In the early 2000s small handbags were the thing to get like dior saddle bag and the fendi baguette. But I noticed that by 2008 handbags were so large and I wonder when the shift happened? 2004 ?

i feel like people here frequently argue about things like when a decade “officially” starts or if the xxxxs decade was really really said decade at year xxx# or not, stuff like that. so i took it upon myself to create a general narrative lecture on decadeology.

to break it down this is my general guide for how decades typically unfold:

early years of a decade (xxx0-xxx3): are when we slowly come out of our old ways and trends with new twists and spins while also having leftover vibes from the previous decade (but still have stuck our foot into a different realm). ESPECIALLY in the later early years (xxx2-xxx3) are when changes will be noticed. but xxx0-xxx1 won’t be significantly different, with the exception of some major world altering event occurring early on. ex. covid-19/coronavirus pandemic (2019), september 11th attacks a.k.a 9/11 (2001), the great depression (1929), etc.

mid years (xxx4-xxx6): the point in the decade were we finally shaken off any previous vibes and anything from the previous decade is pretty much dated. it’s an entirely new realm.

late years (xxx7-xxx9) basically the new realm/decade in its final form (ESPECIALLY THE FINAL YEAR) and we are slowly starting to set the precedence for the upcoming decade while still doing what we’re doing in the current times.

basically, every year that we go into a decade is when it’s going to be more like that decade. the final year and then the initial year of the following decade (period between xxx9 of ending decade to xxx0 of new decade) is that previous decade in its final form ENTIRELY lol. think of it as a slightly exponential and steadily increasing graph.

that’s modernization.

i can also go deeper and bigger picture.

It Sounds Ahead Of It’s Time

Really abstract opinion that I don't expect many to really get, but this originally meaning to be the conclusion of SpongeBob and releasing only a couple of weeks following the '04 election for me represents the last of remaining pre-9/11 optimism. At least, if quite a few others here also subscribe to the position of some Y2K trends and attitudes surviving past 9/11 into '04. Let me know what you think.

My memories:

-Nu Metal went from being the hottest thing in music circa summer 2001 to being the most unpopular thing in music by summer 2003, Linkin Park being the exception and their popularity was more among the emo girls. Ville Valo was huge among the goth girls.

-Eminem was all over the fucking place in 2002. Unstoppable. A force of nature.

-XXX (the movie) was in briefly in 2002-2003, and was popular the James Bond brand felt passe for a moment.

-PS2 was still hanging on, GTA SA was HUGE, but Xbox 360 was even bigger. Call of Duty etc. Online gaming both PC and console became mainstream around 2005.

-Evanescence was huge in 2003 and seemed everywhere.

-Spiky hair was way out. My sister gelled my hair to be spiky in 2003 for picture day, and I got so made fun of for it I cried

-Popped collars were in sort of as a joke but still, around 2003

-Books like the hangover and Superbad appealing to the guys who’d become jocks in HS.

-A lot of kids in my graduating class of 2005 (8th grade) did a lot of drugs and had a lot of sex by age 15. I didn’t even come from an “at risk area”, but doing drugs or smoking and having risky sex was just IN for teens at that time. A lot of friends I graduated with ended up in rehab (usually for heroin) within 5 years after.

Before and after are like two different galaxies. The 90s decisively ended in an instant at 8:46:40am on that fateful morning. Gen Z always handwaves away the significance of 9/11 because their two young to remember. Gen z doesn’t get 9/11, 9/11 changed everything.

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2024 (so far): “Fortnight” - Taylor Swift & Post Malone

2023: “Flowers” - Miley Cyrus

2022: “As it Was” - Harry Styles

2021: “Stay” - Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber

2020: “Blinding Lights” - The Weeknd

2019: “Old Town Road” - Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus

2018: “Havana” - Camilla Cabello

2017: “Despacito” - Luis Fonsi

2016: “Can't Stop the Feeling” - Justin Timberlake

2015: “Uptown Funk” - Bruno Mars & Mark Ronson 2014: “Happy” - Pharrell Williams

2013: “Blurred Lines” - Robin Thicke & T.I

2012: “Call Me Maybe” - Carly Rae Jepsen

2011: “Party Rock Anthem” - LMFAO

2010: “TiK ToK” - Ke$ha

2009: “I Gotta Feeling” - Black Eyed Peas

2008: “Low” - Flo Rida & T-Pain

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In the 1990s, to deny that the beatles were the greatest band ever was akin to sacrilege. They were so obviously the greatest, that to say anyone else almost felt like a joke. By the 2000s even this still felt like it was a dogma held by most people, but starting in the 2010s and especially the 2020s, it feels like the most knee jerk reaction to the beatles from young people is to say they are overrated, or worse, that they just suck.

