13 reasons why we 90s kids believe we belong to the “best generation”

Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:37 pm

It’s safe to say every generation would have claimed that the ‘Best Generation’ award belongs to them. From the generations that fought the war, lived through the war, engineered the Industrial Revolution or live through Singapore’s rapid urbanisation, every age group has its own unique personality shaped by the differing eras.

It’s the same for us 90s Singaporean kids. Deep in our nostalgic hearts, we are adamant that we’ve lived through experiences that became obsolete all too quickly, solemn at the thought of these devalued memories. In our desperate attempt to salvage and cling to these memories, we become tightly-knitted through ‘every 90s kids’ articles and memes. As such, we bear the right to hold the title of ‘Best Generation’, just because we are unnecessarily deep.

1. We saw life with as well as without the internet

*Cue Hannah Montana theme song (although it’s not 90s)*

YOU GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.

We may be perpetually plugged in, but we know when to switch our private spaces off when we’re in public places with our friends. Think of it as we’ve learnt to be responsible and disciplined before we were given the internet.

2. We made travelling pictures cool

Unlike our aunts and uncles, and their robotic generation of lame, square and unimaginative travel pictures, we become models when a picture is taken beyond our shores.

3. We learnt things the hard way – through discipline and loads of scoldings.

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If you’re Singaporean and you’ve never had an intense scolding session from your parents – getting whipped or kicked out of the house – you’re not a genuine 90s kid. Oh you got scolded by your teacher and your parents heard about it? Prepare for twice the punishment from your parents!

4. Because 90s music

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Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio

No Scrubs by TLC

Wannabe – Spice Girls

And everything from Backstreet Boys’ Millennium album.

For sure, you can bet your bottom dollar that every time a song from the 90s come on, we’ll sing it – loud and proud.

5. We were savage pirates

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Our music playlists were all products of the internet’s piracy ingenuity. Thank god we have Youtube and Spotify now.

6. The new generation had it better than we did

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The internet was already around, mobile devices are more affordable, Google will almost literally do your homework for you, parents are generally sheltering their kids from a teacher’s wrath and you no longer dread the rain because entertainment is available at home.

7. We were sheltered from negativity and decadence of the world

Growing up, we were pretty much happier without Facebook shoving negativity and hate down our throats. Sure, we were slightly ignorant, but at least we weren’t jaded.

8. Neoprints were our Instagram

flickr.com | Photo by Luke Phang

After school, we’d head over to malls just to use the wefie machine. Yes, these contraptions were simply overgrown secondary cameras on our smartphones with the added capability to add stickers and write stuff on it. We hated the fact that there time limit as to how long you could edit the pictures, though.

A typical cool 90s kid would have amassed a load of Neoprints over the course of two years, enough to fill the walls of his/her bedroom!

9. The ability to customise our social networks were limited, the rest is up to our personality

 

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Unlike how Facebook and Instagram are customisable platforms that will allow you to showcase your personality, values, and really, everything about you, all we had back then were a few characters in our MSN Messenger screen names. The reliance on our personality whilst physically out with the people that matters were pretty much all we have.

Yeah, our variety of mechanisms to impress people were limited – until Friendster joined us.

10. We lived through SARS…

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…which supposedly makes us tougher. And cooler (because we’ve lived through such rough times. Although we were joyous that schools were closed)

11. We also lived through the SAR-vivor rap

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OH THE NIGHTMARES.

12. We are the true sandwiched generation

Every generation has their seemingly endless list of problems that only they will understand. 90s kids are bonded through the fact that we slowly saw the end of our routines, as we watched them become archaic and replaced by technology.

While our parents have little or no correlation to technology during their formative years, our offsprings are just the opposite – leaving us the generation that saw the progression.

13. We appreciate public spaces

Especially the void decks.

sgag.sg

Top Image: Nadezda Murmakova / Shutterstock.com