Times change, and so do the things we thought were cool. Back in my day, Myspace was the new hip thing, but I doubt kids these days even know what that is!
When scrolling through my favorite sub on Reddit, I came across a question asking users to share things that used to be cool. The varied responses offer a quick dose of nostalgia over a forgotten time.
Here are some of the top responses of things that are no longer cool.
AIM Away Messages
When I was in college, AIM (AOL Instant Messanger) was the hot messaging app. Everyone had AIM, and everyone set quirky away messages.
One user said AIM messages didn’t truly go away; they just evolved with the times. “The AIM away message turned into the FB status and now the IG story,” they said.
Men’s Fashion
Fashion is constantly evolving, but one Redditor pointed out that there was a time when all middle-aged men dressed the same. Their response to the question was, “Middle aged dudes with one earring, a soul patch and Ed Hardy t-shirt.”
We’re actually glad men’s fashion is a little more fashionable now.
Read Next: 10 Trends We Can’t Believe We Loved!
MySpace
Of course, Myspace would make an appearance on the thread. The early social media platform was a must-have for everyone in the early 2000s but disappeared as quickly as it burst onto the scene.
Facebook is still around, but it’s clearly no longer cool.
One user described Facebook as “a very washed-up celebrity that only people over 50 remember fondly and as a cool person, everyone younger than that remembers them as someone controversial, negative, irrelevant, trying to shoehorn their way into anything just to stay relevant, etc.”
Popped Collars
Guys from the 80s to the early 2000s wore polo shirts with popped collars to signify how “cool” they were.
The trend had negative stereotypes associated with it even at its peak. “I was in college when the era of popped collars existed, and even then, we thought those guys were douchebags,” said one user.
Also See: 10 Absolute Poisons to Society and Life as We Know It
Blackberry
A Blackberry was the first smartphone that everyone had to have. Many users said they loved their Blackberrys, as it was the best mobile device they ever had. The keyboard made typing easy, and it had great functionality.
Apparently, you can still get a blackberry, but with Android and Apple being so pervasive, who would even know?
Playboy Club
“My mother-in-law said she and her husband would go to the Playboy Club for appetizers and drinks.” offered one user.
The Playboy brand implied sophistication and was everywhere in the 80s and 90s. The Playboy Club was just a string of regular nightclubs.
Sidekicks
“The boost mobile phones that use to chirp” aren’t cool anymore, said one user.
Back in the day when mobile phones were new, everyone set personal ringtones and was delighted by the fun sounds their phones made. It’s not cool anymore.
“Now you have to be a daring soul to even have your phone volume up,” replied another Redditor.
The Mall
Teenagers used to hang out at the mall. “I remember 20 years ago I’d go to the mall and it would be packed on the weekends and especially during Christmas season,” said one Redditor.
With advances in online shopping, malls are slowly fading. We no longer hang out at malls on the weekends.
Transparent Electronics
Remember the computers with transparent housing so you could see all the chips and wires on the inside? One Redditor claimed that seeing how your stuff was working while you were using it was “the height of cool.”
Others said transparent electronics are still a thing but aren’t as popular. They pointed out that prisons rely on transparent electronics, and many custom-built gaming pcs have transparent side panels.
What Else Used to Be Cool?
As trends change and evolve, things skyrocket into popularity and then fade into oblivion. What other items and trends used to be cool? Did Redditors offer a good selection of fades you remember?