The founder of ‘Flashback ‘90s’ told Bored Panda that they started the account back in 2016 after a session of reminiscing over their childhood shows, toys, clothes, and events of the past.
“I thought to myself, ‘I wonder if anyone else remembers these cool things? It would be so awesome to find a community of people who also enjoyed them’,” they said, adding that that’s when they realized that they should start one themselves.
“I should start a page about the ‘90s just for the fun of it and see if people also remember and like the same things,” they remember thinking back then.
The person responsible for the entertaining account shared that their favorite thing about it is the positivity it brings to both themselves and the followers. “It is truly awesome to be able to post something and see people’s reaction. I love to read comments that are left on the posts; a lot of people have funny responses, and I love when they share their story and how they relate to the post.”
The creator of ‘Flashback ‘90s’ told Bored Panda that it’s a very nostalgic community in which it often feels like people get to relive their childhood again. “I think internet users can benefit from ‘Flashback ‘90s’ because it’s always fun to go down memory lane,” they pointed out.
“Nostalgia is a powerful thing, and it brings so much joy; it’s like reliving the good old days. It always makes me smile, and I’m sure other people might feel the same way.”
In a piece for Psychology Today, professor of psychology at Georgia Gwinnett College, David Ludden Ph.D., too, suggested that nostalgia is a powerful thing; he noted that, according to experimental evidence, such an emotion is considered to be an overwhelmingly positive one.
The expert pointed out that based on certain studies, nostalgia can not only boost one’s mood but increase their sense of meaning in life as well. Moreover, such a sentiment is also believed to raise self-esteem and optimism for the future.
With nostalgia likely to lead to such positive outcomes, it’s no surprise that people tend to engage in it and reminisce over the good times of the past. Whether it acts as a pick-me-up on a difficult day or a chance to enjoy the fuzzy nice feeling for no peculiar reason, according to a poll of over 2,000 US adults, for the majority of them, watching nostalgic content brought feelings of sentimentality and happiness (as well as a sense of longing).
The poll of adults in the US found that for roughly a quarter of them, nostalgia would lead them to thinking about a specific event in their life or their childhood in general; for around 15% of them it was linked to a favorite book or a favorite TV show/movie (especially if it’s an older one).
When it comes to the TV shows and movies, respondents seemed to feel the most nostalgic over the fashion sense in the past, the dialogue and slang used, as well as the actors seen in old productions themselves.
The creator of the ‘Flashback ‘90s’ Instagram account shared that they were in no way immune to the feeling of nostalgia themselves. “Do I feel nostalgic? Yes! I love the ’90s,” they told Bored Panda, adding that there is something very special about the time.
“I think the ’90s generation was the last one before technology took over completely, and children actually rode bikes for hours, played outside with their neighbors and knew it was time to go home when it got dark outside.”
“When we wanted a toy, we actually had to go to our local toy store and search for a must-have toy,” the creator of the Instagram account—a representative of ‘90s kids themselves—shared. “Movie nights were also such a fun time; we either had to look up times in the newspaper or call the movie theater to find out when a movie was playing.
“Even having a movie night at home was the best,” they added. “Going to rent a movie was not just a thing, it was an event; spending time with family and friends at a local movie rental place, going down the aisles looking for a great movie to watch together. Couldn’t forget the popcorn, either.”