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I see the 2010's as a very long decade that began with the combination of a number of factors that coalesced. These being the explosion of social media, the widespread adoption of smartphones, and the global financial crisis. This all began roughly in 2008.
Many of the key watershed moments leading up to these large cultural changes were recent at the time, such as the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, along with the introduction of major social media websites such as Myspace (2003), Facebook (2004), Twitter (2006), and an honorary mention for YouTube, which although not strictly a social media website, it's 50/50 in that regard, its influence has been just as profound. On the other hand, many of the factors that led to the financial crisis stretched back decades.
I was 9 in 2008. Sure, I wasn't a teen, but it wasn't before my time in any sense whatsoever. I didn't "do" much more back then than I do now. There's almost no haziness to my memories of 2008.
Early-mid 2008 was '00s. Very modern, even compared to the rest of the ultramodern '00s decade. But it was '00s. People still dressed vaguely '00s, music sounded mostly '00s, websites looked '00s and everything did still feel '00s, albeit just post-core.
Late 2008 and 2009 on the other hand didn't really feel like the '00s anymore because the economy really went to utter shyt back then and the new music stars boomed the scenes, but I'd say it was close enough. Rap/hip-hop & emo/scene, though well past their peak, were still fairly big. Smartphones did start to become essential around 2008-09, but they didn't become really popular until around 2009-10 and only overtook feature phones around 2011-12. Tons of early social networks like MySpace and other '00s websites lasted to or past 2009, although because Facebook became really big, Twitter was introduced and YouTube went HD all around 2008-09, I'd say that's when the '10s began in the case of social media. The more I think about it, the more I admit that 2008-09 school year was really the decline of the late '00s era, rather than the beginning of the '10s, because the '10s really is defined by what's happened after the second half of 2009. That's not to say there wasn't a pseudo-'10s culture in 2008 and early 2009, there was, but it was still more '00s than anything.
I actually used to agree with the "Long '10s" theory, but I'm really not sure if I do now. 2008 definitely had tons of '10s elements, but at time they seemed very Noughties.
The 90s began with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the Warsaw Pact, and the Soviet Union, followed closely by Gulf War I.
The 00s began with 9/11.
Completely different tones for two completely different decades. Jeez I wish people would quit asking this.
There's more to what affecting peoples' lives than simply geo-politics.
Yes 9/11 was a shock and a tragedy and very much changed American zeitgeist for a little while, but other than the change in foreign policy in the government, Americans went on with their lives in a way that was more similar to the 90s than starting in 2006/2007 or so which truly started a whole new era.
Up until 2006/2007 (other than the brief tech bubble burst) Americans still acted like the American economy was unstoppable like they did in the 90s. Flash and bling dominated popular culture and trends, a reflection of the continuing economic boom.
Americans really didn't seriously question the system the way they did in the 2nd decade of the 20th century. Yes 9/11 happened, but Americans figured the government will protect us in a sense that was in some ways an extension of the Reagan era. Americans really still weren't interested in global affairs. They were looking for a quick solution.
Also technology: Yes after 9/11 cell phones really became ubiquitous, but in the first half of the decade, cell phones although may have been something everyone now had, there was still a feeling of this being a status symbol, like we're all rich now. Almost like an accessory. People still had landlines. There was essentially no social media (yes some of those companies may have been around, but facebook and youtube didn't start to explode until 2006 into 2007). You used the internet to look up basic information, and to purchase stuff on amazon. E-mail was long mainstream, today kids think of email as almost old school. No google maps until 2005, you still were likely to have paper maps/thomas guides.
CDs, magazines, and newspapers were common the first half of the 2000s, (although the writing was on the wall).
A couple years after the social media and smartphone, with the election of Obama and the great recession is when everything started to change. People became informed - even too informed, filled with online soundbites. People started taking to the streets with occupy wall street. Americans accepted a globalized world, and that Americas place in it was diminished, and were more interested in changing the system. Also, pop culture reflected this, as there was a disdain for the hedonism in pop culture before then (Lordes Royals, Macklemore thrift shop). People became hipster, political, joined alternative communities, etc.
Think of it this way: The Kennedy assassination was a shocking tragedy for the 60s, but up until 67/68 with the Vietnam war in full swing, protests, race riots, assasinations, psychedelic rock/hippies, but 65 probably had more in common with 62, than with 68.
The early 2000s(00-03), were very similar the mid-late 1990s, where as the early 90s were more like the mid 1980s then the 00s. The end of 2003 brought the official end the the 1990s as fashion and technologly slowly changed to suit the new millennium. As 2004 arrived it brought a whole new decade along with it, the 90s era was definitely over. By mid 2004, The 2000s was in the norm. 2007 saw the arrival of the iPhone, which brought the 00s kicking and screaming in to the early 2010s. In conclusion, it was only the first 3 years of "naughties" which seamed like the 90s. However, the last 3 years of the 00s seamed more like the 10s.
The early 2000s(00-03), were very similar the mid-late 1990s, where as the early 90s were more like the mid 1980s then the 00s. The end of 2003 brought the official end the the 1990s as fashion and technologly slowly changed to suit the new millennium. As 2004 arrived it brought a whole new decade along with it, the 90s era was definitely over. By mid 2004, The 2000s was in the norm. 2007 saw the arrival of the iPhone, which brought the 00s kicking and screaming in to the early 2010s. In conclusion, it was only the first 3 years of "naughties" which seamed like the 90s. However, the last 3 years of the 00s seamed more like the 10s.
Actually 2001 was the last year that had some late 90s (not mid 90s) leftovers. I think the 2000s are overall more similar to the 2010s than the 1990s.
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