The Social Media Time Machine: How Today's Platforms Would Fit into '90s Culture
It may be 2023, but I think we can agree that right now we are *digging* the ‘90’s. From the return of 90’s fashion hallmarks to bingeing “Friends” - we’re hooked. So, because we eat / sleep / breathe social media, we thought it’d be fun to imagine what our favorite social media platforms would look like in the ‘90’s.
But to save this from being ultra bORinG, let’s just pretend that dial-up connections, pixelated everything, and only having a desktop wasn’t a thing.
If you were scrolling Insta in the 90’s, you’d likely see a lot of psychedelic filters and countless reels set to a boyband chart topper. I can practically see the lovey-dovey reels to “As Long As You Love Me.”
Beyond that, influencers would share hauls of hip-hop grunge outfits and ads for Pop-Tarts while social media managers would be turning out memes from the newest “Friends” episode (I guess the more things change the more they stay the same??)
The hottest stories would be Will Smith’s BTS shots on the set of Fresh Prince or quizzes on how well you know each member of N*Sync. Which, coincidentally, are both stories that I would HAPPILY watch rn.
Let’s be honest, if today’s Facebook existed in 90’s culture, it would be riddled with parents posting about the good ‘ole days. Expect to see walls full of links to their favorite 80’s rock music videos (looking at you, Total Eclipse of the Heart), rants about how baggy teen’s pants are and the best cream of chicken casserole recipe.
In short: not much would have changed. lol.
OKAY now for the really fun part. Pinterest in the 90’s. (heart eyes).
Imagine, if you will, boards chock full of DIY scrunchie designs, mixtape playlists, "Rachel" haircut tutorials, slap bracelet patterns and wedding inspo a la Jane Fonda, John Stamos, and J. Lo. Every recipe you pinned would contain canned cream-of-something and you’d definitely be pinning outfit inspo from the newest MTV music videos.
TikTok
TikTok would undoubtedly be the home of dance crazes set to iconic '90s hits. Imagine a sea of videos featuring the Macarena, the Carlton Dance, or routines set to MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This."
We’d see choreographed dances to all of the newest Spice Girl songs and fan theory videos on what the Backstreet Boys will play as their surprise song during their latest tour. And can you even imagine the tutorial videos for how to bleach your own tips ++ the subsequent failed hair-dye reaction videos?! I kind of need it to happen now haha.
If we’re being real, maybe not a lot would change about the content we’re seeing on social media during the 90’s, but man, it was fun to imagine the differences, right? Taylor had it right when she said “I come back faster than a 90s trend” because the 90s have a certain hold on us 😍
