service for males in 2011. That means, that young people are able to start university earlier and are therefore now MUCH younger than me. I started university at age 23 and now there are people born as late as 1994/95 on my campus.


People at university that can't even remember 1997 (unless they count their toddler memories)? See, this is what people are saying.

    I fail to see a major generational gap between 1983 and 1990. I count 1983 as mid 80s -- I could however, say you could make a fair case for people born in the early 80s (1980-82) arguably being a different generation from late 80s/early 90s borns since they would remember much of the 80s quite well, as opposed to 1983-87 who would at best only remember fragments.


Age gap in full years is the only thing that matters. It's not relevant if somebody remembers the 80s or not IMO. I also don't really remember the 80s, but does this put me automatically closer to 90s birth years (that don't remember the 80s) than to 80s birth years that remember the 80s?

The 1983-87 'crowd' still remembers more stuff than somebody born in 1990. Let it just be the early 90s itself - and even that can make slight generational differences.

I noticed whenever people want to class their own generation or subgeneration, no one ever seems to be willing to put themselves, say, at the beginning of such a group. Always smackdab in the middle (which makes sense), or near the tail-end, as if wanting to feel like they relate more to the people up to several years older than them than the people just a few years younger than them. (I wonder how '82 babies feel about having to share their generation with people born as late as 2000? Even the '90ers complain about that sometimes).

Someone above said something about '87 to '93. That's "my group" because I'm a '90er, so it's only from my point of view (in fact, those are my age parameters for dating :P). But I don't think there's a set of defining characteristics that distinguish that particular set of birth years from someone else's (older or younger) point of view. There's no '83-'87 group or '88-'92 group unless someone is born in the middle of those years and feels it that way.

Age gap in full years is the only thing that matters. It's not relevant if somebody remembers the 80s or not IMO. I also don't really remember the 80s, but does this put me automatically closer to 90s birth years (that don't remember the 80s) than to 80s birth years that remember the 80s?

The 1983-87 'crowd' still remembers more stuff than somebody born in 1990. Let it just be the early 90s itself - and even that can make slight generational differences.


    No it doesn't, but what I'm saying is the fact that early 80s borns can remember the 80s quite well whereas I wasn't even born until 1990 does make me feel like our experience of time is different in a highly significant way.

    I guess what I'm saying is a generational difference to me implies more than just a few years. Anyways though I guess this topic has been considered decadeology so I probably shouldn't post in it from this point on!

There's no '83-'87 group or '88-'92 group unless someone is born in the middle of those years and feels it that way.


No, there is not. I was actually more referring to the 1983ers in comparison to somebody born 7 years later.

I just found Belmont's statement so interesting: On the one hand, 1983ers seemed so close to 1990ers to him, but 1982ers (only 1 year earlier) like worlds apart - and only because of one more year of '80s experience' (which is overrated anyway)...  :o ;)

That did not really make sense to me...

    I guess what I'm saying is a generational difference to me implies more than just a few years.


When you are older, this is true. But I think there are definetly generational differences in childhood or youth culture if the age gap exceeds ca. 6/7 years. I have experienced it, because my sister is 8 years older than me.

Another example: My mum and her sister are 8.5 years apart (b. 1959 vs. late 1950). My aunt had a very conservative youth in the 60s, while my mum experienced the more liberal German 70s as a teen.

The '90s decade seems so old and dated to me right now. That is probably because I remember it well and when compared to today is just really dated and one can already tell it was another time.



It's over 20 years now.

The 1983-87 'crowd' still remembers more stuff than somebody born in 1990. Let it just be the early 90s itself - and even that can make slight generational differences.


cause that group is about 30 years old now.

No, there is not. I was actually more referring to the 1983ers in comparison to somebody born 7 years later.

I just found Belmont's statement so interesting: On the one hand, 1983ers seemed so close to 1990ers to him, but 1982ers (only 1 year earlier) like worlds apart - and only because of one more year of '80s experience' (which is overrated anyway)...  :o ;)

That did not really make sense to me...


Not necessarily, I mean it would depend on the quality of their memory and such. I'd more say the difference between 80 and 83 would be measurable. But anyways ... I better shut up about this topic or else I will probably be punished.  :-X

What do you call a funny discussion that goes nowhere?
Decade-lol-ogy

Yeah, I know.  I just don't care anymore

Belmont's breakdown (which is deleted now) made actually more sense then all those 'Which year had the best vibe'-like threads. And there are tons of them on this forum - not moderated.

I consider myself a "child of the 90s" (87er), but I wouldn't say I feel 'old'.  I think once you realize/accept that you're an adult, you actually feel younger.  It all depends on your perspective.

Having said that, it is kind of strange to think that my childhood is basically a foreign era to most of today's teens.  I think it's safe to say that the 90s decade was legitimately a 'long time ago', which doesn't seem right, but it's the truth.  The middle of the decade was almost 20 years ago, and that's a long time ago no matter how old you are.

I consider myself a "child of the 90s" (87er), but I wouldn't say I feel 'old'.  I think once you realize/accept that you're an adult, you actually feel younger.  It all depends on your perspective.

Having said that, it is kind of strange to think that my childhood is basically a foreign era to most of today's teens.  I think it's safe to say that the 90s decade was legitimately a 'long time ago', which doesn't seem right, but it's the truth.  The middle of the decade was almost 20 years ago, and that's a long time ago no matter how old you are.


Yeah only the adult 18-19 year old teens would even remember 1999, I mean MAYBE a 17 year old. To be honest even TV shows and movies from the early 2000s seem kind of old. Little Miss Sunshine was filmed in 2002 and has a slightly old fashioned feel to it, though maybe it was just because of the way it was filmed and the fact it's more or less a remake of Lampoon's Vacation.

Yeah only the adult 18-19 year old teens would even remember 1999, I mean MAYBE a 17 year old.


I think you have to be at least 20 maybe 21 to remember 1999 as a 'Year 1999'.
For remembering 1999 and some events I would say even 16 would be still sufficient since I can't disclaim that I don't remember stuff from 1989 - and I am 26.

If you think about it this way - many 90s kids will have grown up with early episodes of the Simpsons. Repeats of the 1990 episodes were still common when I started watching aged 6 and 7, I'm a 1987er. Being able to remember those episodes now is like being able to remember TV from 1967 in 1990, that gives you an idea of how dated the early 90s are!

90s kids can remember Britpop, a genre that would be as alien to today's generation as disco and early punk was to 90s kids. Buying CDs will be as strange to Generation Z as vinyl was to us.

We can clearly remember the days before the internet (not strictly true as it's a 60s invention but for the average consumer it is the case), in fact I think we got the best of both worlds - a clear idea of what pre-internet life was like but young enough to fully embrace the technology.

I wouldn't say I feel old but I certainly feel I've seen a lot of changes already.

Thanks for the topic belmont22 :)

Buying CDs will be as strange to Generation Z as vinyl was to us.


I am not sure about this. I don't remember vinyl being regularly in stores. But CDs are still available and today's teenagers (Gen Z) are still exposed to them and maybe also buy CDs.

Vinyl is not that strange to me by the way, because where I live it was not uncommon to have a record player and (older) records as a secondary equipment in the living-room - even in the 90s.

What do you call a funny discussion that goes nowhere?
Decade-lol-ogy

Yeah, I know.  I just don't care anymore


I agree.

I think you have to be at least 20 maybe 21 to remember 1999 as a 'Year 1999'.
For remembering 1999 and some events I would say even 16 would be still sufficient since I can't disclaim that I don't remember stuff from 1989 - and I am 26.


Or someone who was born in the 1970's.

Vinyl is not that strange to me by the way, because where I live it was not uncommon to have a record player and (older) records as a secondary equipment in the living-room - even in the 90s.


Actually same here, I actually shared a lot of tastes in music with my older sister because of all the vinyl and cassette tapes lying around the house. You may be right about the CDs but in the UK the last major music retailer HMV is on the brink of bankruptcy. I think in 2-3 years it will be almost obsolete but still cherished by the collectors (as vinyl is now).

If you think about it this way - many 90s kids will have grown up with early episodes of the Simpsons. Repeats of the 1990 episodes were still common when I started watching aged 6 and 7, I'm a 1987er. Being able to remember those episodes now is like being able to remember TV from 1967 in 1990, that gives you an idea of how dated the early 90s are!

