It seems like all the decades of the 1900s had very distinct eras of culture. A distinct identify. From 1910, 1920, 1930… 1970, 1980, 1990. All these seem to have had a cultural feel very unique to themselves. But the last 25 years feels like cultural stagnation. Why is that?
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Because you lived through them and earlier decades weren’t as distinct as you think they were.
Things have definitely changed in the last 25 years. The birth of the internet made a lot of things change not only in the way we communicate but at a speed that would be difficult to explain to the people of those previous decades. Imagine explaining facetime or zoom meeting to a person that has only just got their first radio.
Distinctly the ability to do almost anything online, find a date, order food, download movies, directions, recipes. This era will be defined as a digital and informational evolution. For better and/or for worse in some cases.
The telegraph and telephone along with the automobile and air travel and probably train travel were on this level of change.
It takes time for distinctions to be identified and widely accepted. The 90s now has a distinct identity, but it didn’t feel that way in 2003.
It’s not really that stagnant. 2000s were mired by post-911 jingoism and focus on war on terror. 2010s were more about the death of the American dream in the aftermath of the 2008 hosing crash, Occupy Wall Street, etc. 2020s are influenced by the pandemic and now the rise of fascism.
You also get a lot of changing influence in online spaces. Rise of social media will be seen as a big turning point for example.
A few weeks ago I saw a YouTube video addressing exactly this question (and somehow I was able to find it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo_EHY5jEX4
Adam Conover did a video on this and I think he has a good theory: since 2000, the decades didn’t really have names. Seventies, eighties, nineties were all widely used. Nobody ever used aughts and teens and for that twenty year period, we just got out of the habit. It’s 2025 and I still haven’t really heard anyone say, “it’s the twenties!” Instead of thinking of time in these discreet ten year periods, the last 25 years have just been this mushed up time period.
1990 was a big New Year’s milestone. 2000 was even bigger. 2010 didn’t really seem to garner lots of excitement and neither did 2020- at least in my circle of friends and acquaintances.
It takes retrospection to identify these things. Culture doesn’t flip the moment we hit a new decade.
American Idiot came out in 2004, and 00s were prime System of a Down.
In 2040, the 2000s may be looked upon as a repeat of the 1960s with the hippie movement, counter-culture, nation-wide shock after a national tragedy, a decade dominating war, and civil/social rights movements.
Except instead of hippies, we had emo/scene and Great Recession depression.
I have a picture from 2007 of me in high-school playing hackie-sack with long hair, sideburns, a black shirt and skinny jeans in a circle with friends. The next year I was in College passing out fliers from Ron Paul’s Love Revolution
2000s were a time of lost naïveté and change. The feeling of hope for the future was really lost. The neon glow of the 90s was stuffed out pretty quick.
2010s were the years of the social media boom and always online attitude. Political rifts formed in a big way in the 2010s and many people’s politics defined their friend groups.
2020s… defining characteristics TBD… COVID was a big part but I wouldn’t define the whole decade by it.
It is part of a continuum. I think of that teacher who wore for same outfit for picture day for 40 years.
Look at one year and then the year before. There’s not much of a difference in him getting older. But look at one pic and then a pic from 10 years after and you see the difference.
In that sense one year doesn’t seem like much culturally, but something 10 years ago does
Expansion of the internet killed the monoculture; people were no longer listening to, watching, or engaging with the same pieces of culture like they were before. At the same time trends move way faster (and pass faster) now because of social media/internet
That feeling is an illusion and it gets overlaid on memories after time has passed. The present always just feels like the present.
The internet happened. Now you can go on Spotify and listen to whatever you want to, go on Netflix/YouTube and watch whatever you want, go on Amazon and buy whatever clothes you want.
Prior to 2000, you listened to what was on the radio, or what was in the record store. You watched what was on TV or in Blockbuster. You wore whatever was in Sears.
A small number of companies controlled the culture. Now, whatever tiny subculture you are in, you can find your people online. Subcultures don’t die anymore, so them disappearing no longer marks the passing of time.
Oh they still are having lived them, it’ll take time for the specifics to enter the zeitgeist
The internet.
It killed off mass media and opened up all kinds of cultural niches. In the past “taste makers” and the dominant media had much more influence on what clothing styles were sold at the mall, what music was widely available, even things like what color palettes were popular (like harvest gold and avocado green in the 70s). People were much more limited in what they could see/hear/buy and that created a more unified, time specific culture.
This also created a counter-culture that doesn’t really exist anymore, either.
Big corporations consolidated, and we were given to distract us from it
I think it’s because things used to go away, so they were attached to their time. Now that everything is digital and perpetual, there’s no reason to reminisce.
To me 2000s were marked by increased connection to people and communities far from our geographical location. Where we can create an identity separate from our physical or cultural identity. It was when internet and cellphones get really widespread for teens of that day. We could find niche communities.
There was still some carry over of the colourful or futuristic look of 1990s. Perhaps more toned down and the late 2000s saw the start of the ‘hipster’ look as a revival of older styles.
Loss of cultural influence of mainstream media. It left relatively few people with an incredibly big influence and impact on what would be popular and happening. Music, clothes, beauty standards, it was all directed top down by ad-men, casting directors, designers, magazine editors. The list goes on, but relatively very few and interconnected people had alot of sway.
Think how much of an influence just the casting director for Friends had on womens beauty standards in the late 90s.
Adam Conover did an episode asking this question a few weeks ago.
Having been there. I don’t think the 90s hhad its own distinct culture. The early 90s was very much just the end of the 80s culture. And after the 80s culture finally wore off, by 96, we were just in the pre-millennium 00s culture.
2000-2010 is very distinct to me
9/11
Iraq war
The music, video games, movies
Beginnings of the modern internet culture
The beginning of the end of 20th century politics (remember McCain and Obama being cordial to one another?)
I think from a fashion/aesthetic standpoint there hasn’t been significant change since the 90s, especially if you look at how normal people are dressing and not celebrities/influencers. It was T-shirts and jeans in the 90s, and that’s still mostly the case.
However there have been some distinct eras.
90s-2001: the Good years. The rise of the computers. The future seemed bright.
2001-07: Starting with 9/11 The War on terror, initial waves of patriotism followed by escalating cynicism and anti-Americanism.
2007-2016: Starting with the crash and great recession, most of the population lost faith in 80s/90s style capitalism. Rise of the tech giants from initially curiosities to global behemoths. China starts to flex it’s muscles. Radical politics starts to entrench. Russian leadership becomes more aggressive. Fringe ideas like Redpill and Crypto begins spreading the internet
2016-present: Russia invades Ukraine in stages, the far right becomes a real political force centrist parties in dissarray. A sense of no new ideas. China slowly eclipsing the United States. USA turns inwards under both Trump and Biden. Covid-19 occurs with difficult to predict long term results. Left wing opinion starts turning against the tech giants. Tech giants become more and more infiltrated by their own version of authoritarian politics. Authoritarian governments get much better at using the internet for influence. Dramatic rise in Crypto, sports betting, gambling. Redpill ideas mainstreamed.