What a decade the 90s was! It was full of great transcontinental TV, music that was both broody and cheesy and some of the coolest toys and gadgets the world had ever seen (here’s looking at you, Tamagotchi).
Despite the fear that the millennium bug would destroy every piece of electronics that existed, we did make it past 31st December 1999. And even though we have long since said goodbye to dial-up internet and pagers (thank god!), there are a few things about the 90s that have stuck around.
Mature Cartoons
Technically, funny cartoons for adults have been around since the days of Betty Boop. But it was the 90s that popularised adult animation on mainstream TV. The Simpsons, Beavis and Butthead, South Park and King of the Hill were all part of late-night comedy television in this decade.
These programmes prove that animation isn’t just for children and are still part of the television scene around today. What’s more is that these cartoons have paved the way for modern animation and whilst they may have faced a little bit of snobbery in the 90s, today, people realise they are both entertaining and intelligent.
Online Gaming
During the 1990s, video gaming was really having its day. Mario was jumping down chimneys everywhere and Sonic was burning through shoes like no-one’s business. Of course, video games are still popular today, but it is online gaming that has had more of a lasting impact on today’s life.
Online multiplayer games exploded in the late 90s as the internet became more widely available. But, even before that, people were able to gamble online and take part in casino games via live streams. Thanks to the popularity of online gambling in the 90s, people today can use their phones and laptops to make a bet. There are even websites, like the site you can navigate here, that help people find out where to get free spins and bonuses.
The Smartphone
Where would we be without modern smartphones? Well, we can thank the 90s for this great invention. We tend to believe that phones in the 90s were the size of bricks and were only for businesspeople. But actually, the smartphone was invented way back in 1992. Granted, it was very expensive and had awful battery life but it did also give people access to emails and had some apps.
Fast forward 30 years and this has meant that, today, smartphones are more accessible and are much easier to use. What’s more is that thanks to people in the 90s being able to figure out what worked and what didn’t with a smartphone, we now have a device that does just about anything.
So whilst the 90s may not have made the best choices with some things, it definitely paved the way for bigger things in other areas. And it certainly had a lot to show for when it comes to things like cartoons, games and tech. After all, these are the things from the 90s that we still enjoy today.