90s kids can remember Britpop, a genre that would be as alien to today's generation as disco and early punk was to 90s kids. Buying CDs will be as strange to Generation Z as vinyl was to us.

We can clearly remember the days before the internet (not strictly true as it's a 60s invention but for the average consumer it is the case), in fact I think we got the best of both worlds - a clear idea of what pre-internet life was like but young enough to fully embrace the technology.

I wouldn't say I feel old but I certainly feel I've seen a lot of changes already.

Thanks for the topic belmont22 :)


Yeah it's just insane that 1990 is as close to the Summer of Love as it is to the present!

As far as CDs, I think they will seem strange to the later Gen Zers, like someone born in 2008 or something, but keep in mind Gen Z goes back as far as 1995 by many definitions so to the older Zers CDs would still be quite familiar items. CDs today are about as relevant as vinyl was in 1990, ie clearly on the way out but still present.

Oddly, vinyl is more relevant today than it was 15 years ago, especially where I live. Since we can just download music, if you want to own the 'hard copy' might as well go all the way and get the vinyl!

We can clearly remember the days before the internet (not strictly true as it's a 60s invention but for the average consumer it is the case), in fact I think we got the best of both worlds - a clear idea of what pre-internet life was like but young enough to fully embrace the technology.


    Yeah, I've wondered if I can legit claim to remember 'pre-Internet' times. Personally I would say yes, since my memories start in 1992/93 and the Internet didn't really become mainstream until the second half of 1995, so I do remember a couple years before the true dawn of the Internet age.

    The Web was invented in 1989 but it wasn't released to the public until 1991 and it took several years for people to take notice of it. Online services were pretty popular in the late 80s/early 90s but it was definitely for nerds and early adapters, there wasn't a mainstream Internet culture at all until 1995/96 so I'd say if you can remember the year 1994, you could claim to remember 'before the Internet' pretty legitimately.

    Only 10 percent of Americans were online in 1994 and the Web was mostly limited to the US and just a few other countries at that time. By 1996, something like a quarter of households in the United States were online which is enough that it could be considered quite mainstream already.

cause that group is about 30 years old now.



Not so fast, the people born in December of 1987 only just turned 25 lol.

CDs today are about as relevant as vinyl was in 1990, ie clearly on the way out but still present.


The difference is that there is not a 'real' physical medium that replaces CDs like it was the case during the 80s. So the music corner in electronic stores still look not very different than 10-20 years ago.


Oddly, vinyl is more relevant today than it was 15 years ago, especially where I live. Since we can just download music, if you want to own the 'hard copy' might as well go all the way and get the vinyl!


That's true. I got a record player for Christmas in 1997 and asked my father if we could go out to town to buy some vinyl records... there was no way to get new ones at that time. In 2013 it's no problem: It's maybe just a small corner in the store, but at least it's there.

    Yeah, I've wondered if I can legit claim to remember 'pre-Internet' times. Personally I would say yes, since my memories start in 1992/93 and the Internet didn't really become mainstream until the second half of 1995, so I do remember a couple years before the true dawn of the Internet age.

    The Web was invented in 1989 but it wasn't released to the public until 1991 and it took several years for people to take notice of it. Online services were pretty popular in the late 80s/early 90s but it was definitely for nerds and early adapters, there wasn't a mainstream Internet culture at all until 1995/96 so I'd say if you can remember the year 1994, you could claim to remember 'before the Internet' pretty legitimately.

    Only 10 percent of Americans were online in 1994 and the Web was mostly limited to the US and just a few other countries at that time. By 1996, something like a quarter of households in the United States were online which is enough that it could be considered quite mainstream already.


It would be interesting to see the statistics for the United Kingdom (checked Google, not helpful) because people on this forum often talk about internet being mainstream in 1996, for here I think it was a year or two later. I certainly don't remember many in my class having it but on the other hand the cybercentre at the library and the cybercafe were very busy in 1997.

    Yeah, I've wondered if I can legit claim to remember 'pre-Internet' times. Personally I would say yes, since my memories start in 1992/93 and the Internet didn't really become mainstream until the second half of 1995, so I do remember a couple years before the true dawn of the Internet age.


Even though, internet was available in the 90s, I still don't consider that era the 'internet age' - except for 1999 and maybe 1998. But that's basically it. The social and cultural relevance between 1990 and 1997 was so minor that I always consider my entire childhood (except for the very very late part of it (12/13) 'pre-internet'.

The difference is that there is not a 'real' physical medium that replaces CDs like it was the case during the 80s. So the music corner in electronic stores still look not very different than 10-20 years ago.

That's true. I got a record player for Christmas in 1997 and asked my father if we could go out to town to buy some vinyl records... there was no way to get new ones at that time. In 2013 it's no problem: It's maybe just a small corner in the store, but at least it's there.


That's true, still though there are just a lot fewer music stores today than there were 10-20 years ago.

I live in Portland and there are actually music stores here that still specialize in vinyl. Hipsters are good for something I guess!  ;D

It would be interesting to see the statistics for the United Kingdom (checked Google, not helpful) because people on this forum often talk about internet being mainstream in 1996, for here I think it was a year or two later. I certainly don't remember many in my class having it but on the other hand the cybercentre at the library and the cybercafe were very busy in 1997.


Oh probably yeah, I think in the UK a lot of things come a year or two before or after they do here. Like the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys were big in 1996 but didn't get popular here until '97.

I wouldn't be surprised if certain parts of the UK even caught on a bit later than others, like I wonder if Newcastle took a few months longer than London to hop on the dot com bandwagon for example. Certainly in the US high speed Internet came later to more remote areas than it did to major cities, there's probably even a few remote counties today where dial up is all there is.

Even though, internet was available in the 90s, I still don't consider that era the 'internet age' - except for 1999 and maybe 1998. But that's basically it. The social and cultural relevance between 1990 and 1997 was so minor that I always consider my entire childhood (except for the very very late part of it (12/13) 'pre-internet'.


Yeah I could more or less agree with that - I don't highly associate the mid 90s with the Internet even though it was popular. Even as late as 1995 it was still thought by some the Internet was overhyped and wouldn't catch on - oh how wrong they were!  ;D

Actually even in 1999 it wasn't unusual not to have the Web at home.

Yeah I could more or less agree with that - I don't highly associate the mid 90s with the Internet even though it was popular. Even as late as 1995 it was still thought by some the Internet was overhyped and wouldn't catch on - oh how wrong they were!  ;D

Actually even in 1999 it wasn't unusual not to have the Web at home.


You mention 1999 - that was the year I first got the web!

Another factor was fixed rate surfing as opposed to pay-per-minute - for the first year I had the internet I was always watching the clock and it was more common to have the PC on with no internet. Logging on was almost an 'event' especially with all the squiggly modem noises! Broadband also obviously brought huge changes. I would say the web of 2006 with social networking and YT becoming mainstream is similar to that of today, before that it was quite different, a more passive internet without the level of participation of today.

You mention 1999 - that was the year I first got the web!

Another factor was fixed rate surfing as opposed to pay-per-minute - for the first year I had the internet I was always watching the clock and it was more common to have the PC on with no internet. Logging on was almost an 'event' especially with all the squiggly modem noises! Broadband also obviously brought huge changes. I would say the web of 2006 with social networking and YT becoming mainstream is similar to that of today, before that it was quite different, a more passive internet without the level of participation of today.


Yeah, people forget that Web 1.0 was way different than Web 2.0. The pre-2005 internet was much less "interactive" in that the most you could really do on it was look up information, or maybe send out a few e-mails.. My dail-up connection was so slow that even playing games online was basically an impossibility. Compare that to today where you can actually interact with celebrities on Twitter and Facebook, or watch like every television show ever created on YouTube and it really illustrates the difference.

When it comes to what classifies as "pre-internet" age, I'm almost inclined to say that basically the entire 90's is "pre-internet", but my opinion is biased by the fact that I was such a late adapter to the net. As I've said, I didn't even hear of the internet until 1996, didn't use it until 1998, and didn't have it on my house computer until early 2000. For what it's worth, I still didn't get labeled a dork by anybody in my 7th grade class for not having internet access in late 1999 like you probably would today. In fact, some of my classmates didn't get it until after I did.

