Generational Nostalgia

So, it is vital that I start this post off with a disclaimer: I am fervently opposed to Gen Y and Millenials being an interchangeable generation. Personally, if they asked me (whoever they are, by the way), I would tell them that I think Gen Y should encompass those born between 1981 and 1994. I then think Millenials should be 1994 until now-ish. I won't get into the many reasons why I think there should be two distinct categories, as that is not really the point of my post, but I totally feel this way, and so should you. So, there.

At any rate, the point of this post is to discuss the nostalgia of Gen Y (as I define it). I may be wrong here, but I really don't remember my parents having this sense of nostalgia in their 20s and 30s for things revolving around their childhood. Yeah, my Dad loves the music of the 70s as much as the next person (myself included), but, other than that, I really can't think of something else comparable to the nostalgia I see in my generation.

I read an article online once about how General Mills brings back the "Halloween" cereals every year (Count Chocula, Boo Berry, Franken Berry) specifically for the Gen Y crowd, even though they discontinued the flavors years ago. Likewise, I have heard of people ordering boxes of Dunkaroos off Amazon. My friends and I are guilty of still watching as many re-runs of Saved by the Bell, Boy Meets World, and Full House as we can get our hands on (I make at least one reference per month to the one episode where Jessie Spano had a drug addiction and sang "I'm so excited". At least one per month, folks). If you even bring up Classic Nickelodeon shows (think Clarissa Explains it All, Salute Your Shorts, Are You Afraid of the Dark), Gen Y'ers get giddy with excitement reminiscing about their childhood. Once, in a car full of my old coworkers (ranging in age from 27 - 33), we couldn't agree on a single radio station until we got to the 90s on 9, and then we proceeded to sing our little hearts out. I am guilty of following accounts like The 90s Life and 90s Girl Problems on Twitter, where the references to things like boy bands, the Olsen twins, AIM, and Tamagotchi pets abound. Also, whatever happened to the TV shows "I love the 80s" and "I love the 90s"? Best ever!

I am not really sure what the point of this rambling post is, but do you find it as interesting as I do the level of nostalgia seen in this generation? I feel like instead of being the grandparents who said, "When I was your age, I had to walk 5 miles to school. In the snow. Uphill both ways", we will be the grandparents who say, "When I was your age, Pluto was a planet, and TV shows were family-friendly, and our cereal was laden with sugar and cartoon characters!"

Computers that weighed approximately 347 pounds, Windows DOS. Dial-up internet (may you never know the pain, children). Nano Babies. Beanie Babies. Victoria Beckham as Posh Spice. Will Smith as The Fresh Prince. Mark Wahlberg as...well, he'll always be Marky Mark to me. Cell phones the size of bricks, and only really important, and / or wealthy people had them. Car phones. And, last but not least, a real war on drugs (started by Nancy Reagan in the 80s, and solidified here):

Courtesy of Buzzfeed

Ahh. The good ole days.