Remember the days before everyone had cell phones and Facebook? There was once a golden era that I like to call: The 90s. It lasted for about 10 years. This was back when AOL was cutting edge. I have been thinking about (trying to recall) what life once was like.

I recently read Last Call in the City of Bridges by Sal Pane and The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling. They are two social media saturated stories. It makes sense, I guess, because social media is such a big part of everyday life. But after being depressed about how big of a role technology plays in our lives, I went to see “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”

Perks was good not only for these reasons. Movies based on books usually cannot compare. Oftentimes, an author writes the book, a screenwriter adapts it, and then a director makes a movie based on the script, so there become three different takes on the same story. This is not the case with Perks, however. Mainly because Stephen Chbosky did each job.

My favorite part was the 90s references. From the clothing to the music to the technology, everything is authentic. Charlie talks on rotary phones and dubs mix tapes. He is excited to get a typewriter. It’s not that I think technology is all bad. But it’s hard to think of anyone being able to live without cell phones.