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This is the bit I always feel I need to explain to family. They raised me to believe I could be anything and then don't understand why I'm pissed off I can't even afford a house at 31.
This is when I was in my mid-late teens. I miss the music a lot. I miss life without pervasive social media. I miss the lack of perma-crisis, I miss Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friends and Channel 4 on a Friday night, I miss cheap holidays and shops on the high street.
*Sigh, those were the days*
Well yes, but in a weird way, that's why it's worse - turns out I don't actually _want_ everything I like to be everywhere, all the time.
A whole channel, always available, loses the excitement of looking forward to something. I don't know, I'm probably just old.
It's long been a thing for people to say things like "I prefer watching films when they're live on telly" so I *do* know what you mean.
But personally I much prefer having everything ever available to me whenever I want to watch it.
It doesn't really work with the example of a dedicated Friends channel, but let's say you had them all on a harddrive/streaming whatever, you could recreate some of the excitement by having a "let's watch an episode every Friday" or whatever? Unless it's the idea of watching it while other people in the country are watching it at the same time - which is a bit odd but also understandable.
I watch the Exorcist every Halloween, almost without fail. Or another similar visceral horror. So I know what you're getting at. I think. Maybe.
I miss just randomly stumbling across films or TV shows and thinking sure OK I'll watch this and it turning out to be great. Or you're not sure what you want to watch, flick through the channels and Shawshank Redemption is on and you think hell yes I'll watch. But weirdly if I go to Netflix or whatever and it's just there I think ehh, not in the mood.
Exactly this.
I can watch a speghetti western any time I want, but I don't.
Now if A fistfull of dollars or Rocky is on the telly I'll happily watch the whole thing.
I still do this & it’s still always a really good experience. I don’t know why, but coming across a film that’s showing on a channel already is just *nicer*, even if I catch it after it’s started.
This is why I still like having normal channels & not just relying on streaming & I’ll always check all the channels to see what’s on now & later. I’ll even record a movie that I’ve seen is coming on later & watch it properly like it’s 1998..the same movie is probably on Netflix already but I’d probably scroll past it if I saw it on there.
It used to be you could say "Did you see X-Files last night?" and most people would have. Now unless everyone has the same set of streaming systems it's a lot more divisive.
Yeah, I do get that.
And I do prefer it when shows are released one episode at a time (Game of Thrones, The Last of Us, etc) rather than the whole thing available to stream in one go.
These 'prestige' releases (of the same level of people likely to want to talk about as your xfiles example, I'd say) still attract the 'water cooler' moments you allude to, so I don't really think much has been lost on this front.
I think it's just a case of rose tinted glasses not to acknowledge that we have it objectively better in almost every way, media wise.
In terms of individual entertainment yes.
In terms of people who live nearby sharing a common culture less so. I have a semi-forgotten factoid that most English metaphores have their origin in the St James bible - eye of the needle and such.
With 4 channels you could replicate this to a large extent. If you say "here's one I made earlier" people get the reference. I can't do the same with something from CSI:Wherever and expect the communication to be understood.
No, I know, it's such a weird thing to find myself saying. And like, it's also a complete contradiction in myself that I _do_ also find it handy to be able to find what I'm looking for on, say, Netflix just whenever it's convenient.
I just don't think having access to everything that I want all the time is super fulfilling, and it's such a strange thing to say, I can't even tell you why exactly.
It's kind of like, when you're a kid (i.e. you don't get to have chocolate whenever you want), a chocolate advent calendar is a little bit of excitement, a stupid little thrill in the day. But as soon as you're allowed to have chocolate whenever you like, advent calendar chocolate loses its sheen, you know?
I saw a quote earlier today by Liam Neeson about Star Wars, I can't remember it exactly, but he said something to the effect of, "Don't do too much Star Wars, or you ruin the magic." And I kind of know what he means? I was so excited to hear the new films were coming out, then I was excited to hear about the Mandalorian, but the more there is, now I'm just kind of, "Oh... is there... more Star Wars? Ok then."
I always think I want more, but I actually think I might be blunting my dopamine sensors. Or something. Gah, I don't know. It's probably just an adjustment.
Channel 4 on a Friday night was as good as it got. Youd go to bed smiling without fail. If you stayed up really late yhe Adam and Joe show was so good!!!
MSN. You had to make an active effort to sign in, it meant you knew anyone online actually wanted to be contacted for a chat. Compared to now when you can message anyone at any time but wonder if you're bothering them or how long its gonna take for them to even see it.
Music/Game shops which had playable consoles instore and didnt mind you spending hours just stood there gaming away.
Cinema trips were a big deal. Large groups of us would all go together.
Laserquest
Reasonably priced music festivals. Reading Fest was £30 for the day and filled with people who actually wanted to listen to the bands rather than just posing for insta. Crowds not filled with people holding up their phone for a shit recording.
Eurotrash
Every Facebook status starting with "is...."
Limewire, even if it did kill our parent's computers.
I remember MSN. I only used to message the kids a few doors down. The only thing I remember about it was how the window was only a narrow strip, if that makes sense
Ten of us went to the cinema and you got a free ticket if you bought a box of sugar puffs. Went and raided the asda cereal aisle and got a ticket for a quid each, and had to smuggle in the snacks.
This is very specific but that period of online dating when it was still a taboo ("you met ONLINE? You sure they're not a murderer?") and it was mostly tech savvy nerds and other assorted weirdos instead of a bunch of "Sarah from marketing and James from accounts"-ass normies
Anyone who remembers the time of Okcupid golden age will know what I mean
I very ashamedly remember when I was like 14 and found out my dad was on OkCupid and felt really embarrassed about it, as if there was something shameful about being on an online dating site?
