Nostalgia for the 90s and early 2000s is strong today. Flip phones, retro gaming, cool futuristic designs, colourful fashion and weird gadgets seem to be all over the internet lately.
With the fast growth of AI, the way most social media platforms became marketing tools instead of places to connect with friends, algorithms that feed us so much negativity and paywalls behind every fun thing, people are growing tired of modern technology and sometimes even hopeless about the future of our society.
As a millennial I must admit it makes me happy to see people appreciating the 90s and early 2000s like we appreciate older eras. It's actually comforting to see people showing love for the early ages of social media, the "old internet" as some call it, older formats of media like CDs and magazines, and all our funny-looking gadgets. Everyone gets nostalgic about different things, but it's a common theme to crave the simplicity, joy and freedom we felt when we were younger with less responsibilities and knowledge of the world.
I personally enjoy being an adult: I don't need permission from my parents to eat a snack, I can stay up late if I want to and, let's be honest, driving a car is pretty cool. It's like we adults can be better "kids" than actual kids: we can be silly and spontaneous, but also have the wisdom not to try eating glue or soap because we already know those taste like sh*t. But I also believe nostalgia can help us stop in our tracks and really evaluate the direction we're headed. Knowing what sparked joy for us in the past can help us find balance in our daily routine, establish boundaries with society, technology, and find ways to bring fun into our life as adults.
You already the deal: watch your favourite childhood series and movies, listen to those 2000s playlists, play your favourite games. These are just a few of the many ways we can add whimsy and fun to our daily life, but here are a couple more ideas you can try to feel that same kid-like wonder. The goal isn't to do all these suggestions at once, as if it was a challenge, but to gradually add some of these into your life:
1. Eat your favourite childhood snacks (or try recreating them)
Trying to find your favourite snacks from when you were a kid is so fun. Some of my favorite "kid treats" are the Kinder chocolate eggs and Oreos, so it's always fun to crack open a chocolate egg to find a small toy inside or open an Oreo cookie to eat the cream first. And what if your favourite snack no longer exists? You can try to recreate it in your kitchen and even make it better!
2. Explore cool places by foot and end the day with fast food
I live in a city where you can go everywhere by foot and, as a teenager, I used to meet with friends on the weekend and we would walk so much simply because we didn't want to wait for the bus (even if that meant sore feet in a few hours) and at the end of the day we'd eat McDonald's or something similar. Doing this on weekends is a great way to enjoy a day free of worries, exercising your legs and finishing off with a guilt-free treat.
3. Birthday parties with friends
We remember our childhood parties with nostalgia. The colours, the food, the party games. As an introvert I know I don't always show people how much I care for them, but I absolutely love that you can now gather a small group of friends and host a party instead of having to go to parties where you don't know anyone. You can serve delicacies, play board games or even cook treats together. You can even hang balloons if I want to! Hey, I might do that next time!
4. Wear some crazy accessories or piece of clothing
Our teenage years were all about self expression through fashion until we grew into more casual, comfortable and work-friendly clothes. Not because we're afraid of expressing ourselves anymore, but for me personally I no longer feel the need to express myself through clothes. And I'd rather not attract everyone's attention in the streets ahaha! But sometimes it's still fun to experiment with cute or alternative fashion or wear some silly accessories to bring some extra magic to your days.
5. Stay up late / wake up at crazy hours just because you want to
Millennials remember waking up at 6AM on weekends to watch the new episodes of their favourite cartoons. It was freeing to get out of the daily routine and being able to get up early and not having to go to school but instead do something just because we felt like it. As an adult you can do the same and you don't need anyone's permission to stay up late watching a movie or waking up at 5AM just because you want to.
6. Make your internet usage more meaningful
Today's kids aren't that different from the kids back in the 2000s. When we got internet at home, I promise you we also had arguments with our parents because we spent so much time in front of our computer. But something that was different from today's platforms was the lack of recommendation algorithms. We had to make an effort to search for stuff instead of passively consuming what the algorithm suggests. We can bring this feeling of wonder and discovery back by searching for cool stuff and instead of relying on our social media feed, creating folders to bookmark our favourite websites and intentionally visit them from time to time.
7. If you miss the "old internet" try to create a personal blog
Or if you don't want to create a blog, use social media to share fun moments of your day as a visual journal, without the pressure for it to perform well. Something cool about creating a personal blog is you now have a safe space to share whatever you want, and if you don't have a system of likes in place you don't need to know how many people are reading it. Do it for yourself, for fun. If you know some basic HTML or CSS even better, make it personal and different from every other website. Platforms like Neocities and Tumblr (the desktop version) allow you to create your own customizable blog.
8. Own the media you consume
If you're tired of subscribing to streaming platforms full of adds and not even being able to download the media you bought, why not visit a CD or DVD store with a friend and hunt for your favourite albums and movies? Or visit a bookshop or library and share recommendations with each other? You can even look for magazines on subjects you like. If you're into digital formats, maybe check Bandcamp to discover artists selling digital albums. Just make sure you're purchasing something you actually enjoy and plan to use and you're not just buying it for the sake of buying.
9. You can still enjoy fun stuff for free
I know everything seems to be behind a paywall or free content is usually covered in ads, but you can find cool stuff for free or for a very low price. We already know we can join a local library and rent books, but there's also a whole universe of public domain media available on Archive.org and, if you're into music, many artists offer their albums on Bandcamp for free. If you're into crafts, there are many blogs available or tutorials on Tumblr or DeviantArt that you can follow without having to spend anything.