Belmont's breakdown (which is deleted now) made actually more sense then all those 'Which year had the best vibe'-like threads. And there are tons of them on this forum - not moderated.


report them.  I don't actively go looking for them anymore.  If they are reported, they usually get deleted.

Yeah, people forget that Web 1.0 was way different than Web 2.0. The pre-2005 internet was much less "interactive" in that the most you could really do on it was look up information, or maybe send out a few e-mails.. My dail-up connection was so slow that even playing games online was basically an impossibility. Compare that to today where you can actually interact with celebrities on Twitter and Facebook, or watch like every television show ever created on YouTube and it really illustrates the difference.

When it comes to what classifies as "pre-internet" age, I'm almost inclined to say that basically the entire 90's is "pre-internet", but my opinion is biased by the fact that I was such a late adapter to the net. As I've said, I didn't even hear of the internet until 1996, didn't use it until 1998, and didn't have it on my house computer until early 2000. For what it's worth, I still didn't get labeled a dork by anybody in my 7th grade class for not having internet access in late 1999 like you probably would today. In fact, some of my classmates didn't get it until after I did.


The Internet certainly didn't rule our lives like it does now in 1999, not even in the early 2000s really. I still got most of my news and entertainment needs from the TV and radio, the slowness of dialup greatly reduced the appeal for sure.

When it comes to what classifies as "pre-internet" age, I'm almost inclined to say that basically the entire 90's is "pre-internet", but my opinion is biased by the fact that I was such a late adapter to the net. As I've said, I didn't even hear of the internet until 1996, didn't use it until 1998, and didn't have it on my house computer until early 2000.


And why are you (or your family) such a late adapter to the net? ->>> Because the normal person was not dependant on it and nobody expected you to have it. I also didn't get it before mid 2000 and I think until 2006ish it was indeed more or less a 'nice to have-thing' only. I don't think that I seriously needed it for school during my first 12 learning years - well I did use it for some school stuff, but it certainly would have worked without it, too.

I don't consider myself a "'90s kid" these days, because that means born in the '90s now (or even '00s).  ::) And I remember more than just dumb Nick shows, I remember a lot of non kiddie pop culture and the news events (mid-late '90s anyway). I remember the bad things like Oklahoma City or Columbine, and the good like the economy. I remember the entire decade, though the early '90s of course are on the foggy side. I liked the '90s but I'm old enough where I saw the good and bad so I know it was really just like any other decade. I had a good childhood so I miss that. I miss my parents being younger, well and all my aunts and uncles. They're all in their late 50s- 60s now. My generation is starting to get married and have kids, my facebook is filled with baby pictures and engagements these days. And I'm just losing interest in the current pop music and all that teen stuff, which even in my early 20s I was still a bit into but over the last few years my priorities are shifting. It's just kinda what happens when you hit your mid-late 20s and don't have much in common with teens anymore and realize your getting closer to 30 (granted I still got just over 4 years to go but still).

Oddly, vinyl is more relevant today than it was 15 years ago, especially where I live. Since we can just download music, if you want to own the 'hard copy' might as well go all the way and get the vinyl!

Or you can go to a vintage record store where they sell vinyl for cheap.

That's true, still though there are just a lot fewer music stores today than there were 10-20 years ago.

most of them went into bankruptcy.

Or you can go to a vintage record store where they sell vinyl for cheap.


Old records were always available somewhere - especially on eBay. The interesting thing is that there are actually new releases on vinyl that are sold in some stores next to the CD corner. At least in Germany it's the case.

I don't consider myself a "'90s kid" these days, because that means born in the '90s now (or even '00s).  ::) And I remember more than just dumb Nick shows, I remember a lot of non kiddie pop culture and the news events (mid-late '90s anyway). I remember the bad things like Oklahoma City or Columbine, and the good like the economy. I remember the entire decade, though the early '90s of course are on the foggy side. I liked the '90s but I'm old enough where I saw the good and bad so I know it was really just like any other decade. I had a good childhood so I miss that. I miss my parents being younger, well and all my aunts and uncles. They're all in their late 50s- 60s now. My generation is starting to get married and have kids, my facebook is filled with baby pictures and engagements these days. And I'm just losing interest in the current pop music and all that teen stuff, which even in my early 20s I was still a bit into but over the last few years my priorities are shifting. It's just kinda what happens when you hit your mid-late 20s and don't have much in common with teens anymore and realize your getting closer to 30 (granted I still got just over 4 years to go but still).



Yeah um, even I'm as close to 30 as I am to 16!  :o And most people my age seem to at least have nieces and nephews, and are in committed relationships even if they may or may not be engaged.

Yeah um, even I'm as close to 30 as I am to 16!  :o


I'm as close to 30 as I am to 23 and 3 months.

But this situation changes fast: By the end of this year I will be as close to 30 as I will be to 25 and 2 months.

I'm as close to 30 as I am to 23 and 3 months.

But this situation changes fast: By the end of this year I will be as close to 30 as I will be to 25 and 2 months.


I used to feel that way when I was your age, when 30 was creeping up. I understand how you feel. Now that I'm 50, I kinda lump all adults under the age of 30 as still very young. I'll tell someone who's' just 23 or 24 and say "You're just a kid!" (same as when I was in my early 20s and an older person would tell the same thing to me, that I was just a kid. Same thing a 75 year old person tells me now "You're just a kid, a baby really")

It's all relative.  When I see the topic "Reasons Children of the 90s Feel Old" I think to myself...Gaaaah! I'm born in the 60s. I must come from the ancient times  ;D

Enjoy life in your 20s. It's probably going to turn out to be one of the best part of your lives. You are young, free, with your whole life in front of you.

I am not sure about this. I don't remember vinyl being regularly in stores. But CDs are still available and today's teenagers (Gen Z) are still exposed to them and maybe also buy CDs.

Vinyl is not that strange to me by the way, because where I live it was not uncommon to have a record player and (older) records as a secondary equipment in the living-room - even in the 90s.


Yes, it is true that while vinyl was a bit of a relic in the 90s most 90s kids would still be pretty familiar with it and probably had a record player somewhere in the house. But a lot of Nick shows in the 90s made fun of the idea that children then didn't know what vinyl was - they even did it on an episode of Clarissa Explains It All despite the fact she would have been a child of the 80s - obviously nonsense!

Yes, it is true that while vinyl was a bit of a relic in the 90s most 90s kids would still be pretty familiar with it and probably had a record player somewhere in the house. But a lot of Nick shows in the 90s made fun of the idea that children then didn't know what vinyl was - they even did it on an episode of Clarissa Explains It All despite the fact she would have been a child of the 80s - obviously nonsense!


I think it also might depend on how old the household was in the 90s. Our house was built in 1981 and the interior/technology was kept basically on this level until the mid 90s (of course mixed-up with more modern stuff, too). Since records and players were still common throughout the 80s it was obvious that they were still there after 10-15 years.

Well I was born in 1984 (and feel like a geezer posting in this thread...ha) and to me even the 86-90 babies still seem young to me.  Even though the 86'ers are already probably starting to marry off right now, and the 90 crowd is just leaving college.

I still remember a glimmer of the 80's. 1988, sitting on my grandfathers knee watching Reagans farewell address in January (I was 4 1/2) as well as the fall of the berlin wall and the little talk that we had about it in kindergarten. Also the changing of the maps in our classrooms when the cold war was ending.

Vinyl wasn't that foreign to us. We didn't purchase it ourselves however our older siblings and cousins would have vinyl collections lining the shelves.

The world that the 81-84 kids (cold Y generation) grew up in was very different.

For instance a lot of relics from the 70's were still around. I saw a picture of my family during a 1987 vacation...and there we were all posing in front of my dads 78 Buick Lesabre. I watched a TV from the 1979 up until 1990 or so. I think by 1995 all of that was all gone. But in the late 80's/early 90's those "relics" were still a part of every day life.