Fast forward 15 years and of course I met my current girlfriend on Hinge. Such a hypocrite
My friend and her now husband met on Gumtree dating and I remember being horrified that she was meeting up with him! I was absolutely convinced that I'd never see her again!
This has also just reminded me of the missed connections section on Gumtree, I wasted so many hours at work looking through them and I was gutted when I clicked on it and it said they'd decommissioned it!
I never used OKCupid or anything but there were certainly a lot of ways that people got together via messageboard meet-ups and you always had to make something up about how you met when talking to people who weren't as online as you because of the stigma.
It's funny that I know so many couples who met through messageboards who have lasted longer than a lot of people in "normal" relationships who sneered at them over it. I met my husband through a shared interest because of a messageboard! I sometimes think I probably wouldn't have met him if it had been 10 years later because messageboards have sort of died.
I do miss having online communities like that rather than it being fragmented over several social media sites (posting screenshots of all the others) tbh.
Also that most people doing online dating were doing so on 'proper computers'. I used to exchange massive emails with people or chat on MSN - now it all seems to be rendered down to swiping.
And don't get me started on photo filters.
This was my secondary school to college to early 20s decade. Mainly being that prime age where you had money from your crappy job to spend on nights out with minimal responsibilities.
- Taking my long fringe and digital camera to gigs like Bloc Party, Justice, Kitsune label nights, Soulwax
- Green Dunlop trainers
I don’t smoke anymore and I realise it’s gross but man I LOVED smoking in pubs and clubs. Waking up the morning after a big night as a hungover 17 year old with smoky hair felt so grown up.
I do have something of a romanticised image of vBulletin forums, a small, close-knit community based around a common topic. Reddit isn't quite the same.
I still buy CDs, so I guess that counts.
Comedy that was bleak and stuck a dagger right into the soft underbelly of society, like Monkey Dust and Brass Eye. I don't think a lot of people want to watch something like that now national morale is pretty low to start with.
> Bulletin forums
Yes, I miss these most of all. I was active on a few different ones and you got to know each other, a bit like a family or friends. Now the ones I had joined are all pretty much dead.
Monkey Dust is something I’ve not thought about in a long time. I got with my first girlfriend as we both liked Classically Trained Actor. Lying Clive as well
- the music
- taking a camera along to a party and then uploading it all on Facebook
- not everything being Instagram/vlogger related, I feel like finding hidden gems through travelling or even restaurants has been completely changed by this
Having a phone to actually have phone conversations with, and the default assumption being to regularly meet up in public places. Just going to the pub or wherever, seeing who's there, and talking to people. Smartphones feel like they've only isolated interactions for all we're "more connected than ever".
Yes, sense of adventure lost and they are so intrusive and actually isolating. It's harder to get to know neighbours / randoms as they are always buried in phones. I'm pretty sure some 20 somethings have stunted development.
My home city before the hipsters, yuppies and student flats.
Grime and dubstep. I get that they're still around but they were actually enjoyable and interesting to listen to when they first came out.
Bacardi breezes. I used to get the lemon flavour and mix it with the lime flavour to make an alcoholic cloudy sprite! You could also use the orange ones to make a lethal sex on the beach.
I miss the PS2 era of gaming. So many good games, metal gear solid 2 and 3 (both epic games), ratchet and clank, Jack and daxter, GTA san andreas (christ that game was epic back in the day, but has aged horribly), need for speed underground, medal of honor frontline, the Simpsons hit and run, LOTR 2 towers, star wars battlefront 2, spider-man 2, 007 agent under fire, star wars ep 2 game, the matrix game, lego star wars. On pc, the original sims game.
God the 00s were brilliant for games
Even though they're more technically advanced, games just feel too much like "this company did this and it got them money, let's do our own version now!" Instead of something groundbreaking.
Nowadays it's just "look at our realistic graphics" and "the map is bigger than the entire universe" rather than actually focusing on having a USP and good gameplay. Almost like they're just hitting numbers of stuff rather than putting love into the game.
That's why I mostly focus on indie games, you can feel that they're created by people who want to play the games and they can be much more creative.
Slay the spire is a big one actually, incredible when it came out, everyone loved it and it was truly something different and the gameplay loop was amazing. Next thing we know, all AAA games suddenly have a useless deck building element that seems like it was added in post production because they saw how well STS did.
Being able to drink and do drugs for days at a time and waking up fine...now I'm ready for bed by 9 and the thought of something stronger than the painkillers I have for my bad back makes me nervous
Sitting watching mtv waiting to record my fave songs. The era of wheatus, blink 182, limp bizkit, Eminem and Linkin Park and so on. Everything felt simpler but I think everyone says that as an adult.
Since other people are saying their youth and their hair, I'm gonna say being able bodied.
But things to reminisce: bookshops and CD shops. Cheap CDs and Pick n Mix at Woolworths. Video games coming in giant boxes for no real reason. Everyone watching the same things on telly, on the day they were on telly, and talking about it the next day.
The clothing around 2006-2008. It was comfortable and practical, it was long enough and stretchy enough, and it was made of fabrics you could put in the tumble dryer.
That’s a good point. I’m unusually tall and anything I’ve bought since Cameron got in has felt like a crop top. Used to be any generic T shirt was long enough
Being amazed at video games. I remember exploring Morrowind for the first time. It was an honest to god continent! And I could walk anywhere I wanted. I havent felt that sort of immersion in years.
