No matter which way you slice it, every generation has its “it” things. You either have those things or you get bullied in the playground. I don’t make the rules, that’s just how it is. Kids embrace capitalism on a level people with a mortgage and regular bills could only dream of. Their social system is built entirely on ownership of a select set of items.
Here’s a few things you needed to have in the 90’s if you wanted to have any friends whatsoever. I’m not even kidding, if you didn’t have these you were target #1 for a good ol’ bullying.
The Game Boy
Back in the day we didn’t have all the fancy consoles we have right now. There was also no such thing as a console war. Where now kids are trying to prove that their Xbox is better than your Playstation, we were just happy to have a 2,5 inch screen, a D-pad, 2 buttons and about 250 pixels of megafun.
Portable DVD Player
Look, DVDs were a very new technology in the 90s. If you were the kid that was able to watch one on the go, you were the king of the school. No contest whatsoever. These days everyone just streams everything right on their smartphones so this bad boy would probably not turn heads in the same way it used to. You can still buy them if for some reason you’re absolutely enamored with the technology.
Ti-83 Calculator
Look, real talk here. Why was every math teacher borderline obsessed with the infamous Texas Instruments 83 calculator. The teacher didn’t ask you to get *a* calculator, no sir, the teacher asked you to get this specific one. And if your parents couldn’t afford it, well, that was a telltale sign that you had to switch schools.
Nokia 8210
The myth, the legend. The Nokia 8210 was so popular you could resell a broken one just so people could look like they owned one. The thing was borderline indestructible and could take beatings most recent smartphones could only dream of. You threw your 8210 against a wall – you dented that wall. No ifs or buts. This baby later gave birth to the even more famous 3310 model.
Baby-G Watch
They were hideous but they came in all kinds of colors and naturally you had to have one in as unique a color as possible. They were rubber-based which made them perfect for kids as you could keep them on while swimming. No matter how silly that cap and pair of Speedos looked, you still had your Baby-G with you.
Pokémon Cards
Doesn’t matter if you were into trading card games or Pokémon, you were automatically required to have some Pokémon cards if you wanted to have social standing. Case in point: I was a nobody in school until I had a Charizard. The guy with the Charizard made the rules. Now I still have my Charizard but I’m an adult so nobody cares anymore.