The pre 1985 babies can recall the rise and fall of grunge (though too young to fully get into it) as well as the first gulf war. Presidency's before Clinton...as well as harsh economic times (remember the early 90's recession and the spike in alcoholism, drug abuse, and crime that followed) a lot of our families were hit hard. I think that sort of toughened us. And we're also a lot more cynical politically. Many my age don't particularly care for either party. Not only do we remember "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" but we also recall "Read my lips, no new taxes" So we expect every politician to lie, cheat, and steal.

Even the tri state area. I can remember NYC as a destitute, crime/drug riddled wasteland with subway platforms soaked in blood, this was pre Giuliani. My parents hated going there. It used to be like the worlds capital of smut. Now times square is Disneyland!

I used to feel that way when I was your age, when 30 was creeping up. I understand how you feel. Now that I'm 50, I kinda lump all adults under the age of 30 as still very young. I'll tell someone who's' just 23 or 24 and say "You're just a kid!" (same as when I was in my early 20s and an older person would tell the same thing to me, that I was just a kid. Same thing a 75 year old person tells me now "You're just a kid, a baby really")

It's all relative.  When I see the topic "Reasons Children of the 90s Feel Old" I think to myself...Gaaaah! I'm born in the 60s. I must come from the ancient times  ;D

Enjoy life in your 20s. It's probably going to turn out to be one of the best part of your lives. You are young, free, with your whole life in front of you.


Yeah feeling old is relative. The people today in their 20s are older compared to kids and teens but still younger than the older 50+ years of society.  :)

Yeah feeling old is relative.


Yes, it is. Just read the post of '1993'. A late 20er feels already old among close-late 20ers.  ;D

Personally, I only feel old among those who are 21 and under.

Old records were always available somewhere - especially on eBay. The interesting thing is that there are actually new releases on vinyl that are sold in some stores next to the CD corner. At least in Germany it's the case.


Hey Inland, We have this record store that sells vintage vinyl records, cassette tapes, T-Shirts and some other stuff. It's been around for over 20 years, They're called Breakdown Records.

Well I was born in 1984 (and feel like a geezer posting in this thread...ha) and to me even the 86-90 babies still seem young to me.  Even though the 86'ers are already probably starting to marry off right now, and the 90 crowd is just leaving college.

Aw come on, someone born in 1986 is only 2 years or less younger than you are, in your late 20s, that type of age difference is extremely trivial.
I could never feel that way about someone born in 1987 or 1988 right now(I'm '85 born), I look to those born at least post 1993/1994 as being significantly younger than me. The age differences between people has to be much more significant after roughly 24 or 25(give or take a year) for it to be pretty noticeable.

Aw come on, someone born in 1986 is only 2 years or less younger than you are, in your late 20s, that type of age difference is extremely trivial.
I could never feel that way about someone born in 1987 or 1988 right now(I'm '85 born), I look to those born at least post 1993/1994 as being significantly younger than me. The age differences between people has to be much more significant after roughly 24 or 25(give or take a year) for it to be pretty noticeable.


Yeah, I wanted to write something similar, but I deleted it. The whole post is too awkward  ;D

He actually thinks that his childhood (3-12) 1987-1996 was so different from a 1989-1998 childhood. LOL at that.
The difference to a 1990er is still quite reasonable, but two years???

Aw come on, someone born in 1986 is only 2 years or less younger than you are, in your late 20s, that type of age difference is extremely trivial.
I could never feel that way about someone born in 1987 or 1988 right now(I'm '85 born), I look to those born at least post 1993/1994 as being significantly younger than me. The age differences between people has to be much more significant after roughly 24 or 25(give or take a year) for it to be pretty noticeable.


Maybe one thing would make the childhood memories of two persons with an age gap of two years significant:

The experiences around the border from childhood->teenager (12/13): Somebody born just two years later than me might associate Y2K or even 9/11 with their childhood, while these are 'teenage events' for me.

Yeah, I wanted to write something similar, but I deleted it. The whole post is too awkward  ;D

He actually thinks that his childhood (3-12) 1987-1996 was so different from a 1989-1998 childhood. LOL at that.
The difference to a 1990er is still quite reasonable, but two years???


Mine would be 1993-2002 by that definition. I'm an old soul though and I was pretty conscious early on so for me I weigh more towards the early part of that span as my 'formative' years.

Maybe one thing would make the childhood memories of two persons with an age gap of two years significant:

The experiences around the border from childhood->teenager (12/13): Somebody born just two years later than me might associate Y2K or even 9/11 with their childhood, while these are 'teenage events' for me.


    I think of them as being pre-teen events to me. I was nearly 10 when Y2K happened and a few months shy of 12 when 9/11 happened so it felt quite a bit different from when I was 6 which already seemed like an eternity ago to me. I was just starting middle school when 9/11 happened so it's something I would connect more with my teens than I would with my earliest childhood.

    My parents divorced and we moved to a different state when I was 8 years old, in March of 1998 so I've always felt like there was a "Year Zero" kind of thing going on from that date onwards. Anything prior to that date is what I consider my 'classic' childhood so basically age 2 to age 7.

Yeah, I wanted to write something similar, but I deleted it. The whole post is too awkward  ;D

He actually thinks that his childhood (3-12) 1987-1996 was so different from a 1989-1998 childhood. LOL at that.
The difference to a 1990er is still quite reasonable, but two years???


He just wants to be part of an older club. This guy was born in '84 and grew up in exactly the same era as me an '87 born, yet he acts like he's so ahead. Quite laughable.  ::)

Anyway I relate to basically everything that guy experienced, my dad had a '78 Bonneville in the early '90s which I remember. I actually do vaguely recall Bush's father being president too. I remember my elementary school had a record player and a slide projector back in the day. I also remember when maps were still labelled with the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, etc. Again my experience is essentially the same, so I don't know why this guy is claiming he had it any different because he didn't.

Yeah, I wanted to write something similar, but I deleted it. The whole post is too awkward  ;D

He actually thinks that his childhood (3-12) 1987-1996 was so different from a 1989-1998 childhood. LOL at that.
The difference to a 1990er is still quite reasonable, but two years???


I personally consider 3/4-10 and 11-13/14 separate categories. Preteen and the very early teens (middle school years basically) is a unique category separate from a young child in my experience. I don't like lumping 3-12 together as "childhood" because of an arbitrary age like 13 because it has "teen" at the end. Being 11-12 is a lot different from being a 5 year old, again I remember being 11-12 and at that age kids are starting puberty and we got taught sex ed in school. I don't consider a kid a true adolescent till they start high school, which is like mid 14.

I personally consider 3/4-10 and 11-13/14 separate categories. Preteen and the very early teens (middle school years basically) is a unique category separate from a young child in my experience. I don't like lumping 3-12 together as "childhood" because of an arbitrary age like 13 because it has "teen" at the end. Being 11-12 is a lot different from being a 5 year old, again I remember being 11-12 and at that age kids are starting puberty and we got taught sex ed in school. I don't consider a kid a true a true adolescent till they start high school, which is like mid 14.


Agreed. I didn't really feel like a "kid" anymore when I was 12. I was in 6th-7th grade at that age. I think 10 is really the last full-fledged "child" age. 11 could go either way, since it's divided between 5th grade (elementary school) and 6th grade (middle school).

He just wants to be part of an older club. This guy was born in '84 and grew up in exactly the same era as me an '87 born, yet he acts like he's so ahead. Quite laughable.  ::)

Anyway I relate to basically everything that guy experienced, my dad had a '78 Bonneville in the early '90s which I remember. I actually do vaguely recall Bush's father being president too. I remember my elementary school had a record player and a slide projector back in the day. I also remember when maps were still labelled with the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, etc. Again my experience is essentially the same, so I don't know why this guy is claiming he had it any different because he didn't.


It's not me who came up with this subset. Sociologists have when they noticed certain patterns of behavior, opinions, consumer habits etc of the 1976/1981(disputed)-1985(concensus) group. They don't quite fall in line with generation X or Y. 1987 is already solid Y. The way they draw these boundaries is to associate them with major events and who is the last to recall them...not have a deep understanding, just a memory that they can talk about. Nobody from 1986 and up is going to have any recollection of the end of the cold war or reagan as president. That's when true generation Y separates from Cold Y.