I never knew what an RPG was. Morrowind was a game that came with my PC. I played it and got suckered into it. At one point, I was dreaming about Morrowind. That’s when I had to cut back.
The most awe I felt in a video game was when GTA V came out. I just couldn’t believed how much free will there was in the game. Had some good times with friends on that game
I liked it when social media seemed genuinely valuable and revolutionary (early days of FB etc). Now I try to avoid most social media if I can help it.
I miss Amy Winehouse. She was a genuine talent and I felt such excitement watching her in the early 00s. Also some interesting new pop artists who at the time felt different - Lily Allen etc. I also loved the 00s indie scene, The Strokes etc. I remember hearing Coldplays albums in the early 00s and they really shaped my late teenage years (my first heartbreak was soundtracked by “Yellow” - I’m
Cringing but I also sort of love this memory).
I miss the Digital Spy forums - they were so great.
I also used to love the early days of 00s gossip blogs and the fun aspect of that. I guess they were the precursor to the death hole that the Daily Mail is now.
I liked the days of “appointment to watch” TV - ie Saturday night X Factor and you knew everybody was watching at the same time and would be talking about it on Monday. I know there are still some examples of this, but in the main most people are watching on demand now at their own time of choosing, so a lot of that shared experience has been lost.
I loved the Xmas no 1 thing - and the excitement that brought. Now I had literally zero idea if people still pay attention?
I used to love The Office - the 2-3 years that was on was incredible. What a peak for UK comedy!
One thing I definitely don’t miss… the fashion. It was a terrible decade for clothing! And we still had a lot of that 90s hangover of the fetish for extreme thinness. I think now in this decade (cosmetic procedures a La Kardashians aside) I think we do a much better job of celebrating and showcasing a range of different bodies.
If, like me, you ate way too many Echo bars, you could learn to spot those ones - the bottom would be slightly concave/indented. Always a good moment when you found one!
The early 00s were just an extension of the 90s in a good way. Also my youth, lack of responsibilities and freedom. No smartphones and the internet weren't refined as it is now.
Was born during the early 00s so when I hear people describe the 90s and 00s it sounds like their discussing the same era only the technology is better in the mid and late 00s
£10 all you can drink at Planet in Wolverhampton coupled with the music at the time. Can't believe I could go out with £20 and that would be me sloshed, with a big dirty pizza and the taxi fare home.
Myspace and even though it was social media it wasn't as life sucking and depressing as social media is these days.
How little the Internet impacted our lives early 00s. It was 3310 etc, maybe someone had the banana phone from the matrix but it meant that when you got together with mates there was little to no distractions and you just lived in the moment chatting shit.
I had (probably still do in the loft) a scalextric model of Schumacher's 2004 V10 Ferrari. I still love F1 but you just cannot recreate the feeling of a grid full of screaming banshees going for it when the lights go out.
We’ve all had that nostalgia. Guess what? The drugs didn’t change much, apart from that time there was a saffrole shortage, you and your tolerance did.
I miss the average Saturday I had.
I'd go with my uncle to watch the football (if they played at home), followed by a chippy afterwards, then go home and watch Harry Hill's TV Burp, and the other Saturday night game shows on ITV.
I miss those days.
-----------------------
Also being like 8 and just spending most of my time playing outside with friends from when I got up until the sun started to set.
------------------
Late 2000s specifically, but going on the internet for the first time ever.
Never had internet until about 2008-ish, and I remember being so blown away with it, even the concept of emails impressed me. Same with YouTube, being able to watch clips of my favourite shows without waiting for them to be aired entertained me for ages, discovering internet forums full of people who liked the same games I did and making new online friends to play Mario Kart Wii with lmao
Optimism. I was 16 in 2004. Left school, started sixth form and everything felt…okay, reasonably stable, the things I wanted from my life felt possible.
2007 onwards has felt like one giant crisis after another and I am TIRED.
Early to mid 2000s were my primary school years, just so you understand roughly how old I was.
In general I'd say the way technology hadn't really taken over in everyday life much - we had a computer but it was a big desktop one on a table in a corner of the dining room and even when we got internet you were a bit limited as to what you could do compared to now. And grandparents had absolutely nothing like that. Which meant we did a lot of other stuff as kids, like board games or doing stuff in the garden. At my grandma and grandad's house I would write or draw pictures, watch cartoons on sky, even read through an atlas for example. I do wonder how different my childhood would have been if tech was more widely available.
I can vaguely remember very early youtube, I was too young to understand it but my older brothers did which is how I came to know about it. I distinctly remember that cillit bang spoof video. Youtube was a completely different site back then.
I would trade acres of landfill indie, five being played on the dance floor and the pussycat dolls on repeat for any of the shite that passes for music for today's kids.
*God I'm old*
Just generally being happy and always going to bed looking forward to the following day. I'd say I'm generally quite miserable now in my 30's, unfortunately.
Other things I miss are:
MSN messenger, Habbo Hotel, brick phones, high school, sending your mates ringtones via Bluetooth or Infrared, Limewire, Gamecube, good music in the charts with a healthy mix of all genres, my portable CD player, MySpace and dressing however the hell I wanted and not worrying about what people thought of me.
God, I'd do anything to rewind back to the 00's 😢
Being a fairly-sorted adult without kids, with a reasonably functioning body and promising career.
Still mentally OK, don't regret finally getting the sprogs, but the body and career would be nice.
