18 Things Gen Z Will Never Understand About ’90s Life

Gen Z will never understand the daily struggles, joys, and quirks of growing up in the ‘90s, from rewinding VHS tapes to surviving without Google.

Sophia Zapanta
March 30, 2025
6 min read

18 Things Gen Z Will Never Understand About ’90s Life — Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels

The ‘90s were a strange but magical time, filled with experiences that now seem ancient to Gen Z. Back then, patience was a survival skill—waiting for internet dial-up, mixtapes to record, and film photos to develop. These 18 things will make any ‘90s kid nostalgic while leaving Gen Z completely confused.

1. The Struggle of Dial-Up Internet

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Getting online in the ‘90s meant listening to a screeching modem and praying no one picked up the landline. One phone call could destroy your internet connection, forcing you to start over. Downloading a single song took hours, and streaming was a sci-fi fantasy. Today’s instant Wi-Fi would’ve felt like wizardry.

2. Rewinding VHS Tapes

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Watching a movie wasn’t as simple as clicking “play.” You had to rewind the VHS tape, sometimes manually, while a loud whirring sound filled the room. If you rented a tape and didn’t rewind it before returning, the video store judged you hard. Streaming services have no idea how much effort we put into just rewatching a scene.

3. Burning the Perfect Mixtape

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Making a mixtape wasn’t just about picking songs—it was an art. You had to time recordings from the radio perfectly, praying the DJ wouldn’t talk over the intro. If you messed up, you either lived with it or rewound and started again. Spotify playlists are cool, but they’ll never match the emotional investment of a homemade tape.

4. Getting Lost Without GPS

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Driving somewhere new meant unfolding a massive paper map or printing MapQuest directions. If you missed a turn, you had to figure it out on your own or stop at a gas station for help. No voice was telling you to “make a U-turn” in 500 feet—you had to use your instincts. Gen Z will never know the terror of realizing you’re lost with no phone signal.

5. Calling a Crush’s House Phone

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If you liked someone, you had to call their home phone and risk talking to their parents first. The seconds before they handed over the receiver felt like pure agony. If no one was home, you either left a message on the family answering machine or called back later. Ghosting wasn’t an option—you knew exactly where they lived.

6. The Pain of Scratched CDs

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A scratched CD meant your favorite song would skip endlessly like a broken record. You’d try everything—blowing on it, rubbing it on your shirt, or using toothpaste—to fix it. Sometimes, nothing worked, and you just had to accept the heartbreak. Music streaming would’ve saved us from so much emotional damage.

7. Blowing into Game Cartridges

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If your game wasn’t working, the universal fix was to blow into the cartridge like your life depended on it. Did it actually help? Probably not. However, everyone did it, and somehow, it felt like magic when the game suddenly started working.

8. TV Commercials Were Unskippable

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You couldn’t fast-forward live TV, so you had to sit through every commercial break. Bathroom trips had to be timed perfectly, or you’d miss part of the show. If you wanted to skip commercials on recorded VHS tapes, you had to fast-forward manually and guess where to stop. Binge-watching with zero ads would have blown our minds.

9. The Chaos of Chain Emails

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Your inbox was flooded with chain emails threatening bad luck if you didn’t forward them. Some were harmless fun, while others claimed you’d die in seven days if you ignored them. Every kid had at least one friend who took them way too seriously. Social media hoaxes have nothing on the sheer panic of a cursed email.

10. Recording TV Shows on VHS

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If you weren’t home for your favorite show, you had to manually record it on a VHS tape. Messing up the timer or taping over something important was a tragedy. Some people even labeled tapes with “DO NOT RECORD OVER” in bold letters. Streaming has erased the fear of missing an episode forever.

11. The Struggle of Finding a Payphone

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If you were out and needed to call home, you had to hunt down a payphone. Hopefully, you had money, or you’d be begging strangers for quarters. Sometimes, you’d call collect and try to squeeze your whole message into “Say your name after the beep.” Cell phones ensure no one will ever have to memorize phone numbers again.

12. Waiting for Photos to Develop

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Taking pictures wasn’t instant—you had to wait days to see if your shots turned out okay. Blurry photos? Too bad. You wouldn’t know until you picked them up from the photo lab. Today’s endless selfies and instant filters would have been life-changing.

13. The Panic of Losing a Tamagotchi

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Tamagotchis were like tiny, pixelated pets that needed constant attention. If you lost it for a day, it might have already “died” from neglect. Resetting it felt like the ultimate failure, but we did it anyway. Virtual pets today don’t come with nearly as much responsibility—or guilt.

14. Shopping at Blockbuster

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Friday nights meant wandering the aisles of Blockbuster, searching for the perfect movie. If the one you wanted was out, you had to settle for something else or come back later. Late fees were brutal, and forgetting to return a tape could ruin your allowance. Netflix took all the stress (and charm) out of movie night.

15. Using Encyclopedias for Homework

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If you needed information, you had to dig through a giant encyclopedia set. Wikipedia didn’t exist, and Google was barely a thing. If your school library didn’t have what you needed, you were out of luck. Gen Z has never known the true struggle of research.

16. The Horror of Windows 95 Crashing

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Computers were slow, and if they crashed, you could lose everything. There was no auto-save, no cloud backups, just the crushing realization that hours of work were gone. Blue screens of death were a common sight, and restarting took forever. Today’s instant recovery options feel like pure luxury.

17. Passing Notes in Class

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Texting in class wasn’t an option, so we wrote notes and passed them around like spies. If the teacher caught you, your message might be read aloud as punishment. Folding the note into intricate shapes was just as important as what it said. Group chats have made note-passing a lost art.

18. Printing Out Directions

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Before smartphones, road trips required printed directions from MapQuest. If you missed a turn, there was no rerouting—you were on your own. Drivers often had a passenger navigating with a crumpled paper in hand, yelling directions. GPS changed the game, but it also erased the thrill of the unknown.