Also, living in decades of such rapid change...a 3 year gap now seems a lot bigger than it would be for say someone born in say 1910 compared to 1913. An 81 baby for instance would have more of a true feel for the 80's than me. Would be able to recall the mood of the nation when say...the Challenger disaster(I have no recollection) the AIDS panic (I only remember in the early 90's when everyone was already more educated about the disease) Black Monday 1987 (no recollection)

It's not me who came up with this subset. Sociologists have when they noticed certain patterns of behavior, opinions, consumer habits etc of the 1976/1981(disputed)-1985(concensus) group. They don't quite fall in line with generation X or Y. 1987 is already solid Y

Also, living in decades of such rapid change...a 3 year gap now seems a lot bigger than it would be for say someone born in say 1910 compared to 1913. An 81 baby for instance would have more of a true feel for the 80's than me. Would be able to recall the mood of the nation when say...the Challenger disaster(I have no recollection) the AIDS panic (I only remember in the early 90's when everyone was already more educated about the disease) Black Monday 1987 (no recollection)


::) Whatever dude.

::) Whatever dude.


I don't see where you need to be condescending about it. It's just a study in the way generations are stratified

I don't see where you need to be condescending about it. It's just a study in the way generations are stratified


Everybody has their own "analysis" about stuff like this, I happen to disagree with you and whatever "study" you're going by. It's my opinion and I'll leave it at that.

So the reasons children of the 90's feel old have nothing to do with the epidemics of gout, arthritis, and osteoporosis that have been recently plaguing them???  ::)

Nobody from 1986 and up is going to have any recollection of the end of the cold war or reagan as president. That's when true generation Y separates from Cold Y.


What's so special about remembering Reagan? I don't even remember Bush Sr. being in office, but that's probably because I am German.

Great that you know how much I really remember. The cold war ended in 1991. I have a lot of memories from 1990/91, but I was just not into politics at that time.... did you? I also wonder how much a 6 year old truly understands about the cold war; especially in a country, which is not visibly affected by it - unlike Germany.

Of course, more than 20 years later you have read a lot of stuff about it and now you realize that you were alive back then. Good for you.

I see quite a gap between me and my sister who was born in 1978 - but that's 8 years and not lousy 2. SHE really knows and experienced the cold war. She was able to travel with my parents to the eastern part of Germany when I was not born yet and SHE  knows what a strict border control of a socialistic country meant. She was directly exposed to the seperation of East and West, and that's a fact I have to live with.

Almost everybody born in 85 was 3 YEARS OLD and someone born in 84 was 4 LOL when Reagan left office, yeah Reagan is gonna mean so much more to them than me LOL. That's even younger than I was when Bush sr left office (who I only just vaguely remember hearing about when I was little).

I noticed whenever people want to class their own generation or subgeneration, no one ever seems to be willing to put themselves, say, at the beginning of such a group. Always smackdab in the middle (which makes sense), or near the tail-end, as if wanting to feel like they relate more to the people up to several years older than them than the people just a few years younger than them. (I wonder how '82 babies feel about having to share their generation with people born as late as 2000? Even the '90ers complain about that sometimes).

Someone above said something about '87 to '93. That's "my group" because I'm a '90er, so it's only from my point of view (in fact, those are my age parameters for dating :P). But I don't think there's a set of defining characteristics that distinguish that particular set of birth years from someone else's (older or younger) point of view. There's no '83-'87 group or '88-'92 group unless someone is born in the middle of those years and feels it that way.


Yes I think pop culture is increasingly being denigrated, even many young people these days agree that pop culture sucks. So naturally people will want to identify with the past.

I agree, while the gap between someone my age, born in 1986, and someone born in 1996, is not really much different from 1976 to 1986, the biggest difference is we grew up in the formative years of the 'digital age', when digital technology still hadn't permeated EVERYTHING. Most people born before 1990 say remember a childhood that wasn't dominated by the internet. While I first used it in 1995 or 1996, I rarely used it regularly until I was in my teens. I think we also remember the 90sness of  a lot of early to mid 00s pop culture, like when Britney was still big and not washed up, Boy Bands.etc. We were also pretty grown up before facebook, youtube.etc got universal.

I agree, while the gap between someone my age, born in 1986, and someone born in 1996, is not really much different from 1976 to 1986, the biggest difference is we grew up in the formative years of the 'digital age', when digital technology still hadn't permeated EVERYTHING. Most people born before 1990 say remember a childhood that wasn't dominated by the internet. While I first used it in 1995 or 1996, I rarely used it regularly until I was in my teens. I think we also remember the 90sness of  a lot of early to mid 00s pop culture, like when Britney was still big and not washed up, Boy Bands.etc. We were also pretty grown up before facebook, youtube.etc got universal.


That's true, I was 5/6 when the Internet explosion began and 15 when YouTube and MySpace got popular so while I do remember some of the old stuff and was semi-grown up when the current wave of technology started to come out, and can remember a couple years before the 'Internet age', I'd say overall my experience is probably pretty in between yours and someone born in 1994 though probably leaning towards '86 a little bit.

My childhood was pretty Internet-less as my parents didn't let me use it until I was 10. The first time I used it was at school back in 1999, my mom and dad had it fairly early on though they were actually among the first million or so to get AOL.

And of course it was only dial-up, I didn't grow up with Facebook, YouTube, smartphones etc as a small child the way a kid born in 1999 did. My childhood technologically speaking was centered around the TV.

So the reasons children of the 90's feel old have nothing to do with the epidemics of gout, arthritis, and osteoporosis that have been recently plaguing them???  ::)


;D

What's so special about remembering Reagan? I don't even remember Bush Sr. being in office, but that's probably because I am German.

Great that you know how much I really remember. The cold war ended in 1991. I have a lot of memories from 1990/91, but I was just not into politics at that time.... did you? I also wonder how much a 6 year old truly understands about the cold war; especially in a country, which is not visibly affected by it - unlike Germany.

Of course, more than 20 years later you have read a lot of stuff about it and now you realize that you were alive back then. Good for you.

I see quite a gap between me and my sister who was born in 1978 - but that's 8 years and not lousy 2. SHE really knows and experienced the cold war. She was able to travel with my parents to the eastern part of Germany when I was not born yet and SHE  knows what a strict border control of a socialistic country meant. She was directly exposed to the seperation of East and West, and that's a fact I have to live with.




The cold war ended in 1989. There is a difference between the ending of the cold war and the official signed and sealed dissolution of the soviet union. There was no perceived "threat" after 1989.

Your sister is still generation X. Or frankly I don't even know what generation she would fall in in German classifications.

And this is not a thread about growing up in Germany, the memories you have, the technology, lifestyles, opinions, political systems are going to be far far different from American kids growing up in the same time frame.

it's not about "understanding", I already mentioned that I didn't have a firm understanding of what was going on at that time. But that's not what draws the boundaries between generations.

Almost everybody born in 85 was 3 YEARS OLD and someone born in 84 was 4 LOL when Reagan left office, yeah Reagan is gonna mean so much more to them than me LOL. That's even younger than I was when Bush sr left office (who I only just vaguely remember hearing about when I was little).


again, it has nothing to do with how much he means to you. It's about establishing benchmarks to delineate boundaries between X/Cold Y/and Y

The cold war ended in 1989. There is a difference between the ending of the cold war and the official signed and sealed dissolution of the soviet union. There was no perceived "threat" after 1989.

Your sister is still generation X. Or frankly I don't even know what generation she would fall in in German classifications.

And this is not a thread about growing up in Germany, the memories you have, the technology, lifestyles, opinions, political systems are going to be far far different from American kids growing up in the same time frame.

it's not about "understanding", I already mentioned that I didn't have a firm understanding of what was going on at that time. But that's not what draws the boundaries between generations.


Generations are drawn by when you come of age, not what era you're a 4 year old in. You came of age in the 21st century you're solid Gen Y like myself sorry.

it's not about "understanding", I already mentioned that I didn't have a firm understanding of what was going on at that time. But that's not what draws the boundaries between generations.


Oh it's all about understanding, if you don't understand a time then you weren't a part of it. Vague toddler memories doesn't mean you were a part of an era. You sound like one of those born in '94 "'90s kids", trying to latch onto something you really don't remember and thinking you're superior to somebody just a couple years younger, it's understandable for a teen but not for a guy who's 28. It's pathetic.