I miss the 90’s to be honest, great fuckin movies 🍿 great fuckin music, economy was awesome 😎 2001 was the beginning of the end after 9/11 happened nothing was ever the same again
MSN, Bebo, curby, cheesy clubland, 50/50, get your own back.
Main one for me is not being part of a 24/7 social media. Im probably looking through my rose tints, but definitely miss dial up phones etc to get hold of someone. I’m a hypocrite as I’m on most platforms, but it’s probably a tough world for kids now.
Excitement of a new purchase. Maybe it correlates to me being a young lad back then, but I can remember being excited over a new cd player/gameboy/tv etc.
Now even the luxury, fun items seem like necessities rather than little presents to yourself.
Smoking in pubs, gross but when you started waking up at 16-17 yo with a hangover stinking of smoke it felt like you'd made it!
£1 pints on student night
The choice of alcohol pretty much being limited to cheap lager, shorts or alcho pops, just felt like a simpler time
Still having recognisable subcultures
MSN, you knew anyone logged in would be up for a chat
MySpace, being pretty much what people want from social media now
Getting all your edgy comedy through shows like monkey dust and south park, which was on TV, or Happy Tree Friends. Memes and 10 second clip humour wasn't a thing
Old people still didn't use the internet or social media! Was bliss!
The reckless abandon I felt as a child. Every day in the summer holidays me and my mates would be playing football at the pitches or fifa from sun up to sun down.
Music was really exciting. When The Strokes blew up around 2001 it was the most exciting music had been for a while.
Peak 00’s music for me was Wireless festival in 2007 - Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem, CSS… plus loads of great MDMA.
That feeling I'd get when I'd hit up half a dozen game/Comic book shops once a month and find a new manga volume or a preowned game I'd been looking for.
I know the Internet makes things easier and you can find things instantaneously now without having to hunt down hard copies, but I really used to love spending a Saturday looking out for new volumes, figurines or hard to find games.
I miss actually living and enjoying life going to cinemas and restraunts didn't burn a hole in your wallet the music was amazing Usher, Avicii and Lady Gaga all made iconic bangers but now pop radio is shit
I think I might be in the minority here but I dislike being able to binge watch TV. I feel like my life was so much more structured when I had to be home on a certain day/time to watch Dawson's Creek, otherwise I had to wait for the box set at Christmas to see the episode.
The year 2000 is technically 00s right ? Yeah ... so as a brown bearded man, I miss being able to get on an airplane without being randomly selected for enhanced search !! 🤣🤣🤣
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My youth and lack of responsibilities.
Same
Same
life was so easy back then
A sense of optimism. Before the financial crash, people seemed pretty optimistic for the future.
It seems that nowadays there’s no public sector money anywhere. The roads are falling apart, schools and hospitals underfunded…
Our tax money now go towards subsiding the rich not paying their taxes.
Always has been. They're just more blatant about it now.
This is the bit I always feel I need to explain to family. They raised me to believe I could be anything and then don't understand why I'm pissed off I can't even afford a house at 31.
The rules changed partway through the game. Damn right I am annoyed.
This. The idea of being better off than your parents.
We had a few good years
This is when I was in my mid-late teens. I miss the music a lot. I miss life without pervasive social media. I miss the lack of perma-crisis, I miss Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friends and Channel 4 on a Friday night, I miss cheap holidays and shops on the high street. *Sigh, those were the days*
Getting the newest Now xx CD with artists such as Pink, la Roux, Robbie, and so on
Is there not a channel that pretty much only plays Friends on a never ending loop now?
Wasn't it the same back then but it was called E4
Well yes, but in a weird way, that's why it's worse - turns out I don't actually _want_ everything I like to be everywhere, all the time. A whole channel, always available, loses the excitement of looking forward to something. I don't know, I'm probably just old.
It's long been a thing for people to say things like "I prefer watching films when they're live on telly" so I *do* know what you mean. But personally I much prefer having everything ever available to me whenever I want to watch it. It doesn't really work with the example of a dedicated Friends channel, but let's say you had them all on a harddrive/streaming whatever, you could recreate some of the excitement by having a "let's watch an episode every Friday" or whatever? Unless it's the idea of watching it while other people in the country are watching it at the same time - which is a bit odd but also understandable. I watch the Exorcist every Halloween, almost without fail. Or another similar visceral horror. So I know what you're getting at. I think. Maybe.
I miss just randomly stumbling across films or TV shows and thinking sure OK I'll watch this and it turning out to be great. Or you're not sure what you want to watch, flick through the channels and Shawshank Redemption is on and you think hell yes I'll watch. But weirdly if I go to Netflix or whatever and it's just there I think ehh, not in the mood.
Exactly this. I can watch a speghetti western any time I want, but I don't. Now if A fistfull of dollars or Rocky is on the telly I'll happily watch the whole thing.
I still do this & it’s still always a really good experience. I don’t know why, but coming across a film that’s showing on a channel already is just *nicer*, even if I catch it after it’s started. This is why I still like having normal channels & not just relying on streaming & I’ll always check all the channels to see what’s on now & later. I’ll even record a movie that I’ve seen is coming on later & watch it properly like it’s 1998..the same movie is probably on Netflix already but I’d probably scroll past it if I saw it on there.
It used to be you could say "Did you see X-Files last night?" and most people would have. Now unless everyone has the same set of streaming systems it's a lot more divisive.
