12 Tech Struggles '90s Kids Never Had to Experience

By Nicole Nguyen

Let's face it: a lot of tech was just better in the '90s. We miss the decade of Tamagotchi and Game Boy. It was a simpler time when gadgets didn't bend or quickly run out of battery. Sure, retro tech had its problems, but there were also a lot of reasons why low tech meant less stress — let's break them down.

Imgur
  1. Bending phones. (That Nokia was virtually indestructible.)
  2. Being flaked on via text. (It's really hard to do with a pager.)
  3. Downloading faulty mobile operating system updates. (There was only one system per phone before iOS and Android came along.)
  4. Kim Kardashian: Hollywood addiction. (Definitely worse than Lemmings addiction.)
  5. Always running out of battery ('90s phones lasted for DAYS).
  6. Worrying that checking email will lead to an onslaught of Gchat IMs. (Sigh, so sad that the days of the standalone AIM app are over.)
  7. Having too many tabs open. (It took 10 minutes for one page to load anyway. Dial-up, FTW!)
  8. Accidentally seeing TV show spoilers on Twitter, which are the worst when Game of Thrones is on. (Remember when you used to watch TV when it was actually on air and not DVR'd?)
  9. Doing something cool and having no Instagram photo to prove it. (We'd just write it up in our Xanga or LiveJournal blog instead!)
  10. Texting anxiety caused by the dreaded Internet ellipses, " . . . " (Phone calls made life so much easier.)
The New York Times
  1. Being judged by the number of likes on an Instagram photo or followers on Twitter. (The only discussion revolved around who was in your Myspace Top 8.)
  2. Taking selfies. (Disposable cameras made it really hard.)

Any more modern struggles you'd like to add to this list? Leave 'em in the comments below!