Generations are drawn by when you come of age, not what era you're a 4 year old in. You came of age in the 21st century you're solid Gen Y like myself sorry.


well the 21st century began in 2001 so I was already plenty "of age" by then. So were you

The entire study of this is fluid enough. If you want to just bunch all of the late 70's to the early 00's together and call it Y, then fine you're entitled to your opinion. But there are plenty of scholars who think that is too broad and would rather break it into smaller subsets...and they're not wrong either

And this is not a thread about growing up in Germany, the memories you have, the technology, lifestyles, opinions, political systems are going to be far far different from American kids growing up in the same time frame.


So you're trying to exclude me from the discussion? That's laughable. Germany was and still is a western country that keeps strong connections to the USA. If I couldn't relate to a lot of things the people post here, I already would have left the forum much earlier.

Technology, lifestyle and political system are basically the same.
Movies were released in Germany exactly when they were also released in the USA; TV series maybe only 1-2 years later. Pop music was more or less the same, toys, computers... come on, you don't live in a completely different world.

Oh it's all about understanding, if you don't understand a time then you weren't a part of it. Vague toddler memories doesn't mean you were a part of an era. You sound like one of those born in '94 "'90s kids", trying to latch onto something you really don't remember and thinking you're superior to somebody just a couple years younger, it's understandable for a teen but not for a guy who's 28. It's pathetic.


I have no idea what a "born in 1994 90's kid is" evidently you do. So there is another difference between 1984 and 1987. As is your belligerence.

I have no idea what a "born in 1994 90's kid is" evidently you do.


Then you have missed some discussions on this board.

I have no idea what a "born in 1994 90's kid is" evidently you do. So there is another difference between 1984 and 1987. As is your belligerence.


You sound just like this kid.

http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=44040.0

So you're trying to exclude me from the discussion? That's laughable. Germany was and still is a western country that keeps strong connections to the USA. If I couldn't relate to a lot of things the people post here, I already would have left the forum much earlier.

Technology, lifestyle and political system are basically the same.
Movies were released in Germany exactly when they were also released in the USA; TV series maybe only 1-2 years later. Pop music was more or less the same, toys, computers... come on, you don't live in a completely different world.


that's really not true at all. There is a huge divide in say the education system, the types of communities you grew up in, the holidays that you would celebrate (that we wouldn't). Much of how you remember certain events will be different.

For instance, if you go back to the 60's, was there a Vietnam era in germany? Was there a woodstock? was there an iranian hostage crises?

What are you trying to even argue 1993? That there's another sub-set of Y, the 'Cold Y' or whatever, that ends around what, 1984-85? If you mean someone who remembers the Cold War, I would probably put that at more like 1986-87, although as children we're not really that aware of politics, even someone born as early as like 1982.

well the 21st century began in 2001 so I was already plenty "of age" by then. So were you

The entire study of this is fluid enough. If you want to just bunch all of the late 70's to the early 00's together and call it Y, then fine you're entitled to your opinion. But there are plenty of scholars who think that is too broad and would rather break it into smaller subsets...and they're not wrong either


Coming of age means turning 18/21. You turned 18 in 2002, and 21 in 2005. Me 2005 and 2008.

Coming of age means turning 18/21. You turned 18 in 2002, and 21 in 2005. Me 2005 and 2008.


turning 18 and 21 means nothing. Most have already drank/smoked themselves silly at that point, had their license for a few years, had jobs, traveled (some had even fought in wars) all are already in college and have over a decade of memories to draw back on

true coming of age is earlier. puberty, experiencing loss for the first time, or financial hardships your family might experience. That generally happens between 11-15. It's more loss of innocence.

The older you get the less you change with the times. That's a general consensus. I think I changed a lot between 10 and 13, but was essentially the same between 18-21.

that's really not true at all. There is a huge divide in say the education system, the types of communities you grew up in, the holidays that you would celebrate (that we wouldn't). Much of how you remember certain events will be different.

For instance, if you go back to the 60's, was there a Vietnam era in germany? Was there a woodstock? was there an iranian hostage crises?


First of all, we were not talking about the 60s. Secondly, we also have TV and news over here. You might wonder how relevant American politics and lifestyle is over here.

What holidays are you talking about? Alright, we don't have Thanksgiving and 4th of July... but Easter and Christmas (the only holidays which are celebrated quite big)... what's so different about it?

turning 18 and 21 means nothing. Most have already drank/smoked themselves silly at that point, had their license for a few years, had jobs, traveled (some had even fought in wars) all are already in college and have over a decade of memories to draw back on

true coming of age is earlier. puberty, experiencing loss for the first time, or financial hardships your family might experience. That generally happens between 11-15.


Coming of age means first getting out in the world in my book, becoming an adolescent is different.

What are you trying to even argue 1993? That there's another sub-set of Y, the 'Cold Y' or whatever, that ends around what, 1984-85? If you mean someone who remembers the Cold War, I would probably put that at more like 1986-87, although as children we're not really that aware of politics, even someone born as early as like 1982.


Good point. If it's obviously not about understanding the cold war, 86 and maybe 87 could still get integrated into this 'category'. These are (probably) the last birthyears that remember before 1990.

First of all, we were not talking about the 60s. Secondly, we also have TV and news over here. You might wonder how relevant American politics and lifestyle is over here.

What holidays are you talking about? Alright, we don't have Thanksgiving and 4th of July... but Easter and Christmas (the only holidays which are celebrated quite big)... what's so different about it?


I realize American politics and lifestyle are big over there...I'm not sure how good that is considering how much filth permeates both.

So for example, a guy my age grew up saying the pledge of allegiance in class, lived for touch football at recess, ate tons of fast food, watched WWF wrestling, had his GI Joes, played softball at his dads company outings, vacationed in disneyworld/land, rode his BMX unsupervised all around town, rushed to blockbuster to get the new street fighter 2 before the neighborhood kids did.

Not all of this is healthy behavior...but I don't think a kid of the same age in germany is doing much of the same.

Not all of this is healthy behavior...but I don't think a kid of the same age in germany is doing much of the same.


I can't relate to every cultural characteristic of the United States and that's also the reason why I am not posting in threads where stuff like that is discussed.

But in this special case, you were talking about a cold war childhood and you were trying to exclude me from the debate. But which western nation do you think was affected most by the end of the cold war? I am part of it...

Sorry to interrupt -what is the point of what is going on here, exactly? I'm confused. When I saw this thread I figured it would be about people discussing how old they feel and the reasons for it. Maybe that was not the intent after all...

Sorry to interrupt -what is the point of what is going on here, exactly? I'm confused. When I saw this thread I figured it would be about people discussing how old they feel and the reasons for it. Maybe that was not the intent after all...


Author '1993' (b. 1984) felt a lot older and kind of superior among a so called '86-'90 crowd. So it was still about feeling older, just in a more laughable way.

The cold war ended in 1989. There is a difference between the ending of the cold war and the official signed and sealed dissolution of the soviet union. There was no perceived "threat" after 1989.


    I disagree. The Soviet Union wasn't doomed until they tried a coup in August 1991, that failed miserably. They still intended to keep their republics to the very end. True the relationship between the US and Russia improved a lot with Gorbachev but the ideological struggle was still ongoing until pretty much the USSR's final day.

    Actually even today, the Russian Federation is essentially a reduced form of the Soviet Union and it incorporates many areas that aren't ethnic Russian. They might allow free market capitalism, which has turned their country into a mafia haven, but they still have many of their bombs and they are still totalitarian. Much of their leadership including Putin is the same old guard that was running the show in the Communist days. If they had an alliance with China the Cold War could easily flare up again in the near future.

Sorry to interrupt -what is the point of what is going on here, exactly? I'm confused. When I saw this thread I figured it would be about people discussing how old they feel and the reasons for it. Maybe that was not the intent after all...


BINGO! Karma owed.

Author '1993' (b. 1984) felt a lot older and kind of superior among a so called '86-'90 crowd. So it was still about feeling older, just in a more laughable way.