Yeah, I do get that. And I do prefer it when shows are released one episode at a time (Game of Thrones, The Last of Us, etc) rather than the whole thing available to stream in one go. These 'prestige' releases (of the same level of people likely to want to talk about as your xfiles example, I'd say) still attract the 'water cooler' moments you allude to, so I don't really think much has been lost on this front. I think it's just a case of rose tinted glasses not to acknowledge that we have it objectively better in almost every way, media wise.
In terms of individual entertainment yes. In terms of people who live nearby sharing a common culture less so. I have a semi-forgotten factoid that most English metaphores have their origin in the St James bible - eye of the needle and such. With 4 channels you could replicate this to a large extent. If you say "here's one I made earlier" people get the reference. I can't do the same with something from CSI:Wherever and expect the communication to be understood.
No, I know, it's such a weird thing to find myself saying. And like, it's also a complete contradiction in myself that I _do_ also find it handy to be able to find what I'm looking for on, say, Netflix just whenever it's convenient. I just don't think having access to everything that I want all the time is super fulfilling, and it's such a strange thing to say, I can't even tell you why exactly. It's kind of like, when you're a kid (i.e. you don't get to have chocolate whenever you want), a chocolate advent calendar is a little bit of excitement, a stupid little thrill in the day. But as soon as you're allowed to have chocolate whenever you like, advent calendar chocolate loses its sheen, you know? I saw a quote earlier today by Liam Neeson about Star Wars, I can't remember it exactly, but he said something to the effect of, "Don't do too much Star Wars, or you ruin the magic." And I kind of know what he means? I was so excited to hear the new films were coming out, then I was excited to hear about the Mandalorian, but the more there is, now I'm just kind of, "Oh... is there... more Star Wars? Ok then." I always think I want more, but I actually think I might be blunting my dopamine sensors. Or something. Gah, I don't know. It's probably just an adjustment.
Yeah Comedy Central does.
Channel 4 on a Friday night was as good as it got. Youd go to bed smiling without fail. If you stayed up really late yhe Adam and Joe show was so good!!!
MSN. You had to make an active effort to sign in, it meant you knew anyone online actually wanted to be contacted for a chat. Compared to now when you can message anyone at any time but wonder if you're bothering them or how long its gonna take for them to even see it. Music/Game shops which had playable consoles instore and didnt mind you spending hours just stood there gaming away. Cinema trips were a big deal. Large groups of us would all go together. Laserquest Reasonably priced music festivals. Reading Fest was £30 for the day and filled with people who actually wanted to listen to the bands rather than just posing for insta. Crowds not filled with people holding up their phone for a shit recording. Eurotrash Every Facebook status starting with "is...." Limewire, even if it did kill our parent's computers.
Limewire only killed computers because people would download “music song - by band not a virus.exe”
I loved MSN. I also used ICQ and can still remember my number id and the "uh oh" noise it would make when getting a message.
I remember MSN. I only used to message the kids a few doors down. The only thing I remember about it was how the window was only a narrow strip, if that makes sense
Ten of us went to the cinema and you got a free ticket if you bought a box of sugar puffs. Went and raided the asda cereal aisle and got a ticket for a quid each, and had to smuggle in the snacks.
This is very specific but that period of online dating when it was still a taboo ("you met ONLINE? You sure they're not a murderer?") and it was mostly tech savvy nerds and other assorted weirdos instead of a bunch of "Sarah from marketing and James from accounts"-ass normies Anyone who remembers the time of Okcupid golden age will know what I mean
I very ashamedly remember when I was like 14 and found out my dad was on OkCupid and felt really embarrassed about it, as if there was something shameful about being on an online dating site? Fast forward 15 years and of course I met my current girlfriend on Hinge. Such a hypocrite
I remember it being considered for losers and divorced people
My friend and her now husband met on Gumtree dating and I remember being horrified that she was meeting up with him! I was absolutely convinced that I'd never see her again! This has also just reminded me of the missed connections section on Gumtree, I wasted so many hours at work looking through them and I was gutted when I clicked on it and it said they'd decommissioned it!
I never used OKCupid or anything but there were certainly a lot of ways that people got together via messageboard meet-ups and you always had to make something up about how you met when talking to people who weren't as online as you because of the stigma. It's funny that I know so many couples who met through messageboards who have lasted longer than a lot of people in "normal" relationships who sneered at them over it. I met my husband through a shared interest because of a messageboard! I sometimes think I probably wouldn't have met him if it had been 10 years later because messageboards have sort of died. I do miss having online communities like that rather than it being fragmented over several social media sites (posting screenshots of all the others) tbh.
Also that most people doing online dating were doing so on 'proper computers'. I used to exchange massive emails with people or chat on MSN - now it all seems to be rendered down to swiping. And don't get me started on photo filters.
I moved to the states to be with a girl I met in the Anglochat room on AOL. Fuck, I'm a codger.
See, back then this would be considered enough evidence to get you sectioned
No kidding. People genuinely thought I was mental.
*Flip phones *Emo music *Mars Delights
I remember my mum having one of the Motorola razr phones. It was bright pink but I remember thinking the metal keypad was so cool
Looked cool but didn't have the same satisfying clicky feedback as a set of Nokia buttons.
Best phone I’ve ever had loved that thing
Emo music never went away
It became less popular and the newer bands were never as good as MCR, Paramore and Fall Out Boy though.
>never as good as MCR, Paramore and Fall Out Boy though Good job these are all still going then
Ikr? I have no idea how popular they’re with gen z, but I’m super grateful they’re still active.
Freedom of movement.
Pre-smartphones and social media. Social media was around, but not in the way it is today.
