The 90s were, no doubt, a wonderful time to be a kid. There were Saturday morning cartoons, going outside from sunup to sundown, smartphones weren't a thing, and the internet was not something that controlled our lives. Today’s kids will never know what it was like to go outside and play in a creek with your friends, pass notes back and forth in class, or really be a kid. Going to the library and picking out a new book to read every week has become a thing of the past. In a world where technology and social media has taken over a lot of things have changed.

Kids are now doing things that make us glad that we grew up in the 90s because we could not possibly fathom doing some of the things that they are doing today. Childhood certainly has changed over the years and whether it for the better or not, being a 90s kid is something that most of us can say we are proud of. In this article, we are going to take a look at things that today’s kids are doing that make us glad we grew up in the 90s. You might find yourself shaking your head at some of these crazy things, or who knows, maybe you will join in on the fun and start filming yourself doing crazy internet challenges as well (although we hope that you won’t).

16 The Tide Pod Challenge Really Puts Things In Perspective...

Of all of the things that kids today could be doing with their free time, this next one is probably one of the least productive and most dangerous ones. The tide pod challenge is a ridiculous phenomenon that took over the internet. Not only did dozens of people wind up in the hospitals, but it led to the detergent companies holding meetings about what they can do to change these pods to make them less appealing. We don’t know about you, but we definitely never considered eating detergent when we were kids.

15 Netflix Has Replaced Saturday Morning Cartoons

Honestly, who doesn't love Netflix? It has become the type of thing that is totally taking over how people watch TV shows and movies, not to mention the fact that not having to sit through commercials is pretty amazing. For the low price of only nine dollars a month it is no wonder why people are choosing this over cable, but in that same breath this is also something that has taken away the experience of waking up early on a Saturday morning to watch cartoons and using those commercials to know which new toys we wanted to put on our Christmas lists.

14 Using Google To Do Your Homework Just Isn't The Same As Copying A Friend

“Hey Google, what’s 5x5?” We certainly did not have that as an option as kids, and while it would have made our lives much much easier it also would not have given us the room to learn the things that we did. We aren't saying that kids today are stupid, but that they should definitely apply themselves when it comes to their school work and maybe rely a little less on the internet to take care of things for them. And of course, copying off a friend was its own bad habit.

13 Smartphones! They've Replaced So Many Classic Toys

One of the biggest things to take over the minds of today’s children has got to be hands down, the iPhone, or any smartphone for that matter. Kids are being given these phones at a younger and younger age and that would be fine, if they were using it just to talk to their friends or in case of an emergency, but clearly, they have become so much more than that. Kids have become glued to their phones, are missing out on real human interaction, and not really getting the chance to be normal kids.

12 YouTube Just Isn't The Same As Channel Surfing Was...

Kids today have become so obsessed with YouTube, the ever popular video site that started in the early 2000s. A lot of the time, they would rather sit inside their homes watching people play with toys then to go out and play with those toys themselves. Obviously, this isn't ideal. It also exposes them to seeing things that as a parent, you might not want your child seeing just yet (even when the restrictions are turned on).

11 Fidget Spinners Are Barely Toys!!

Last year the most popular toy on the market seemed to be the fidget spinner. All of the kids wanted one of each kind, and they drove parents crazy. These “toys” just ended up being a huge distraction, big surprise there. And that's really it, they are barely toys at all — just silly distractions. How exciting would it be to see a commercial for a fidget spinner? Not at all ... the answer is not at all.

10 Musica.ly Takes The Singing Out Of Karaoke

Musica.ly is an app for smartphones or tablets where anyone can sign up and film themselves lip syncing to anything they please. Other people then watch these videos and they can gain followers, be commented on, and you can’t really choose who can or can not see what you are posting. This, of course, could become dangerous because literally anyone could be watching these videos made by young kids and it also opens the door for communication with strangers.

9 Texting Has Replaced Classic Long-Lasting Telephone Calls

Texting has become the number one way to communicate with people. When we were kids we get trouble passing notes in class, but these days kids just send texts under their desks. Texting has become such a problem among kids these days though that they are doing it while walking. Waiting by the phone for a friend to call is a thing of the past, and it's kinda disappointing to lose the hilarious moment of someone's parents picking up the phone and starting to dial.

8 Documenting Every Moment Of Their Lives Online Sounds Exhausting

What happened to the good old days where we were able to do something totally embarrassing and not have to relive it every day or worry about someone capturing a photo of it and posting it online for the world to see? These days kids seem to feel the need to share every last detail of their lives with everyone on the internet. This could, of course, come back to bite them in the rear end when a future boss does a little google search.

7 Old School Games > FPS Online With Kids

Whatever happened to the good old days of sitting down and really getting into an RPG or those wonderful side scrolls that took up many rainy afternoons? Today the only games that kids seem to be interested in online gaming (and a lot of them are FPS) and honestly, it can get pretty old and boring fairly quick. Kids used to play a wide range of games, now it's a lot of the same (except Minecraft — that's still great!)

6 Ebooks Just Aren't The Same

If you are a child of the 90s then you will perfectly remember going to your school library and picking out an awesome book to sit down and really get into. There was nothing like flipping the page, using a bookmark, and sometimes even using books to preserve flowers, but those days are slowly dying out. These days kids aren't being given paper copies of books in school, in fact, schools are now providing kids with tablets to put ebooks on. While this might sound really convenient, it’s really just leading out kids to have way too much screen time.

5 Figuring Out How To Do Something Without The Internet

We have already talked about the internet has taken over, and it is now hard to see ourselves living in a world without it. However, for those of us who did grow up in the times where the internet wasn't this huge thing that we used to complete every task that we were given, we still have some skill sets and know how to go about doing things without watching a how-to video on YouTube. For today’s kids, however, if the internet became obsolete the wide majority of them would be totally lost. Not that it's going to happen — but it's something to think about.

4 Shoe Shopping Used To Be A Chore, Now It's A Hobby

Remember back when we were kids and we went school shopping with our parents and be super excited to buy our brand new shoes valued at under 20 dollars? Well, it would seem that those days are behind us, because kids these days are now asking their parents for shoes that can cost well over 100 dollars. Jordans seem to be all the rage lately and they certainly come with a very hefty price tag, but if you want to make sure that your kids have the latest trends then this might be necessary.

3 Skinny Jeans That Sag Are Worse Than The Baggy Pants Of Yesteryear

We thought the ages of sagging pants were bad, well welcome to the age of skinny jeans that sag below the waist. It looks as though kids took a pair of their younger sibling's jeans and attempted to put them on, but couldn't get them past their thighs. It really is a silly look, and we can not imagine anyone finding this look attractive. It really does defeat the point of pants, and seems so uncomfortable.

2 Young Kids Dressing Like Grown-Ups

If you look at pictures of kids from the 80s and 90s you will notice the girls dressed in shirts that go up to their necks and short that are at least to their knees. This was the normal back then, and we all thought that it looked really cute at the time, and it was obviously very modest. Today however when you take a journey through the kids clothing aisle you might find yourself wondering if you are actually in the grown woman’s clothing aisle because there really isn’t much of a difference.

1 Not Going Outside Unattended Without A Phone

There was a time where kids were expected to go outside after breakfast and play around the neighborhood with their friends until the street lights came on and your mom was calling your name to come eat dinner. Not only that, but back in our day, we would just go to our friend's houses unannounced, today if you ring someone’s doorbell they act like you are coming to rob them or something. It's just a different world today, and again that's largely because of smartphones and how we use them.