In 1995, pre-sex scandal Bill Clinton was president, the World Wide Web had just been introduced to the public, and Friends was in its prime. These were all normal things. But what about things that were weird in the '90s? Are they more mainstream now? The answer, I'm sure you've guessed, is yes. A lot of yes.
To be honest, I don't know if I'm necessarily the best person to be remarking on '90s-style weirdness. In 1995, I was four years old. I don't remember a whole lot about that year, apart from how traumatizing The Lion King was and the insane amount of blisters my jelly shoes gave me the one time I wore them to preschool.
Still, I was cognizant for enough of the '90s that I was able to read through Reddit's latest Ask message board, which posed the question "What was considered weird in 1995 but normal in 2015?" and not be too lost. I remember the evolution of cellphones, and using email for the very first time (to send my cousin J.T. a play date invitation in second grade). I remember being warned at least 100 times by my parents and teachers and relatives about the Dangers of the Internet, and secretly visiting online chat rooms, which were brimming with potential kidnappers, during sleepovers. Basically, I remember the rise of technology, and its integration into our every day lives. That is, unsurprisingly, the main culture change.
So, with all that in mind, these things that are common, every day occurrences now? Once upon a time, they were considered strange and unusual. Sometimes it's worth remembering that the norm wasn't always the norm — and likely won't be the norm in th future, either.
1. Cellphones
We'll just start with the obvious one first. Yeah, yeah, I know, it's weird that babies have smartphones now. What I didn't realize is the "teen with cellphone = drug dealer" trope. Maybe that's why older generations are so suspicious of smartphones? Also, HA, pagers!
2. Not Using That Weird Cellphone To Call Someone
Calling your crush at their home with the potential to reach their mom instead is an experience I hope my children never have to know.
3. Oh, and Laptops
Especially in school. Technology in every day life, basically, was weird. For a lot of people, it probably still is weird. But I, for one, am grateful for smartphones that help me not get lost literally everywhere I go, and laptops that let me re-write a sentence 20 or more times without having to cross it out or erase it until my paper rips, or, God forbid, use White-Out for something other than nail polish.
4. And Playing Video Games Past the Age of 12
This is just a general query to all ladies and gentlemen currently dating men: How many Millennial boys have you found that do not like video games? Seriously, I'm curious, I can straight-up count on one hand the number of dudes I know who do not, as a lifestyle choice, play video games.
5. Online Dating
Are you noting a trend? I'll give you a hint: it starts with "dig-" and ends in "-ital." I feel like any mention of online dating in the '90s was on a TV show where the moral of the story was: Yeah, you may be a 13-year-old girl, but literally every other person on the entire Internet is a creepy predator waiting to get you drunk and kidnap you.
6. Basically: Nerd Culture
Those of us who spent adolescence in the early '00s grew up with #1 Dreamboat Seth Cohen, the ultimate handsome nerd, and now people wear fake glasses as a fashion statement. To all the geeks of the '90s: Uh, sorry, guys. That really sucks.
7. Taking Pictures of Your Food
Leave it to a bunch of Redditors to immediately turn me off following all of those aesthetically-pleasing IG foodie accounts. I HATE YOU GUYS. JUST LET ME LOOK AT NICE PHOTOS OF SALADS AND LATTES IN PEACE.
8. Bottled Water
Honestly, though, this is kind of circling away from "accepted" back to "weird" because now we've realized that all that plastic is, uh, not great for the environment. I know people argue that there's a difference in taste, but guys, like... it's water.
9. Sexting
Dick pics: Not always welcome, but very, very normalized. Still better than a fax, though, because if receiving an unsolicited picture of your penis also screwed with my phone line, then you better believe I'd DIY a dartboard and hang it in the office break room.
10. Donald Trump 2016
I'm laughing to keep from crying.
Check out more over at AskReddit.
Images: Mikki Yoshihito/Flickr; Giphy