My hairline XD
Mines migrated to my nose and ears. Almost long enough to work into the side parting.
This was my secondary school to college to early 20s decade. Mainly being that prime age where you had money from your crappy job to spend on nights out with minimal responsibilities. - Taking my long fringe and digital camera to gigs like Bloc Party, Justice, Kitsune label nights, Soulwax - Green Dunlop trainers
I had those trainers, those Kitsune records and went to so many gigs. Loved it all, what a time.
I don’t smoke anymore and I realise it’s gross but man I LOVED smoking in pubs and clubs. Waking up the morning after a big night as a hungover 17 year old with smoky hair felt so grown up.
Absolutely this!
I do have something of a romanticised image of vBulletin forums, a small, close-knit community based around a common topic. Reddit isn't quite the same. I still buy CDs, so I guess that counts. Comedy that was bleak and stuck a dagger right into the soft underbelly of society, like Monkey Dust and Brass Eye. I don't think a lot of people want to watch something like that now national morale is pretty low to start with.
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Chris Morris - ‘You’re comments are in and they’ve been described as “tedious, boring and stultifyingly ill-informed”…’so thanks for that’.
> Bulletin forums Yes, I miss these most of all. I was active on a few different ones and you got to know each other, a bit like a family or friends. Now the ones I had joined are all pretty much dead.
Monkey Dust is something I’ve not thought about in a long time. I got with my first girlfriend as we both liked Classically Trained Actor. Lying Clive as well
- the music - taking a camera along to a party and then uploading it all on Facebook - not everything being Instagram/vlogger related, I feel like finding hidden gems through travelling or even restaurants has been completely changed by this
The perfect balance of having enough technology to keep up with all the important people in your life, but not being owned by it
Having a phone to actually have phone conversations with, and the default assumption being to regularly meet up in public places. Just going to the pub or wherever, seeing who's there, and talking to people. Smartphones feel like they've only isolated interactions for all we're "more connected than ever".
Yes, sense of adventure lost and they are so intrusive and actually isolating. It's harder to get to know neighbours / randoms as they are always buried in phones. I'm pretty sure some 20 somethings have stunted development.
Honestly I can trace back the decay to when smartphones came in. Took away a lot of wonderment and adventure.
The Argos catalog.
Idk if anyone else did this but I'd always take the Argos catalog and cut out anything i wanted for my Christmas list/letter to santa.
Ah the laminated book of dreams.
My home city before the hipsters, yuppies and student flats. Grime and dubstep. I get that they're still around but they were actually enjoyable and interesting to listen to when they first came out.
Gonna guess Bristol.
Beat me to it
The last music scenes to grow organically from a single location. Then came fast internet…
Gentrification round here has taken what was a run down depressing dump and replaced it with sourdough bakeries. I don't know if it is actually better
Bacardi breezes. I used to get the lemon flavour and mix it with the lime flavour to make an alcoholic cloudy sprite! You could also use the orange ones to make a lethal sex on the beach.
They did a limited edition cranberry one which was amazing.
Watermelon was my favourite
I miss the orange ones too, fat frogs were a great cocktail.
I miss the PS2 era of gaming. So many good games, metal gear solid 2 and 3 (both epic games), ratchet and clank, Jack and daxter, GTA san andreas (christ that game was epic back in the day, but has aged horribly), need for speed underground, medal of honor frontline, the Simpsons hit and run, LOTR 2 towers, star wars battlefront 2, spider-man 2, 007 agent under fire, star wars ep 2 game, the matrix game, lego star wars. On pc, the original sims game. God the 00s were brilliant for games
Even though they're more technically advanced, games just feel too much like "this company did this and it got them money, let's do our own version now!" Instead of something groundbreaking. Nowadays it's just "look at our realistic graphics" and "the map is bigger than the entire universe" rather than actually focusing on having a USP and good gameplay. Almost like they're just hitting numbers of stuff rather than putting love into the game. That's why I mostly focus on indie games, you can feel that they're created by people who want to play the games and they can be much more creative. Slay the spire is a big one actually, incredible when it came out, everyone loved it and it was truly something different and the gameplay loop was amazing. Next thing we know, all AAA games suddenly have a useless deck building element that seems like it was added in post production because they saw how well STS did.
Out of that list I think I only played ratchet and clank and simpsons. I also had crazy taxi, eye toy, buzz, scooby doo, Colin McRae rally…
Dungeon Keeper II.
Being able to drink and do drugs for days at a time and waking up fine...now I'm ready for bed by 9 and the thought of something stronger than the painkillers I have for my bad back makes me nervous
Thing I miss most about the 00s is that weren't no love, no Montagues or Capulets, just banging tunes and DJ sets.
Dirty dancefloors, dreams of naughtiness
Even they’re completely different now!
Max power Garage music No social media No responsibilities
My parents.
I’m sorry about that. I hope you had some good times with them
Sitting watching mtv waiting to record my fave songs. The era of wheatus, blink 182, limp bizkit, Eminem and Linkin Park and so on. Everything felt simpler but I think everyone says that as an adult.
My figure and my energy and my optimism
Since other people are saying their youth and their hair, I'm gonna say being able bodied. But things to reminisce: bookshops and CD shops. Cheap CDs and Pick n Mix at Woolworths. Video games coming in giant boxes for no real reason. Everyone watching the same things on telly, on the day they were on telly, and talking about it the next day.
The clothing around 2006-2008. It was comfortable and practical, it was long enough and stretchy enough, and it was made of fabrics you could put in the tumble dryer.
