Remember the 90s? I don't know why, but there seem to be an abundance of nostalgia for this certain period in time. At the rate technologies advances are being made in the modern world, there are many of us who feel bewildered and think fondly of the more manual age. Many of us look back and smile about some of the 'latest technology' that we experienced in our childhoods. And many of us are just adult children longing for simpler times. Here are a few things that meant the world to many urban youngsters back in the day, but are now completely obsolete – some 'high-tech gadgets' that will never return again (thank God).
Dial-up Internet
It might seem ridiculous to start the list with something as simple as dial-up internet, but think about it – this changed our lives. This was the beginning of a whole now era, we had all of cyber space and all the information it holds at the tips of our fingers, we were able to absorb the knowledge of the world – you get the gist. Although most of us used this superpower to spend all day on MSN Messenger chatting with strangers with ridiculous names – let's take a moment to remember names like pinky_bitchybutterfly and death_satanrocker – dial-up internet, the modem and that crackling alien noise it made, had to be one of the biggest milestones of our childhood/teenage years.
Cassettes/VCRs
And before we learnt to navigate the maze of the world wide web, our main form of entertainment came in the guise of cassettes and VCRs. Before anyone starts to judge, yes it is true that back then, when neighbourhoods were smaller and streets were emptier, young children did spend a lot more time playing outside. But it was during our childhood that urbanisation spread like an infection and cooped us up in our homes, and it was during this time we realised the life-and-death relationship between 2b pencils and your favourite cassette/VCR players.
Walkman/Discman
You can't talk about getting music cassettes without talking about the gadget that changed everything – the walkman and then the discman. For the first time, you could listen to music on the go. For those of you who are too young to have used this – remember, there was a time once when you had to get on a rickshaw or a bus WITHOUT any music. Unless you wanted to carry around giant radios or cassette players everywhere you went, you were on your own. Now think about your life, and count your blessings.
Gameboys
Before parents yelled “get off the phone already!” there were exasperated parents yelling at children to stop playing on their Gameboys. The first time that you had a handheld console on which you could play games wherever you wanted, Nintendo broke new boundaries with this now-clunky little gadget that seemed incredible back then.
Tamagotchi
Tamagotchis were something of a milestone especially for us urban children – the ability to have that elusive pet inside a tiny apartment without having to clean up their poop. While many kids considered this little handheld Japanese creation a poor replacement for actual pets, there were others who got so emotionally attached to their digital animals that they were inconsolable after their demise.
Cricket cards
This is something that only cricket fanatics will understand and appreciate, but how many of you look back on a time when Pepsi launched their best marketing strategy yet, and put pictures of cricket legends on cards for people to collect? Everyone wanted a Brian Lara and a Sachin Tendulkar, and trading cards to get your favourites was such a hot practice that they even got banned in some schools back then.
Macarena
I realise this is not a gadget or even a hobby from back then, but it just doesn't seem possible to mention the 90s without mentioning the Macarena. That is all.
