Power to the ’90s child
By: Nasreen Akhtar
Tags: Technology, Evolution, 1990s, Future, Past

Power to the ’90s child

Photo by Florian Schmetz on Unsplash

Growing up in the ’90s, I was of the generation that saw the world shift before our very eyes. I can remember life before computers, social media, and mobile phones.

I was also part of the first generation to adapt and learn how to use the latest emerging technology.

The ’90s were basically like the Wild West of parenting. Just ask any parent of that era, there was no parenting manual.

As a kid growing up, we were so different in comparison to what kids are like today. We had higher thresholds for risk-taking, resilience, endurance, and perseverance. We were the product of our upbringing and environment.

I remember playing outside until the street lamps came on, which signalled the final drill to get back home, it was an unspoken rule.

Water-fights, knock door runs, hide and seek, climbing trees were some of the games we played after school, at weekends, and during holidays.

The TV was restricted to a mere four channels, later that increased to five and, we had board games, both of which required either watching or playing as a family. We had to pre-plan ahead of time, as to what we were going to watch.

Disagreements would arise, of course, it goes without saying, but eventually, after some hard negotiations back and forth, we would reach a compromise.

We grew up watching a healthy dose of, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Bread, Dallas, The A-Team, Murder She Wrote, and others. We would have a timetable of events for the day based on our TV episodes.

If you were of the lucky few, you would have had a games console, like a Nintendo 64 or a Sega Mega Drive.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Most of our free time was spent outdoors, this allowed us to tap into becoming more imaginative, creative, and inventive. Through this, we enriched our experience and enhanced our life learning skills.

I remember making mud pies and clay pots, sneaking fish out of our freezer, so we could perform surgery on it and try to bring it back to life. I had two assistants, both my younger sisters.

We had attempted to become entrepreneurs at very young age during our primary school years through doing a spot of gardening for an elderly neighbour now and again amongst other things.

Managing the school tuck shop at break times taught me a thing or two about commerce. I have now come to realize we were overworked and underpaid.

We became Architects and Builders, designing and building dens in the bushes with whatever we could lay our hands-on.

My parents had no concerns in regards to online safety as digitally connected devices in regular households were rare, or things like allergies hardly existed, or maybe even went unnoticed.

We were just kind of left to live life out, take it as it comes, less the pressure of expectations and worry.

Technology was evolving rapidly in the ‘90s.

Broadband and wifi were becoming accessible and affordable for all towards the end of the ’90s this changed the game entirely. A digital age was fast emerging, along with a digital mindset.

I come from a rather large family. And growing up in a large family in the ’90s was a challenge.

I was the middle child and, being the middle child wasn’t easy. I would often get told by my older siblings that I was adopted or found.

They loved watching me react and put on a show for them. I was the entertainment when all other avenues had been exhausted.

I found later there is a name for it, Middle child syndrome.

Before I discovered this term, I tried in many ways to self-diagnose my state of affairs in the hierarchy of my household. Middle child syndrome meant I had no voice, no status, and no power to influence the herd or, the powers that be.

I know that some of you may be feeling sorry for me at this point… but, really there is no need.

I quickly turned it around utilizing my position and smart thinking to get away with a lot. I would often get into trouble in school. I was the middle child so, no one noticed. I even tested the water a few times to be sure that I was covered and “under the radar”.

The family dynamics were such, the eldest child was the favorite, the second was the successor, the third, the backup, the youngest was the baby, often smothered, and all the others had advantages over me in other ways, or so it seemed.

Fashion in the ’90s was somewhat questionable; you had bright shell suits, flares, Aladdin trousers inspired by MC Hammer, and the list goes on.

90’s parents always thought it to be ‘cool’ to dress their kids in the same outfits; it was my worst nightmare. I was trying to develop my own identity, my own sense of style.

Let me tell you about the green coat.

My dad being a realist, in the winter of 1995, decided to buy me and, my younger two sisters a new coat.

Not just any coat, they were all identical green coats with a purple trim, the most hideous shade of green, puffed up, knee-length, with multiple pockets visible on the outer coat, some hidden in the inside and zips in every direction.

My dad would always buy two sizes up, to get the maximum value for his money. It meant I needed to see it out in my first year of high school. I wasn’t impressed at all.