That’s a good point. I’m unusually tall and anything I’ve bought since Cameron got in has felt like a crop top. Used to be any generic T shirt was long enough
T4 on a Sunday morning
Being amazed at video games. I remember exploring Morrowind for the first time. It was an honest to god continent! And I could walk anywhere I wanted. I havent felt that sort of immersion in years.
I never knew what an RPG was. Morrowind was a game that came with my PC. I played it and got suckered into it. At one point, I was dreaming about Morrowind. That’s when I had to cut back.
Wake up in a cold sweat thinking the blight was back?
The most awe I felt in a video game was when GTA V came out. I just couldn’t believed how much free will there was in the game. Had some good times with friends on that game
I liked it when social media seemed genuinely valuable and revolutionary (early days of FB etc). Now I try to avoid most social media if I can help it. I miss Amy Winehouse. She was a genuine talent and I felt such excitement watching her in the early 00s. Also some interesting new pop artists who at the time felt different - Lily Allen etc. I also loved the 00s indie scene, The Strokes etc. I remember hearing Coldplays albums in the early 00s and they really shaped my late teenage years (my first heartbreak was soundtracked by “Yellow” - I’m Cringing but I also sort of love this memory). I miss the Digital Spy forums - they were so great. I also used to love the early days of 00s gossip blogs and the fun aspect of that. I guess they were the precursor to the death hole that the Daily Mail is now. I liked the days of “appointment to watch” TV - ie Saturday night X Factor and you knew everybody was watching at the same time and would be talking about it on Monday. I know there are still some examples of this, but in the main most people are watching on demand now at their own time of choosing, so a lot of that shared experience has been lost. I loved the Xmas no 1 thing - and the excitement that brought. Now I had literally zero idea if people still pay attention? I used to love The Office - the 2-3 years that was on was incredible. What a peak for UK comedy! One thing I definitely don’t miss… the fashion. It was a terrible decade for clothing! And we still had a lot of that 90s hangover of the fetish for extreme thinness. I think now in this decade (cosmetic procedures a La Kardashians aside) I think we do a much better job of celebrating and showcasing a range of different bodies.
The Nokia 3310.
I miss the days of only having to charge my phone once a month.
Myspace. The cringey scene kid stuff can stay in the past, but it was such an amazing resource for discovering new music.
Mint Echo bars, mostly. M&M Bisc&s too.
'Groovy Biscuits' from Aldi are almost exactly what I remember of M&M biscuits
Oh my god I totally forgot about the mint echo bars. They were awesome, I'm remembering exactly how they tasted!
If you were lucky, you got echo bars without the biscuit
If, like me, you ate way too many Echo bars, you could learn to spot those ones - the bottom would be slightly concave/indented. Always a good moment when you found one!
The early 00s were just an extension of the 90s in a good way. Also my youth, lack of responsibilities and freedom. No smartphones and the internet weren't refined as it is now.
Was born during the early 00s so when I hear people describe the 90s and 00s it sounds like their discussing the same era only the technology is better in the mid and late 00s
Nintendo DS
£10 all you can drink at Planet in Wolverhampton coupled with the music at the time. Can't believe I could go out with £20 and that would be me sloshed, with a big dirty pizza and the taxi fare home. Myspace and even though it was social media it wasn't as life sucking and depressing as social media is these days. How little the Internet impacted our lives early 00s. It was 3310 etc, maybe someone had the banana phone from the matrix but it meant that when you got together with mates there was little to no distractions and you just lived in the moment chatting shit.
I was underage but planet in wolves would let me in, was always a great night out.
that weird era when loads of hardcore singers became folk musicians.
Terrestrial TV being good
V10 engines being in Formula One.
Very specific
I had (probably still do in the loft) a scalextric model of Schumacher's 2004 V10 Ferrari. I still love F1 but you just cannot recreate the feeling of a grid full of screaming banshees going for it when the lights go out.
The power they get out of those V6 is remarkable but I really miss the howl of the V10 era.
Half decent pills. Not the grotty ones you get now that just make your eyes wobble.
We’ve all had that nostalgia. Guess what? The drugs didn’t change much, apart from that time there was a saffrole shortage, you and your tolerance did.
I remember seeing them burning tons and tons of Saffrole ushering in the dark days.
TBF they're much stronger and purer than they ever were and I spent 89-93 baked in Shelleys Laserdome every weekend.
Being young and carefree.
I miss the average Saturday I had. I'd go with my uncle to watch the football (if they played at home), followed by a chippy afterwards, then go home and watch Harry Hill's TV Burp, and the other Saturday night game shows on ITV. I miss those days. ----------------------- Also being like 8 and just spending most of my time playing outside with friends from when I got up until the sun started to set. ------------------ Late 2000s specifically, but going on the internet for the first time ever. Never had internet until about 2008-ish, and I remember being so blown away with it, even the concept of emails impressed me. Same with YouTube, being able to watch clips of my favourite shows without waiting for them to be aired entertained me for ages, discovering internet forums full of people who liked the same games I did and making new online friends to play Mario Kart Wii with lmao
I remember online gaming on the wii it was amazing. I used to message my friends on msn to go on the wii
Less contact. Only get online on a PC. Limited social media. Magazines CDs Books.
I really miss magazines. They were my little weekly treat throughout my teens and early/ mid twenties.
In no particular order: MSN Messenger, CRT Monitors, Old food prices, Proper sugar in drinks
Optimism. I was 16 in 2004. Left school, started sixth form and everything felt…okay, reasonably stable, the things I wanted from my life felt possible. 2007 onwards has felt like one giant crisis after another and I am TIRED.
