upworthy

childhood

Pop Culture

Steve from 'Blue's Clues' posted an almost entirely silent video that has 90s kids bawling

Hitting millennials and Gen Zers right where they're at.

John Manard/Wikimedia Commons

Steve Burns at Galaxy Con in 2023

In the wake of the docuseries "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," kids who grew up watching Nickelodeon are reeling a bit. The documentary unveiled a toxic culture of abuse and exploitation at the network, tainting 90s kids' childhood memories with disturbing behind-the-scenes details of their favorite shows.

But a beacon of light from Nickelodeon still shines in Steve from "Blue's Clues." Steve Burns may have broken children's hearts when he left the show to go to college, but the beloved host has remained a wholesome icon for millennials and Gen Zers who watched him growing up.

In fact, Steve is still bringing comfort to millions, and his latest video on TikTok is a perfect example of how. In a one-minute TikTok, he says only a handful of words, but people are finding themselves tearing up if not outright bawling by the end of it.

What he does is actually very simple, yet the effect is profound. "Hey, just checking in," he says. "Tell me, what's goin' on?" And then he just looks and listens almost entirely in silence, occasionally nodding along. And if you actually go through the exercise of sharing what's going on with you, even just in your own mind, the compassionate listening he demonstrates feels surprisingly powerful.

If you didn't watch Blue's Clues, this may have felt weird or awkward, but Steve asking questions and then pausing for kids to answer was a hallmark of the show. The kids who grew up watching it are now in the Big Adult Things stage of life, navigating relationships, careers, finances, mental health challenges and more, and it can sometimes feel like too much. So similarly to Elmo's viral check-in on X, having a familiar and compassionate listening ear opened the floodgates.

"Not me crying the instant he asked," wrote one person.

"Not me sitting in bed at almost 3 a.m. in tears because Steve from Blue's Clues shows up on my fyp asking what's going on? The one thing we have left that is pure from our childhood," wrote another.

"I just cried for over 5 minutes straight," shared another. "I just realized no one has asked me how I'm doing in such a long time. I can't stop crying."

"I couldn't even get out a word all I did was cry, lol" shared another.

Many people shared that the Nickelodeon documentary had rocked their world and found comfort in Steve being Steve.

"After the Nickelodeon documentary, Steve, all I need is Blue's Clues to save whatever is left of this childhood I once had," wrote one commenter.

"Thank you for being one of the GOOD parts of Nickelodeon, Steve," wrote another.

"Steve checking up on the grown-up kids he left behind is another level of full circle moment," shared another.

"After the Nickelodeon thing we need our Steve now more than ever," agreed another.

And some commenters actually shared the things they are going through, showing why so many people need this kind of check-in:

"Life keeps handing me lemons and I'm not sure how many more I can turn into lemonade. I'm tired, Steve."

"Too much is happening all at once Steve, and idk if I'm getting through it but it's always good to hear from you."

"I lost my mom in January and I'm pregnant with my son…I'm lonely, Steve. I just miss my mom."

"I want to get sober but it's so hard. :("

"I could use a hug, honestly."

Hopefully, Steve's video helped some people realize they really do need someone to talk to so they can seek a therapeutic channel. Thank you, Steve, for giving so many grown-ups the cathartic childhood cry they desperately needed.


This article originally appeared last year.

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Joy

Comedian riffs on how different generations talk about their childhoods and he's not wrong

"Then you've got millennials, who basically had the complete opposite upbringing to Gen X…"

Photo credits: Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash (left and center), Andrea Piacquadio (right)

Memories from childhood vary widely between the generations.

There have always been gaps between generations, though arguably those gaps have grown larger with the accelerated social and technological changes of the past century. Generational differences show up in all kinds of ways, sometimes creating friction or misunderstandings but also providing great material for comedians.

Jake Lambert has created a whole series of videos pointing out some of the differences between how boomers, Gen X, millennials and Gen Z do various things, and they’re hilariously spot on.

One thing that separates one generation from another is the way our upbringings played out, and Lambert’s video “How the different generations talk about their childhoods” nails that fact. Naturally, individual childhood experiences will differ and there's some exaggeration for comedic effect, but overall he's not wrong.