The pockets, of course, were positioned to us as the unique selling point, and then the fact that it was bulky meant that if we fall, the probability of us injuring ourselves had vastly reduced, fewer trips to A&E.

The ROI looked promising, and he even worked out when he would see a return on his investment. He had it all worked out, and he was very proud of his purchase.

I did see it out for the two years (just in case you’re wondering) I was subject to bullying in the process.

Kids can be cruel. I was called the “Giant bogey” due to the color of the coat.

I am sure every ’90s parents had the same idea.

Hubba Bubba, Jawbreakers, and Frosties were some of my favorite sweets, I used to sneak them into class, and the green coat came in handy for something I suppose.

In 1996, I got my first Walkman, the first portable media music device. It was bright red and rather chunky, with massive earphones, it had three buttons, Eject, Play, and Fast Forward.

Guess which button was missing?

Nonetheless, I was ecstatic! It was a luxury item at that time, and very few had one. I had to save my lunch money to get my hand on one. Even then, it was a second hand!

It wasn’t easy, as my dad insisted on paying the bare minimum when it came to lunch money, something about teaching us the value of money. The only sibling that got a regular uplift in pay was my baby brother, effortlessly, without having to ask.

I tried all the tricks in the book to get a raise. I tried using equality, inflation, and starvation as my arguments. I was somewhat of a human rights advocate/activist in my hay days, but my dad was not having any of it. He didn’t even flinch.

Having had a strict budget, as money was tight. Nothing was going to change his mind, so I gave up.

I had one tape for my Walkman. It had taken me almost four days of recording songs off the radio onto this tape.

Let me walk you through the struggles of making a mixtape in the ‘90s.

I had to listen to the radio for four days (Top of the pops, top 20) on standby with my tape in the recorder, waiting to hit that button to record the songs I wanted. It was grueling and time-consuming.

I am sure some would be thinking, “Why didn’t you just buy the tape?”

To that, I say, remember the budget? Asian parents do not budge. Their word is final. I would have to wait until the next fiscal year for my dad to conduct his spending review as the Chancellor of the house.

I had a few songs I liked listening to on my mixed tape; the ’90s were undeniably the best years for music. Peter Andre’s “Mysterious Girl”, MC Hammer’s “You can’t touch this”, and Sting’s “Shape of my heart” to name a few.

To listen to a particular song, again and again, I had the monotonous task of manually rewinding it.

It involved having to take the tape out (eject) of the Walkman once the song ended and having to put my index finger through one of the two holes in the middle and keep turning anti-clockwise. This required concentration.

After a very short while, my Walkman was, relegated. Sony released a better model and, then very quickly, other manufacturers followed after finding they missed the one fundamental feature, the rewind button.

To this day, I wonder how they manage to miss it in the first place.

That was the death of my Walkman (RIP). I could not risk being seen with it. I had a reputation to keep after all. So, I gracefully recycled my Walkman.

Along came the year 1999. I was in High School, year 10.

My fashion sense had somewhat evolved; I took a stand, rebelled, and broke away from the flock.

Mobile phones were the new fad. No one had one before that unless; they came from a privileged rich background.

Mobile phones had become highly affordable, and everyone was getting one.

I remember distinctly having a Nokia, with an antenna on top. The antenna 5cm in length. The phone itself was quite heavy and chunky. No matter how many times it dropped, it was still intact, not a scratch to be found.

In the first few years, mobiles phones were built to last.

Aesthetics aside, I had my first mobile phone, and I was happy with it.

I also had the infamous snake game on it which, came as standard on most of the phones, and that was the start of me losing my creative and imaginative spark.

I became addicted to snakes, and no amount of rehabilitation could cure me, I had entered the digital mindset and along with it the year 2000, the Millennium.

Looking back as an adult, the people around me, my environment, and the era I grew up in taught me a great deal.

I learned the value of money, possessions, and people, and of course, parenting.

My dad, despite being a tough nut, was an ideal dad in every way, a great teacher.

As a parent myself, I try to create similar experiences for both my children as to what I had or, was exposed to growing up.

Despite the change in times, my mindset hasn’t completely changed. I think my children can learn a thing or two from this child of the ’90s.

Growing up in the ’90s has given me the privilege to have one foot in the past and one foot in the future.

Overall the ’90s for me were the best years of my life.

Long live the 90’s!