This is what the pandemic would look like if it happened in the 90s

A year into the pandemic, we’re starting to see subtle returns to normal as vaccines become more available.

And while there are plenty of things we all likely wish happened differently, there’s one thing we can probably all agree on: things would have been far worse if this happened in any other decade. 

Let’s unpack that a bit.

Sure, if the pandemic had happened in 2010 or even the early 2000s, it would have been less convenient. Online retail was limited. Social media lacked quality video capabilities. If you wanted to watch a movie or show, you either needed a cable subscription or physically ship DVDs through the mail. But, most of the country had access to the computer and internet.

So, instead of looking at decades that would’ve created an inconvenient landscape, let’s look at one that would’ve been pretty tough to get through: The 1990s.

How news spread in the 1990s

According to Nielsen Media Research, 98% of U.S. households had at least one TV in their home, 64% of which had a basic cable subscription. In addition to local and national news channels, the 1990s were when talk shows gained popularity. With commercial internet still gaining traction, most of America would be kept updated on the latest pandemic news, guidelines and numbers through their TV sets. 

With the internet still in its infancy, remote reporting from home, as many anchors did during the early days of COVID, would have proved challenging, if not impossible. Likely, anchors would still be reporting news out of their local studios, if allowed, deemed essential workers to keep viewers updated on the evolving pandemic. 

Working during the pandemic in the 1990s

Newscasters and media members wouldn’t be the only ones who would struggle to do their jobs remotely.

Email wasn’t widely used or available until the late 1990s, with just 18 million users in the U.S. and Canada having access to the internet in 1995. Unable to work remotely, many white-collar professionals would likely still have to access their office.

In cities where residents rely on public transportation, adding white-collar employees to the list of employees deemed essential at the time would no doubt have made the spread even more challenging to control. 

Communicating with others in the 1990s

During the 1990s, cordless phones, pagers and mobile phones started becoming more mainstream.

While these innovations would undoubtedly help us stay connected better than having to be physically home in front of a phone with a chord to speak with friends and family, the cost of making a phone call, using a mobile phone or pager would severely limit the frequency in which the average person would be able to rely on it. 

Instead of Zoom calls and FaceTime, more people would likely turn to the mail to keep in touch – writing physical letters, sending care packages and perhaps even creating handmade drawings, cards or crafts to ship to those they missed most. 

Entertainment in the 1990s

With no social media to scroll through, no internet to surf and no Spotify, podcasts or streaming TV and movie options, people living in a 1990s pandemic would likely be spending their free time in the following ways:

1. Playing video games

Nintendo and Sega were widely available in the 1990s, though the cost of new games was pretty steep. Without the capability to play virtually with friends – or likely even swap video games, unless you shipped them via mail, this would probably get old fairly quickly.

2. Creating your own movie or song

Production on TV shows, movies and music would likely come to a halt if the pandemic happened in the 1990s, as there would be no contactless way for artists to work.

Camcorders and cassette tape recorders were common in the 1990s, which could have forced us to get creative enough to make our home movie or song to pass the time. 

3. Board games

Board games like Hungry Hungry Hippos, Guess Who, Mouse Trap, and Operation became popular in the 1990s. Families would likely have spent more time than usual playing these together to pass the time. 

4. Food delivery

Without platforms like Seamless and Uber eats, food delivery options were limited, with pizza and Chinese food being the two most available options.

With COVID-19 impacting local restaurants, it’s possible to envision that more restaurant owners would consider offering delivery or advertising to go food specials for patrons to generate business.

Unfortunately, without social media to spread the word about their specials and new options, they’d need to either spend money on fliers or other types of advertising – which may not have been possible for certain businesses. COVID-19 marked the end of many restaurants across the U.S, but the 1990s would have likely seen more given these constraints. 

5. Views on mask-wearing in the 1990s

Social media has given every individual a platform to share their thoughts and ideas. While this has its benefits, it also has its downfalls – as seen from the amount of inaccurate information shared about the pandemic, as well as the continued objection over wearing a mask by those who insist it violates their freedom.

Would these attitudes have existed in the 1990s? Perhaps.

But without social media to fuel and rally others who felt this way, chances are it wouldn’t have had enough ammunition to become widespread. Meaning, we might have been done with this pandemic sooner if it happened in the 90s.

Of course, without access to the internet and other luxuries of today, it would’ve felt much longer.