Life
12 Ways '90s Kids Made Big Decisions
If you've had to make a big decision recently, chances are you've done your research. Googled. Posted questions on social media and in forums. Texted all your friends. In the '90s, we didn't have all these easy ways to get information at our fingertips. We had to work a little bit harder for information and advice, and the way '90s kids made decisions didn't involve consulting an app or asking "What Would Kylie Jenner Do?" We had to go outside technology, and really think about our options in creative ways. Of course, we'd still ask our friends and look online (in the later '90s at least), but that stuff didn't happen with the same ease that it does today.
'90s decision making was both easier and harder. Easier because it was harder to come by so much information. And harder for precisely the latter half of the previous sentence. We had to hand make devices that would tell us the answers to our questions. Ask elderly cartoon butlers. And speak to dead people. To be honest, decision making was way more fun in the '90s. Here are 11 ways '90s kids made big decisions, in a time before Google provided us with immediate, infinite answers.
1. Asked Jeeves
We didn't Google in the '90s. We asked Jeeves. You kids today will never understand the pain of Jeeves. Although it is funny to think about what the digital landscape would look like today if Jeeves had become the most popular search engine...
2. Asked A Ghost In A Seance
When big decisions needed to be made it called for candles, hand holding, chanting... an ouija board and the summoning of spirits. I guess some kid who was pushing the glass around was really giving us the answers, but it was comforting to think our decision making was coming from the great beyond.
3. Wrote Long Notes To Our Friends
Before you could text your friends about your dilemmas, you'd pen long ass notes. To which they'd reply with long ass notes. It was tedious, but we made it work.
4. Consulted A Cootie Catcher
Cootie catchers, which you made yourself, mind you, were the ultimate decision making device. Especially because when you got an unsatisfactory answer, you'd just ask another one until you got the outcome you were looking for.
5. Let A Magic 8 Ball Do The Talking
Like cootie catchers, Magic 8 Balls were multiple use devices, and could be shaken and re-consulted until a satisfactory answer was found. To be honest, Ross made the 8 Ball kind of pathetic on Friends, but they were pretty big for a minute there.
6. Pondered Over Jagged Little Pill
Before we mused over Taylor Swift and Adele records, Alanis Morissette had all the answers. Specifically, the angst riddled Jagged Little Pill, in which we put our ultimate faith.
7. Sought Advice In The Babysitter's Club
The babysitters in The Babysitter's Club had already lived out every possible teen scenario, so definitely had the answer you were seeking somewhere in the series' pages.
8. By Swinging A Yoyo
Yo-yos weren't just a fad trend toy, they were mystical! You'd hold your yo-yo fully unwound, determine one direction of the natural swing yes and the other no, ask a question, and let the yo-yo swing where it might.
9. Or Swinging A Crystal On A String
Likewise, crystals were big in the '90s, and the perfect way to get an answer. You'd take a crystal on a string (most likely in the form of a crystal necklace), and just like the yo-yo technique above, you'd let the crystal do it's thing in order to determine what your next big decision would look like.
10. Asking Our Tamagotchi
Tamagotchis weren't just to be neglected and killed. They were powerful resources. You'd ask your digi-pet questions, and based on their next move, you'd make your choices. That's what made Tamagotchis a '90s kid's best friend...
11. Read Teen Magazine Advice Columns
Agony aunts in teen magazines were your savior in the '90s. You'd pour over advice columns in teen magazines just looking for questions similar to yours, and sucking up all the valuable information you could. You'd also pen many letters yourself, hoping your question would get answered in the next issue.
12. By Playing Spin The Bottle
If the decision you needed to make was one to make a move on your crush, your go-to was spin the bottle. The game would make your decision for you, and if it backfired, you only had the bottle to blame. It was a trustworthy decision maker in that sense, although because it was random, you might not always get the outcome you wanted (i.e. the opportunity to kiss your crush).
