1. Looking through the Sunday paper circulars to find out what movies and albums were being released that week.
Unless you already knew 'cause you had seen the "coming soon" ads inside Tower Records or Best Buy.
2. Buying an expensive CD single import just for the bonus B-side.
There was no other way you would hear it, so you took a gamble and bought it hoping that the B-side was 🔥🔥🔥.
3. Waiting HOURS to download one song off of Napster and praying you wouldn't be knocked off the internet while it downloaded.
And only being able to listen to it on your desktop, since you probably didn't have a CD burner.
4. Doing research for a paper or report with a CD-ROM.
And having to go to the library if what you were looking for wasn't on Encarta.
5. Having to clearly label your VHS tape so that no one would tape over it before you had a chance to watch it.
Sometimes you watched it, but kept the tape so that you could watch the episode again and again.
6. Buying books specifically made for the bathroom.
You usually bought one as more of a gag, but you ended up reading it.
7. Carrying around both a beeper and a cell phone.
And your cell phone was used sparingly, as minute plans were expensive and also didn't come with a whole lot of minutes.
8. Sharing ONE landline phone with several people (like roommates).
A lot of fights were about trying to use the phone.
9. Having to pay for long-distance calls whenever you called anyone outside your area code.
And those minutes added up quickly!
10. Dialing *69 if you got a prank call or if you forgot to get someone's number.
It also cost extra to do it.
11. Taking photos and having NO idea how they'd turn out.
There was nothing worse than being all excited to see your developed photos only to find out they were overexposed or you looked terrible in all of them.
12. Carrying around a Thomas Guide in your car in case you needed to look for an address in a part of town you weren't familiar with.
And of course you would do that thing where you'd follow the route on the map with your index finger.
13. Calling Moviefone to find out what movies were playing at what times.
There was something comforting about hearing the Moviefone guy say, "Hello, and welcome to Moviefone!"
14. Rushing home to watch TRL in hopes that they would play your favorite music video.
And let's be honest, nothing was worse than when your favorite video fell off the TRL charts.
15. Ordering clothes out of a mail-order catalog.
Filling out the forms carefully was a major pain in the butt. Then you had to wait WEEKS to get the item — that is, if it wasn't on back order or out of stock.
16. Buying a book 'cause it was recommended by Oprah.
Literally everyone started reading the same books because of Oprah.
17. Special-ordering things from stores if they didn't have them in stock.
'Cause ordering stuff online wasn't really a thing.
18. Being able to drop off or greet your friends and family at the boarding gates at the airport.
Nothing like a last hug or a hello hug!
19. Savoring that satisfying feeling you got using your mouse right after cleaning it.
It just ran so smooth.
20. Checking your email every few days and legit being excited if you got a new email from a friend.
You also probably had a silly-sounding email address, like Lisabutterfly83@aol.com.
21. Driving from Blockbuster to Blockbuster in search of the new release you wanted.
It usually started with you thinking something like, Well, maybe the Blockbuster by the mall has it — they're usually not as busy as this one.
22. And finally, not hating (probably loving, TBH) The Phantom Menace and totally being cool with Jar Jar Binks.
Ugh, those were dark times for Star Wars fans.