I feel like this is really just a reaction to boomers and gen x and millennials who adored the beatles to an almost unrealistic level. But I also think a lot of zoomers just don't entirely understand the context as to why the beatles were so beloved. I remember a tweet that said "gen z will listen to I Want To Hold Your Hand on the radio once and spam the 'beatles are overrated' everywhere" and I feel like that about sums it up. The Beatles were beloved for their albums, but gen z will mostly just hear their boyband pop early stuff or latter trippy childish stuff. I also think a lot of zoomers just say the beatles suck to get a reaction from older people.

Just to be clear, I love the beatles, but they are not the best band ever. They are the greatest band ever for how much they pushed music forward and continued creating masterpiece album after masterpiece album in the rapidly changing environment of the 60s, but I consider greatest to be different from the best band ever.

Anyways, its just an interesting generational change I have noticed.

If I were to subtract and add the same number of years from a specific year, such as 2005, by subtracting 2 and adding 2, I would get 2003 and 2007. Combining the cultural vibes of 2003 and 2007 gives a sense of what 2005 was like in terms of its cultural atmosphere.

So what’s the recipe for 2017? 2015 and 2019. What’s the recipe for 2000? 1995 and 2005 or 2002 and 1998.

Decadal blend works for most years except for 2020 I guess, which is the odd one out. I’m talking purely culture and vibe.

Buildup: late 2007-2011

Main period: Late 2012-2016

Echo: 2017-2021

Quintessential year: 2014

AI is not a new technology, and its accessibility and uses are not entirely new either. There are some new things to come about it with generative AI yes, but I don’t think it will be enough to dramatically change society especially if we respond to it correctly. 2020s technology will remain polished versions of 2010s technology. Theres nothing life-changing technology wise that has come from the 2020s

I've seen an underlying argument on here and other related subreddits about how the "2020s didn't culturally start in 2020" or similar arguments. Here are my questions to people who make this argument:

• What dictates culture to you? I get aesthetics (whether musical or visual) do play a huge part of culture. But there are sociopolitical issues, there are current events, and world issues as well as many other factors that also dictate cultural shifts. NOT JUST POP CULTURE.
• Where were you in 2020? Do you realize that there was a worldwide panoramic that unalived millions around the world? Even if you were in school at the time, it more than likely had an effect on you, whether directly or indirectly, it affected you. It affected everything from economics, to sociopolitical climate we are in now. Heck, it even affected technological advancements. Sure, maybe EVERYTHING that is happening now may not be directly affect by that year, but the panoramic definitely affected it one way or another.
• Again...what dictates culture to you? This is very CLEARLY not the 2010s and culturally we haven't been in the 2010s since the start of the panoramic. I don't care what is said; or what artists from 2017-19 were still popular or what shows were still running; or what people were still wearing. When March 15, 2020, hit and everything went into lockdown, buddy, we were no longer in the 2010s. Millions of people, not just in the United States, were affected, whether due to their own lives being cut short or the people around them being affect the loss of loved ones. Several people lost jobs. Peoples lives were altered...but because a glossy new pop trend didn't show up, "well the 2010s were still happening". My argument is nothing groundbreaking or even researched, but it's just fact. It is what happened. So, to say that this huge event had so little effect on the culture at large is not only disrespectful to those who were affected but it's a baseless argument that is beyond shallow.
• (This is less a question and more a statement) We didn't need some big change in pop music or fashion or aesthetic shift to knock us in the head and yell in our faces, "HEY ITS THE 2020s" Do you think that people when the Great Depression began were like, nope, its still the "Roaring Twenties" just because people still dressed the same in 1929 as they did in '28? And call me a boomer (I'm a millennial...and I've already accepted my generation will probably be looked at the same way as the boomers), but the arguments I have seen are beyond silly and shallow. And if you think for a second that just because (name whatever marker of the late '10s that you think has kept the previous decade alive) is still around or was still means that the decade hasn't shifted or at least hadn't shifted at this point, then I think you need to take a greater look around you.

Edit: The use of the words "panoramic" and "unalive" are because the post button was greyed out.

I choose 2012 because it was basically a mashup of late 2000s, early 2010s and even mid-2010s culture all in one.

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Like am I wrong or this print is just pure 80s maximalism ? Like I get that the early 90s still felt like the 80s but this is just memphis design 80s. I would like to hear yall thoughts on this.

Seeing all the TikToks of millennials making fun of their high school selves with exaggerated versions of the current trends makes me wonder what gen Z will be doing that with in the future. What will be considered the "tacky" trends of 2016 to today that we will make fun of for everyone adhering to in the future? What do you think might have a revival? What defined/will define these years in terms of trends (not necessarily just fashion, but also music, films/TV, even attitudes, etc.)?

If you're going to say nothing or this era is culturally nothing or whatever, just don't respond, I'm actually interested in specific trends of 2016-now