Time is a liar. You’re sitting there, maybe scrolling through a feed or trying to remember when Titanic actually came out, and you realize that 1998 was 28 years ago.
It’s a gut punch.
Mathematically, it’s simple subtraction. Since it is currently 2026, you just take $2026 - 1998$ and you get 28. But the math doesn't account for the weird way our brains process the late 90s. For a huge portion of the population, 1998 feels like it happened in a different lifetime, yet the cultural echoes are so loud it feels like last Tuesday.
The Math Behind 1998 Was How Many Years Ago
Let’s be precise. If you were born in 1998, you are now 27 or 28 depending on which month we're in. You’ve likely finished college, started a career, and maybe even started wondering why your knees make that clicking sound when you stand up.
Twenty-eight years.
That is nearly three decades. To put that in perspective, in 1998, someone looking back 28 years would have been staring at 1970. In 1998, the 70s felt like ancient history—bell bottoms and disco felt like a black-and-white movie compared to the high-tech, silver-clad futurism of the Y2K era. Yet, here we are in 2026, and 1998 somehow feels closer to us than 1970 felt to them.
Why?
It’s probably because 1998 was the year the "modern world" actually started. It wasn't just another year; it was the hinge.
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The Year the Internet Stopped Being a Toy
If you're asking 1998 was how many years ago because you're feeling nostalgic, you’re likely remembering the specific "flavor" of that year. It was the year Google was founded. Think about that. Larry Page and Sergey Brin incorporated Google in September 1998 in a garage in Menlo Park.
Before that? We were using AltaVista or Ask Jeeves. We were literally asking a digital butler to find us pictures of hamsters.
Then Google arrived.
Suddenly, the chaos of the early web became searchable. It changed how we think. 1998 was also the year the iMac G3 launched—the translucent Bondi Blue one that made computers look like candy instead of beige office equipment. Apple was basically on the verge of bankruptcy before that thing hit the shelves. If Steve Jobs hadn't returned and launched that specific computer 28 years ago, you probably wouldn't be reading this on an iPhone right now.
Pop Culture Was Peaking (And We Didn't Know It)
Pop culture in 1998 was a fever dream of transition. You had the back-to-back dominance of Titanic (which swept the Oscars in March '98) and the rise of the teen pop explosion. Britney Spears released "...Baby One More Time" in late 1998.
The world changed overnight.
Suddenly, the grunge of the early 90s—the flannels, the dirt, the angst—was replaced by polished, synchronized dancing and Swedish-produced pop hooks. It was the year of The Truman Show, which basically predicted our current obsession with reality TV and constant surveillance.
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On the sports side, 1998 was the "Last Dance" for Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. They won their sixth championship. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were chasing the home run record, saving baseball (even if we later found out it was fueled by chemistry).
It feels like yesterday because we still watch these highlights on YouTube. The digital bridge between 1998 and 2026 is much shorter than the analog bridge between 1970 and 1998.
Why Your Internal Clock is Broken
There is a psychological phenomenon called the "reminiscence bump." It’s the tendency for older adults to have increased recollection for events that occurred during their adolescence and early adulthood.
If you were between 15 and 25 in 1998, that year is hard-coded into your identity.
But there’s more to it. Neurologically, our brains process new experiences more slowly and deeply. When you're young, everything is new. The first time you heard a 56k modem dial up? That was a massive sensory event. The first time you saw the "bullet time" effect in a movie trailer? Your brain etched that in.
As we age, life becomes more routine. Years blur. 2021, 2022, 2023... they start to feel like one long, continuous month. But 1998? 1998 had texture.
Also, the "30-year cycle" is real. Fashion works on a loop. Right now, in 2026, look at what people are wearing. Wide-leg pants, baby tees, tech-wear, and chunky sneakers. It’s 1998 all over again, just with better fabrics. When you see a teenager wearing the exact same outfit your older sister wore to a Third Eye Blind concert, your brain gets confused about what year it is.
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The Hard Numbers: Life 28 Years Later
Let’s look at some specific shifts that have happened in these 28 years.
Economic Reality
In 1998, the federal minimum wage in the US was $5.15. A gallon of gas averaged about $1.06. You could buy a literal house in a decent neighborhood for $150,000. Looking at those numbers now feels like reading science fiction. The purchasing power of a dollar has shifted so dramatically that "28 years ago" feels more like "a hundred years ago" in terms of your bank account.
Technology Gap
In 1998, you probably had a pager. Or a Nokia 5110 with the antenna. You played Snake and thought it was the pinnacle of mobile gaming. You didn't "text" people because it was expensive and difficult. You called their house and talked to their parents first.
Now, we have AI that can generate photorealistic video from a text prompt. The leap from 1998 to 2026 isn't just a leap in time; it's a total transformation of the human experience.
What to Do With This Information
So, 1998 was 28 years ago. You can either feel old, or you can use that perspective to your advantage.
If you're a business owner or a creator, recognize that the 28-year mark is the "Goldilocks Zone" for nostalgia marketing. People who were kids in 1998 now have the most disposable income. They want to buy back their childhood. This is why we see reboots of every 90s franchise and the return of vintage tech aesthetics.
If you’re just someone having a "time crisis," take a second to realize how much has happened. In 28 years, we’ve gone from the dawn of the public internet to a fully connected global society.
Next Steps for the Chronologically Confused:
- Check your digital footprint: Go find an old hard drive or a box of photos from 1998. Look at the quality of the images. The graininess is a physical reminder of the time gap.
- Audit your nostalgia: Are you romanticizing 1998, or do you actually miss the 20-minute wait to download one song on Napster? (Spoiler: you don't miss the wait).
- Update your references: If you're still using cultural touchstones from 1998 in your daily conversation, realize that anyone under the age of 30 might literally not know what you're talking about. The Big Lebowski is 28 years old. Saving Private Ryan is 28 years old. They are "classics" now, not "new movies."
- Embrace the 2026 reality: Use the tools we have now—AI, instant global communication, advanced medicine—that were literally the plot of sci-fi movies in 1998.
Time moves fast. 1998 isn't coming back, but its influence is everywhere. The best way to handle the "28 years" realization is to stop measuring time in years and start measuring it in how much the world has opened up since then.