I'm obsessed with the 90s, or more specifically, the idea of how the 90s were. I was born in 1996, so for most of the 90s I was most likely crying, eating, or getting my diaper changed. So with that in mind, you could see that most of my memories of the 90s are pretty foggy. But, what I do remember is pretty awesome. Also, my sister is six years older than me so I was exposed to a lot of her experiences and 90s "culture."
One thing I specifically remember about this time, was how big posters were. My sister's room was wall to wall Tiger Beat posters of TLC, 3LW, Josh Hartnet, Britney Spears, and any other of her favorite pop culture icons. Teen targeted magazines were full of posters of your favorite singers and actors. I even remember Walmart having a specific section dedicated to posters.
It might just be my foggy memory, but I feel like posters were a huge part of teenage life. They were decorations that covered the walls of the young and gave a representation of who and what they loved. They had the ability to pick who was worthy of their wall and designed according to their specific and individual personality.
There was an article on Vice that honored a collection of photographs taken from various 90s teen's bedrooms. The article and photographs sparked a totally new insight. Social media of today is our very own bedroom walls. I know, weird, but stay with me.
Think about Instagram and blogs, particularly tumblr. While these sites are totally technologically dependent, they rely on the individual persona for the users. These sites allow individuals (most often, teens) to create an image of there self that is representative of their favorite things and pictures they identify with.
These platforms are less private than the walls of your bedroom, instead they broadcast this depiction of an individual to the world. I believe that technology has allowed their target audience to create different ways of expression. No longer are we searching through magazines and stores to decorate our walls with pictures of our favorite stars, but we're scrolling through websites and taking our own pictures to share this image of ourselves online.
I think this shows that no matter how digital our world may be, we still have deep connections to images and people that we can identify with. Our sense of individuality and identity are still very important to us as individuals, and with technology we are allowed to share this sense of self with others.
Feminism Redefined