I'm ashamed of even debating him about it now, but I'm just tired.  ;D

Author '1993' (b. 1984) felt a lot older and kind of superior among a so called '86-'90 crowd. So it was still about feeling older, just in a more laughable way.


Why don't you take out your frustrations on the erudite sociologists that actually created the Cold Y subgroup...you know the folks who actually did the research and felt the need to draw the dividing line at 1985 based on their studies. I never said I'm oh so much older and more superior than the 86-90 crowd.

Why don't you take out your frustrations on the erudite sociologists that actually created the Cold Y subgroup...you know the folks who actually did the research and felt the need to draw the dividing line at 1985 based on their studies. I never said I'm oh so much older and more superior than the 86-90 crowd.


I have also seen dividing lines of 'cold Y' at 1987.

http://www.chumpysclipart.com/images/illustrations/xsmall2/2198_picture_of_a_stylistic_image_of_a_couple_watching_a_movie_and_enjoying_soda_and_popcorn.jpg

that's really not true at all. There is a huge divide in say the education system, the types of communities you grew up in, the holidays that you would celebrate (that we wouldn't). Much of how you remember certain events will be different.

For instance, if you go back to the 60's, was there a Vietnam era in germany? Was there a woodstock? was there an iranian hostage crises?


Of course there are differences. Even Canada has differences from the US. But let's be honest, even as far back as 1965 Europe, Australia and America have all more or less had parallel histories and nowadays, that even applies to Latin America and Asia to a large extent. Hell even in Sri Lanka and New Guinea teenage girls go apeshi t over Justin Bieber.  ;D

It's funny because my intent was a 'sequel' if you will to the inthe80s page. I don't think 90s children have any reason to feel old, but the fact is a lot of things from the 90s and even the 00s are pretty old and/or irrelevant now just like the 80s was beginning to become that way in the early 2000s.

Sorry to interrupt -what is the point of what is going on here, exactly? I'm confused. When I saw this thread I figured it would be about people discussing how old they feel and the reasons for it. Maybe that was not the intent after all...


They're just going back and forth about the 90's.  ::)

What's so special about remembering Reagan? I don't even remember Bush Sr. being in office, but that's probably because I am German.

Great that you know how much I really remember. The cold war ended in 1991. I have a lot of memories from 1990/91, but I was just not into politics at that time.... did you? I also wonder how much a 6 year old truly understands about the cold war; especially in a country, which is not visibly affected by it - unlike Germany.

Of course, more than 20 years later you have read a lot of stuff about it and now you realize that you were alive back then. Good for you.

I see quite a gap between me and my sister who was born in 1978 - but that's 8 years and not lousy 2. SHE really knows and experienced the cold war. She was able to travel with my parents to the eastern part of Germany when I was not born yet and SHE  knows what a strict border control of a socialistic country meant. She was directly exposed to the seperation of East and West, and that's a fact I have to live with.


Yeah, that's the reason why I'm having such a hard time swallowing this too. When I was a kid, me and most other kids I knew didn't care one whit about politics. The first political event that I even remember being aware of was the Lewinsky Scandal, and I was 10/11 years old at the time. I don't even remember watching or caring about Clinton's Farewell Address in 2001 and I was nearly 14. The Dubya Bush administration is really the first that I had a full understanding. I know that's just me, and not everyone is the same, but I'm also speaking on behalf of the large majority of kids I went to school with who didn't follow (or even understand) politics or world events at all during the elementary years.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there's no difference between an 1987er like me and a 1984er, I just don't think that the world we grew up in was so radically different that we belong to two entirely different generational "subsets". When I was younger, I also used to think there was some big difference between me and somebody born in 1990 or 1991, but as time has passed, I don't feel that way anymore. Perhaps I can remember a bit more of the 90's than they can, but that doesn't really matter much in the grand scheme of things in terms of the type of "world" we grew up in. Heck, even somebody born in 1994 (now an adult and in college) doesn't really seem that "young" to me as compared to when I was 18 and they were 11.

Mandatory disclaimer: This is all coming from a place of ignorance on my part about the "Cold Y" distinction, as I've never really heard of it before. I'll have to look more into that before I can really give a full, informed response.

You were a year old in 1994.


Your comment shows, that you don't even read threads carefully.

I have heard the term "Cold Y" before and usually see it listed as early-mid 80s-borns. I don't think there are any supposed major differences between Cold Y and the rest of Y though. Never really researched it though, because while I was already a full year old when the Cold War ended, I would never try to claim my birth year is part of it!

I have to say seeing some 86-87ers getting defensive about being excluded from this Cold Y group is reminding me of how us '90ers feel when people to draw boundaries at 1990 just because it was the beginning of a new decade (the conext usually involving lumping us in with "more Z-ish" people). It's quite annoying, isn't it? :o :P

I have to say seeing some 86-87ers getting defensive about being excluded from this Cold Y group is reminding me of how us '90ers feel when people to draw boundaries at 1990 just because it was the beginning of a new decade


I was not getting defensive about being excluded from being Cold Y. I actually could live with it, if it's really a definition for people who clearly remember the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

This was the actual sentence, that made me upset:


The world that the 81-84 kids (cold Y generation) grew up in was very different.


That sounds like 84ers grew up basically/completely during the cold war and somebody born a couple of years later didn't.
Not even the oldest 80s birthyear grew up completely during the cold war.

I have to say seeing some 86-87ers getting defensive about being excluded from this Cold Y group is reminding me of how us '90ers feel when people to draw boundaries at 1990 just because it was the beginning of a new decade (the conext usually involving lumping us in with "more Z-ish" people). It's quite annoying, isn't it? :o :P


Which is precisely the reason why I've tried to avoid falling into that as much as possible. I've never really believed in the idea that there's some massive difference between people 3 or 4 years apart in birth because I think it puts too much emphasis on the importance of early childhood memories. I mean sure, I could sit here and pretend like me being 7 and a 1990er being 3 in 1994 gives me some big "advantage" in core 90's memories, but let's be honest, the large majority of kids don't really start getting into the culture and politics of any given era until they start junior high, and for some it's even later than that. There are exceptions of course, but most people born in the mid and late 80's were still doing little more than watching cartoons in 1994.

Even 5 years isn't that big of a gap. My Dad is 5 years older than my Mom, and the way they tell stories about their younger days and childhood memories, you'd think they were only born 5 months apart.

This was the actual sentence, that made me upset:

That sounds like 84ers grew up basically/completely during the cold war and somebody born a couple of years later didn't.
Not even the oldest 80s birthyear grew up completely during the cold war.


Yep, I hate when people say that kind of stuff. That's like someone saying a 1989 birth "grew up without the internet" because they were born in the '80s and and a 1990 birth "knew the internet their entire life" because they were born in the '90s.

I can't imagine that if I was 6 when the Berlin Wall fell, that I would have cared or recognized it's significance at the time (or even been aware it happened?). Like others have said, no one under the age of like teen-aged cares about politics. I know I didn't. Actually...I still don't! I didn't even vote in the 2012 election. (I did vote in the 2008 election though...turned 18 a week before and my mom told me who to vote for ;D)

I can't imagine that if I was 6 when the Berlin Wall fell, that I would have cared or recognized it's significance at the time (or even been aware it happened?).


I was 6 in 1992 and that was the first time I remember being in the eastern part of Germany. At that time, it still looked pretty old and shabby over there. I think I didn't really notice or care about the fact that it looked way different from the west where I came from - and definetly not, WHY it looked like that.

http://www.chumpysclipart.com/images/illustrations/xsmall2/2198_picture_of_a_stylistic_image_of_a_couple_watching_a_movie_and_enjoying_soda_and_popcorn.jpg


This made me laugh. 

I was 6 in 1992 and that was the first time I remember being in the eastern part of Germany. At that time, it still looked pretty old and shabby over there. I think I didn't really notice or care about the fact that it looked way different from the west where I came from - and definetly not, WHY it looked like that.


Can you even tell a difference nowadays? I mean 22-23 years isn't really that long in a historical sense, has the separation to some extent retained in certain ways, like in terms of economic or the attitudes/culture of the people in the East?

Can you even tell a difference nowadays? I mean 22-23 years isn't really that long in a historical sense, has the separation to some extent retained in certain ways, like in terms of economic or the attitudes/culture of the people in the East?