10. Make crazy experiments
Not telling you to blow up your kitchen if you don't want to deal with the insurance company, but try creating a recipe from scratch, make weird drinks almost like potions or try to grow plants from seeds. You can even try making the so popular sourdough, it's so fun and rewarding when you can watch it rise and form bubbles and the best part is you can make food with it. Recently I took on apartment gardening as a new hobbie and every day comes with a fun surprise as I watch the seeds germinating and growing into full sized plants! There will always be challenges, but that's part of the fun and discovery!
11. Do some creative activity for fun
One thing about being kids is how creative and unafraid we were. When I was a kid I would draw silly comics or fictional toy catalogues with crazy products just to laugh by myself or with a friend. You can try something similar or a different creative hobby were you feel no pressure to be perfect. I'd even recommend trying a creative activity without looking for inspiration on the internet (except for basic tutorials) because that can take away the freedom and joy of doing something "imperfectly".
12. Friday night pizza and movies
I see adults online saying they miss pizza nights as if they're no longer able to enjoy them. You can gather friends, your partner, family, or even just by yourself and relax after the work week with a fun movie, popcorn and pizza while chilling on the couch. An important step is to choose a movie before you sit on the couch because you don't want to spend your whole pizza date deciding what to watch.
13. Build a fun collection (develop a special interest basically)
I strongly suggest going for something that feels personal to you and doesn't simply follow the current trends like Sony's Angels or Labubus. The idea is to spend as little as possible while building a collection that lasts and creates fun moments. Maybe a postcard collection you can flip through, candy wrapping, bird feathers, pressed flowers, anything you'd like. Collect because you truly love the thing and not because you want to follow the "collector aesthetic".
14. Do a physical activity for fun
We all know that physical activity is super important to our bodies but as kids we played football, ran around the backyard, or danced alone in our rooms just for fun. So why not trying something that isn't tied to visual body standards or just health benefits? Maybe learn roller skating, dance to your favourite songs at home, hike just to explore a cool place, try to get more flexible with yoga, etc... You might even find your favourite sport this way! (just make sure you do it wisely and know your own limits!)
15. If you run a business try to offer something nice for free once in a while
People remember getting toys in their cereal, magazines came with skincare samples, yogurt brands would sometimes offer small gifts or you'd even get CD's with silly games from companies. Nowadays it feels like nothing is free and things are increasingly expensinve. Obviously we know the gifts back then were part of marketing strategies and production costs are so much more expensive nowadays (as someone who runs a small business I totally get it!), but maybe offering a small cute sticker, a little keychain or some digital freebies can totally make the relationship between client and business feel more wholesome. Try to make your business exciting because you feel like it, host giveaways and fun creative contests for cool prizes without your customers having to order 100€ worth of stuff or giving away all their personal data just for the chance to eventually win a cute ballpoint pen. If you miss those fun times try to recreate them yourself as best as you can.
16. Buy a scented gel pen
If you use a planner or need to write stuff on your daily life, get a fun scented pen like those that smell of fruits and have crazy colours to make planning more exciting and fun. As with everything, make sure you'll actually use them and you're not just buying them to collect dust.
17. Surround yourself with colour
We millennials went from colourful fashion, cool phone designs and heavily decorated homes to the "millennial grey" aesthetic. Homes devoid of all colour can feel impersonal, almost like an office or a surgery room. If you're into the all-white+grey vibe and feel comfy around those colours, you do your thing babe! I personally love neutral colours and minimalism, but I also need to balance it with vibrant colours and fun decor. So if you're looking to add some whimsy to your home, maybe pick one or two highlight colours to add here and there. It could be a rug, a pillow, a decorative piece, it doesn't need to look like the old homes full of unmatching colours that felt cluttered. But adding a touch of colour to your home and even clothes makes such a difference.
As humans we love to romanticise the past, we usually call it "the best years". We naturally miss the times when our main worries were to catch the legendary Pokemon or wondering what's tomorrow's lunch at school. When people talk about nostalgia they mention they were "excited about the future" as kids, as if they no longer have things to look forward to. Everyone's circumstances are different, but we all know not everything was perfect in the past, we also faced many challenges growing. We simply tend to bury the less positive moments in the corners of our mind when we talk about how great the past was. But those challenges were also important for our growth as humans. We talk fondly of the past, ignoring those challenges, because we were able to overcome them. So we must remember we're strong and we'll also overcome any present challenges, so it's important we don't forget to enjoy the good moments from the present.
And getting out of your confort zone and challenging yourself for your own satisfaction and no other reason is a great way to experience that kid-like wonder and sense of discovery. A lot of the conversation of feeling like a kid again revolves around the simplicity of life, feelings of comfort and control over our surroundings, but those aren't the only things a kid experiences. A big compontent of a kid's life is uncertainty, through exploration and adventure. Of course, for a kid, an adventure can be as simple as riding a bike to the end of the street, but that doesn't matter, the feeling of achievement at small victories and evidences of growth are still there.
As an adult you can certainly recreate that sense of adventure and achievement today. Go take a walk somewhere you've never been before, explore a new genre of music, pick a book without looking at reviews or try something you previously considered yourself unable to do. That cycle of trying, wondering, uncertainty, not fearing judgement, and overcoming is an integral part of the experience of being a kid.
Have fun!
For Your Inner Child