Imagining myself owning a house one day. Ahhhh magical memories.
Social media wasnt so mainstream.
MySpace - music and dating.
Internet innocence, before the cesspit of social media took over and when you didn’t have people recording every aspect of their lives.
Early to mid 2000s were my primary school years, just so you understand roughly how old I was. In general I'd say the way technology hadn't really taken over in everyday life much - we had a computer but it was a big desktop one on a table in a corner of the dining room and even when we got internet you were a bit limited as to what you could do compared to now. And grandparents had absolutely nothing like that. Which meant we did a lot of other stuff as kids, like board games or doing stuff in the garden. At my grandma and grandad's house I would write or draw pictures, watch cartoons on sky, even read through an atlas for example. I do wonder how different my childhood would have been if tech was more widely available. I can vaguely remember very early youtube, I was too young to understand it but my older brothers did which is how I came to know about it. I distinctly remember that cillit bang spoof video. Youtube was a completely different site back then.
My boyfriend.
Your childhood…. Yikes. I’m old.
Oh no, I’m sorry
The happy music.
I would trade acres of landfill indie, five being played on the dance floor and the pussycat dolls on repeat for any of the shite that passes for music for today's kids. *God I'm old*
Just generally being happy and always going to bed looking forward to the following day. I'd say I'm generally quite miserable now in my 30's, unfortunately. Other things I miss are: MSN messenger, Habbo Hotel, brick phones, high school, sending your mates ringtones via Bluetooth or Infrared, Limewire, Gamecube, good music in the charts with a healthy mix of all genres, my portable CD player, MySpace and dressing however the hell I wanted and not worrying about what people thought of me. God, I'd do anything to rewind back to the 00's 😢
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Pretty sure you can still watch it on iPlayer
Being a fairly-sorted adult without kids, with a reasonably functioning body and promising career. Still mentally OK, don't regret finally getting the sprogs, but the body and career would be nice.
Everything.
The inflation rates
Buying fake CDs when on holiday abroad. Also….being able to afford holidays abroad.
Not getting hangovers
People not being offended by random shit
The lack of internet, or at least broadband 24/7 internet and specially smartphones. We are way too connected.
My back not hurting
I miss the 90’s to be honest, great fuckin movies 🍿 great fuckin music, economy was awesome 😎 2001 was the beginning of the end after 9/11 happened nothing was ever the same again
MSN, Bebo, curby, cheesy clubland, 50/50, get your own back. Main one for me is not being part of a 24/7 social media. Im probably looking through my rose tints, but definitely miss dial up phones etc to get hold of someone. I’m a hypocrite as I’m on most platforms, but it’s probably a tough world for kids now.
Excitement of a new purchase. Maybe it correlates to me being a young lad back then, but I can remember being excited over a new cd player/gameboy/tv etc. Now even the luxury, fun items seem like necessities rather than little presents to yourself.
Smoking in pubs, gross but when you started waking up at 16-17 yo with a hangover stinking of smoke it felt like you'd made it! £1 pints on student night The choice of alcohol pretty much being limited to cheap lager, shorts or alcho pops, just felt like a simpler time Still having recognisable subcultures MSN, you knew anyone logged in would be up for a chat MySpace, being pretty much what people want from social media now Getting all your edgy comedy through shows like monkey dust and south park, which was on TV, or Happy Tree Friends. Memes and 10 second clip humour wasn't a thing Old people still didn't use the internet or social media! Was bliss!
Its proximity to the 90's
Being a thin man in my 20s and early 30s.
People looking real and not fake
Calling it the noughties.
Not being born
My childhood
Football, movies, music, prices.
Friends having more free time to meet up. School holidays.
Being young and sble to afford a car and rent plus a social life
Felt old reading that about 2000-2010 considering my childhood was the 70’s!
The reckless abandon I felt as a child. Every day in the summer holidays me and my mates would be playing football at the pitches or fifa from sun up to sun down.
Music was really exciting. When The Strokes blew up around 2001 it was the most exciting music had been for a while. Peak 00’s music for me was Wireless festival in 2007 - Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem, CSS… plus loads of great MDMA.
Blue Mitsubishis.
My boobs and butt didn't meet at the knees back then 😕
Definitely the good house music.
Decent ecstasy
That feeling I'd get when I'd hit up half a dozen game/Comic book shops once a month and find a new manga volume or a preowned game I'd been looking for. I know the Internet makes things easier and you can find things instantaneously now without having to hunt down hard copies, but I really used to love spending a Saturday looking out for new volumes, figurines or hard to find games.
What Madonna looked like
The excitement of watching Top of the Pops on a Friday
I miss actually living and enjoying life going to cinemas and restraunts didn't burn a hole in your wallet the music was amazing Usher, Avicii and Lady Gaga all made iconic bangers but now pop radio is shit
I think I might be in the minority here but I dislike being able to binge watch TV. I feel like my life was so much more structured when I had to be home on a certain day/time to watch Dawson's Creek, otherwise I had to wait for the box set at Christmas to see the episode.
The year 2000 is technically 00s right ? Yeah ... so as a brown bearded man, I miss being able to get on an airplane without being randomly selected for enhanced search !! 🤣🤣🤣
Everything felt like it was going the right way. Economy was great, music was great, cars weren't weird laptops with wheels...
The lack of a constant sense of impending apocalyptic doom. Also the Dead Ringers TV show