Kids who were born in 1990 while I was living in my first Apartment are now graduating from college and getting married!

Kids who were born in 1990 while I was living in my first Apartment are now graduating from college and getting married!


Yup 'kids' my age! You said you were born in '69 right? You're no longer twice as old as me either.

Kids who were born in 1990 while I was living in my first Apartment are now graduating from college and getting married!


My mommy is 9 years older than you, does that make you feel better?  :) I was born in 1991. LOL I have two first cousins that were born in 2003 and 2007, the age gap is too obvious.

Can you even tell a difference nowadays?


Yes, you can now and you could especially see it shortly after the Fall of the Wall (I have told you details in another thread I think). But I didn't, because I didn't care about that at age 6. And that was my point. ;)

I personally consider 3/4-10 and 11-13/14 separate categories. Preteen and the very early teens (middle school years basically) is a unique category separate from a young child in my experience. I don't like lumping 3-12 together as "childhood" because of an arbitrary age like 13 because it has "teen" at the end. Being 11-12 is a lot different from being a 5 year old, again I remember being 11-12 and at that age kids are starting puberty and we got taught sex ed in school. I don't consider a kid a true adolescent till they start high school, which is like mid 14.


Based on my personal life I would 'lump' the following ages together:

0-1: infant (no memory)
2: toddler (only very vague memories)
3-4: few memories, but some quite detailed
5-7: a lot of memories, but I was still quite little
8-10: peak childhood (very clear memory)
11: really stands for itself, kind of a 60/40% mixture of child and young teen
12: stands for itself, still quite kiddiesh, but I would say rather 40/60 % mixture of child and young teen
13-14: young teenager, mixture of an adult and naive teenage mindset
15-18: I finally got an adult mindset, but I was still kinda naive in a lot of things

Based on my personal life I would 'lump' the following ages together:

0-1: infant (no memory)
2: toddler (only very vague memories)
3-4: few memories, but some quite detailed
5-7: a lot of memories, but I was still quite little
8-10: peak childhood (very clear memory)
11: really stands for itself, kind of a 60/40% mixture of child and young teen
12: stands for itself, still quite kiddiesh, but I would say rather 40/60 % mixture of child and young teen
13-14: young teenager, mixture of an adult and naive teenage mindset
15-18: I finally got an adult mindset, but I was still kinda naive in a lot of things


Yeah that's a pretty good breakdown and pretty similar to my experience.

Kids who were born in 1990 while I was living in my first Apartment are now graduating from college and getting married!


So they should be about 22-27 years of age.

So they should be about 22-27 years of age.


No, they are 22-23, you'd have to be born in 1986 at the earliest to be 27 as of 2013.

My mommy is 9 years older than you, does that make you feel better?  :) I was born in 1991. LOL I have two first cousins that were born in 2003 and 2007, the age gap is too obvious.


My mom was born in '63 and turns 50 in a couple months. She still looks pretty young though. Probably looks 40 I'd say.  :)

Based on my personal life I would 'lump' the following ages together:

0-1: infant (no memory)
2: toddler (only very vague memories)
3-4: few memories, but some quite detailed
5-7: a lot of memories, but I was still quite little
8-10: peak childhood (very clear memory)
11: really stands for itself, kind of a 60/40% mixture of child and young teen
12: stands for itself, still quite kiddiesh, but I would say rather 40/60 % mixture of child and young teen
13-14: young teenager, mixture of an adult and naive teenage mindset
15-18: I finally got an adult mindset, but I was still kinda naive in a lot of things


Yeah that perfectly describes my memories.

Based on my personal life I would 'lump' the following ages together:

0-1: infant (no memory)
2: toddler (only very vague memories)
3-4: few memories, but some quite detailed
5-7: a lot of memories, but I was still quite little
8-10: peak childhood (very clear memory)
11: really stands for itself, kind of a 60/40% mixture of child and young teen
12: stands for itself, still quite kiddiesh, but I would say rather 40/60 % mixture of child and young teen
13-14: young teenager, mixture of an adult and naive teenage mindset
15-18: I finally got an adult mindset, but I was still kinda naive in a lot of things


I'd say

0-2: No memory (I can't think of any solid memories from age 2...I have some vague ones of being in a crib and high-chair but I could have been 3)
3-4: Some memories
5-10: Transition was too seamless to find a hard difference between any two consecutive ages in this category, though 10 was obviously different from 5.
11: Transitioning out of true childhood
12-14: Very young teen/Junior high
15-18: Core teenage years/high school years

I'd say

0-2: No memory (I can't think of any solid memories from age 2...I have some vague ones of being in a crib and high-chair but I could have been 3)
3-4: Some memories
5-10: Transition was too seamless to find a hard difference between any two consecutive ages in this category, though 10 was obviously different from 5.
11: Transitioning out of true childhood
12-14: Very young teen/Junior high
15-18: Core teenage years/high school years


What about if you're in your 20's and 30's?  ???

What about if you're in your 20's and 30's?  ???
... AT THE SAME TIME!!!

Based on my personal life I would 'lump' the following ages together:

0-1: infant (no memory)
2: toddler (only very vague memories)
3-4: few memories, but some quite detailed
5-7: a lot of memories, but I was still quite little
8-10: peak childhood (very clear memory)
11: really stands for itself, kind of a 60/40% mixture of child and young teen
12: stands for itself, still quite kiddiesh, but I would say rather 40/60 % mixture of child and young teen
13-14: young teenager, mixture of an adult and naive teenage mindset
15-18: I finally got an adult mindset, but I was still kinda naive in a lot of things


Yep, good post. I think I remember from 6 quite clearly. I broke my leg in 1993 and spent the summer in plaster, memories seem to become clearer around this time and I can even start to identify months that things happened. Then again there are things mum and dad tell me about that period I have no recollection of. Memories of popular culture (outwith kids TV and computer games) seem to 'switch on' at the age of 10, 1997, which was a 'big' news year anyway with Labour winning the election and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Having said that, I do remember my mum telling me Margaret Thatcher was no longer Prime Minister when I was the grand old age of three!

What about if you're in your 20's and 30's?  ???


You're old then.

You're old then.
just wait. it gets worse.

just wait. it gets worse.


then you start getting a belly and losing most your hair.

then you start getting a belly and losing most your hair.
Even worse, you finally figure out how stupid young people really are.  :D

Even worse, you finally figure out how stupid young people really are.  :D


Better stupid than intolreant.

Better stupid than intolreant.
better intolerant than humorless.

better intolerant than humorless.


Remember the good old days, when the young people were fun and the old people were boring?

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s78/AL-B_photos/boardroom_zpsd7e79c75.jpg

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s78/AL-B_photos/boardroom_zpsd7e79c75.jpg


;D did you find that or make it yourself?

;D did you find that or make it yourself?


Both.

I can't imagine the fall of the Berlin Wall having much effect on a 5 year-old, unless maybe they were German and it directly impacted their life.  I have memories from when I was 5, but none of them have to do with politics.  I'd say you'd at least have to be born in the 70s to have really 'grown up' during the Cold War era... and even late 70s is kind of pushing it.

Even worse, you finally figure out how stupid young people really are.  :D


I know right, that's what happens when I see them walking down the street.  ::)

Remember the good old days, when the young people were fun and the old people were boring?


Boy, those were the days.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s78/AL-B_photos/boardroom_zpsd7e79c75.jpg


I've seen that template on 4chan(on the Pokemon board).  :D

I can't imagine the fall of the Berlin Wall having much effect on a 5 year-old, unless maybe they were German and it directly impacted their life.  I have memories from when I was 5, but none of them have to do with politics.  I'd say you'd at least have to be born in the 70s to have really 'grown up' during the Cold War era... and even late 70s is kind of pushing it.


Even then, it would only have a strong effect if you lived in East Germany and sh*t, even then most kids that small don't really understand economics and might not even realize anything changed.

Even then, it would only have a strong effect if you lived in East Germany and sh*t, even then most kids that small don't really understand economics and might not even realize anything changed.


It's just a guess, but since the East was way more 'old school' and as good as one decade behind, it's possible that the kids realized it afterwards - when they were a couple of years older and remembered back.