Watch:

“First of all, you’ve got boomers who like to let you know how much the world was a better place when they were younger," he begins. "That people just left their doors unlocked 24 hours a day and that basically crime wasn’t invented until the 1970s.”

Yep, that's the story a lot of boomers tell.

“Then you’ve got Gen X," he continues. "They like to let you know how hard their upbringing was, that they’re from the 'school of hard knocks,' how they were just left to their own devices. If they weren’t at school, they were just told to go outside and keep themselves busy until it got dark.”

Also accurate.

Lambert then describes millennial upbringings, which were basically the polar opposite of Gen X, and then the weird technological paradox Gen Z has grown up with.

People weighed in on Lambert's assessment and shared some of their own childhood experiences.

“Gen X here … every video you hit the nail on the head! I totally relate.”

“As a millennial, I had to warn my boomer parent about the dangers of the internet — we’ve come full circle, y’all.”

“I like to think of my Gen X childhood as feral, and I'm glad I survived.”

“Funny as hell about GenZ parents!”

"It’s the internet is a dangerous place while documenting everything on all the socials for me….🤣🤣🤣"

"I'm an early millennial and got both gen x and millenial upbringing."

"Gen X definitely learned about stranger danger, but we were still outside all the time."

"I was a mix of Millenial and x, was kicked out of the house until the sun came down, but also told about all the strangers that would willingly kidnap me if I talked to them/opened the door/answered the phone."

"Okay, what Gen Xer is complaining about being left to our own devices? Most of us LOVE that facet of our childhood. We had so much freedom and independence. It was the best! 😍"

"I brought up my 'School of Hard Knocks' just last week to an Xer, haha. But, seriously, we were left a little too much alone. We have great childhood stories, though. Kids these days would have the cops on them if they did all we got to do."

"Boomers have very faulty memories! I should know, I am one."

You can follow Jake Lambert on Instagram.

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Joy

Grown-ups relive their childhoods in San Francisco's Bring Your Own Big Wheel race

Wow, this brings back visceral memories.

Nicki Dugan Pogue/Wikimedia Commons

The annual Bring Your Own Big Wheel race happens every year in San Francisco.

If you grew up in the U.S. from 1968 on, you're most likely familiar with the Big Wheel tricycle. There's a good chance that you have your own visceral memories of riding one, whether you were lucky enough to have one or just mooched from a kid in the neighborhood.

The the sound of the wheels rolling over pavement. The invincibility you felt flying down the sidewalk peddling as hard as you could. The pain in your butt when you hit a rogue rock. The smell of plastic as you skidded to a stop. The impossibility of driving that thing over grass. The Big Wheel was a portal to grown-up driving—no shaky balancing required like a two-wheeler, just pure power and speed in a flash of bright red and yellow.

And every year, fully grown adults relive that 3-wheeler childhood thrill in San Francisco's Bring Your Own Big Wheel race.

Bring Your Own Big Wheel (or BYOBW) has been delighting people in San Francisco for 24 years. The event takes place at 20th and Vermont Street on Easter Sunday afternoon. While some kids go hunting for eggs in their Sunday best, others are racing Big Wheels down San Francisco's crookedest hill. Kids 12ish and under go first (this year, they had the 2:00 to 3:00 time slot) and then the adults get their turn. It's quite an event to witness.

Watch:

The event is free, with participants being asked to make a small donation to cover the costs associated with putting on the event (permits, hay bales, port-a-potties etc.). And there is no advertising or corporate sponsorship allowed in the event—just pure, childlike fun—with helmets, gloves, knee pads and elbow pads recommended, of course.

Clearly, people take "Big Wheel" loosely, as people brought a whole range of tricycles, but the effect is still sheer delight. A former BYOBW participant called it "terrifyingly fun." As one commenter wrote, "Ya know - society would be so much better if we just did a bunch of fun events like this. It's certainly a lot more fun than the 'red vs. blue' routine we got going now."

I mean, check out these dudes in suits up front:

And every video is more fun than the last.

Learn more about BYOBW at bringyourownbigwheel.com.

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