The 90s Kids Nostalgia Facebook group is an extremely popular place. In fact, the community has amassed an impressive 1.8 million members since its creation in 2019. Members are encouraged to share their favorite memories from the 90s (and even the 80s as well!), and clearly, there’s no shortage of things to appreciate from those decades. From films to albums to popular snacks, this community will never grow tired of celebrating this iconic decade.
And when it comes to why we love looking back on the past so much, Wendy L. Patrick, PhD, at Psychology Today says that reminiscing can make us feel even better in the present. Nostalgic reflection has been found to be helpful in our social connectedness and in our search for meaning in life. Taking a trip down memory lane can also positively impact a person’s overall well-being.
While we don’t want to get stuck in a loop of dwelling on the past, it’s great to revisit it from time to time. Especially if you’re not currently in the best place, it can be helpful to be reminded of just how beautiful life can be. And if it was like that for you previously, it can be like that again. After all, history repeats itself! So as you age, you can look back on multiple times in your life that you’d consider to be “the good old days.”
When it comes to the 1990s specifically, though, many people find themselves asking, “Was the decade really that special? Or are we just looking at it through rose-colored glasses?” Eloise Hendy at the Independent decided to explore this topic, and she noted that the decade is often romanticized because it was really the last time in history that people weren’t glued to technology at every moment. You could leave your house, and there wouldn’t be any way for friends or family to contact you until you returned home. There was a sense of freedom in that.
However, some people argue that the 1990s still had huge issues that we tend to ignore nowadays. It’s not like racism and sexism didn’t exist; in fact, they were arguably even worse at the time. We just might be exposed to more of it today because people can spew their hateful beliefs on huge platforms online. But it’s impossible to deny the fact that the 90s was a special decade. The media of the time was iconic, and there was so much hope for the future. That hope, in and of itself, was priceless.
If we want to reminisce about some of the best moments of the 1990s, we can take a journey through Britannica’s timeline of the decade, which highlights all of the most iconic moments. One of the biggest events that took place in the early 90s was the collapse of the Soviet Union on December 31, 1991. This was an amazing moment for the countries in Europe and Asia that had been occupied by the U.S.S.R., and it was just the beginning of these nations embracing their freedom and starting a new, beautiful chapter of history.
In September 1994, television was forever changed after the iconic sitcom Friends aired its very first episode on NBC. Little did the stars and showrunners know that this would become one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time. It’s still extremely popular amongst young adults who weren’t even alive when the first episode aired, and the characters’ iconic looks have inspired countless fashion choices over the past 3 decades.
On December 19, 1997, one of the most popular films of all time debuted in theaters across the United States. Directed by James Cameron, Titanic became the first movie to earn over $1 billion worldwide, and it’s still hailed as one of the best pieces of cinema the world has ever seen. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, this heartbreaking tale became an instant classic, and it’s certainly worth a rewatch if you haven’t seen it in decades!
