As folks like to say, time really flies.
And we’re now living in the 2020s!
That sounds kind of weird to even say it…and kind of scary.
And now we’re starting to get nostalgic for stuff that around in the 2000s…and what a glorious decade it was.
AskReddit users talked about what things from the early 2000s they want to see make comebacks. Here’s what they had to say.
1. That’s crazy.
“Being anonymous online.
Back in the day you wouldn’t put any personal information out there.
My friend is trying to date online and he’s been told multiple times it’s a red flag that he has no social media.
It’s all crazy.”
2. Let’s do it!
“Just the energy of the early 2000s.
I don’t know why, but it seemed like back then we had a lot more people and companies with a “because we can” attitude.”
3. Through the roof.
“House prices.
The housing market in 2020s is way too pricey, and renting is no longer a viable option because those prices raised too!”
4. Where did it go?
“Pop-Punk.
It seems like every Emo and Pop-Punk band from 2005 have turned into electronic pop artist.
I miss the days when you could actually hear a guitar on the radio.”
5. Both of these things.
“MySpace. They didn’t sell our information.
Also, Pop Music that’s fun instead of trying too hard to be edgy and depressing.”
6. Put on your blades!
“Rollerblading.
I remember I stopped watching the Xgames once they removed Blading. Skiing is the closest thing to it still popular these days.
Is just so smooth and stylish and I feel like it needs a fair shake so people can see how far it has come.
It can definitely hold its own next to skateboarding and BMX.”
7. Revolution rock.
“System of a Down.
There’s so much social and political cr*p going on.
I really want Serj and Daron to sing and scream about it in a simultaneously very serious and very silly way.”
8. You need that separation.
“I miss when workplaces recognized the separation of work and home life.
As in, if I posted a dumb video of me trying to do a kick flip on a skateboard, my workplace won’t try to take action against me for doing so.
I agree with workplaces getting involved on some level, but ultimately, just stop stalking the cr*p out of me.”
9. See through.
“See through casing for our technology.
See through phones, game boys, computers, they were the sh*t!”
10. Bring it on!
“Sidekick phone.
I can afford one now.
My parents can’t say no anymore.”
11. A positive era.
“I really miss the Wild West feeling of the internet and how it felt like it was full of people’s personal passion projects, sh*tty garish websites all about their hobby or niche interest.
We weren’t ruled by online life or connectivity, but you did have the advantage of being reachable if needed. Mobiles were great once we persuaded elderly relatives to get one in case they had a fall, but no-one was on them all the time because we weren’t really using them to access the internet.
And the internet was something you connected to and disconnected from, and wasn’t as central to our lives or as commercialised as now, but it was comprehensive enough that we already had the ‘information superhighway’ where you could find out so much information.
I actually liked some of the fashion too, and it just felt more ‘fun’ than serious.
The early 2000s were a positive era. As someone else said, it felt like the only way to go was up.”
12. Lookin’ cool.
“Heelies.
I wasn’t allowed to have them as a kid, so I’d love to normalize it as a method of travel as opposed to something like hover boards, especially since you don’t have to figure out where to put them when you reach your destination—they just be chillin in your shoes.
Also, entirely human powered, no electricity, so much better environmental footprint.”
13. Great comedies.
“I wish as many good big comedy movies came out now as in the 2000s.”
14. Old school.
“Old school phones like the Sidekicks.
Back in the day, phone designs were very creative and fun. Now they literally all look the same.
There’s no character to them anymore.”
15. Might be true…
“The absence of Twitter, because its existence is eroding our ability to see and speak to each other as people.”
16. Enjoying the present.
“Hanging out outside just for no reason with mates.
Like you legit just ring up your mates and hang out in any destination, no internet or smart phones.
Genuinely being in the moment creating your own fun. Somehow going out for no reason then just seeing your mates and creating a good day was more enjoyable!
Feel like everyone needs a ‘why’ just to see you now or they sit on their phone with the conversational skills of a brick.”
17. I miss video stores!
“Blockbuster.
There’s way to many streaming services now.
I can’t afford them all can we just got back to the one stop shop please?”
18. The good old days.
“The years between 2000 and mid-2008 need to come back and the financial crash needs to not happen.
Western society changed forever after that event, entirely for the worse.”
19. I agree.
“The ability to be redeemed or forgiven.
Used to be that you could do/say something dumb and if you can out and admitted it, apologized, were in time-out for a bit you could be forgiven and could make a comeback.
Now there is no recognition that people can and do change with time.”
20. Used to be bright.
“The overwhelming societal feeling of optimism and excitement.
We had a sweet 20 months of that in the US between the Y2K bug not being a problem and 9/11.
I’ve never truly felt like the future looked bright since.”
21. Specialized stores.
“Stores that specialized in things.
I miss the specialized craft stores, now you have to go to the big craft stores that may have a few generalized items but in order to get the “good” stuff you have to go online and well that doesn’t really cut it for me.
I like to browse and touch things before I buy them.
F*ck Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann Fabric for destroying the heart of the US.”
22. Yes, please!
“Bring back rock as the “default” style of music.
It’s sad that individual artists — who often don’t even write their own music — have replaced proper bands.”
23. Let’s catch up.
“The minimal reliance on texting.
I miss when people just called each other to catch up even for 10 minutes. I feel so much more disconnected to friends and family now that we text all the time.
I sometimes go a whole year without hearing a friends’ voice. Although, now that I think about it, I might just miss being a teenager and this is what adulthood was like back then too.”
24. Positivity.
“Positive TV shows.
I don’t understand why all the new tv shows need to be some sort of dark, psychological, edgy mess. It’s either that or some superhero show that copy-pastes its plot from the other 20 that came before it.
Meanwhile back in the 2000s you had shows like The West Wing which have an energy to them that is not only positive but inspiring.
I think tv shows need to take some notes from 2000s shows if they really want to stand out anymore.”
25. Get to know someone!
“Going on dates like movies and bowling.
Rather than DM’ing someone and trying to just f*ck.
Go have fun and meet someone new!
Just seeing what someone’s like.”
26. A really bad thing.
“Giving a sh*t about science and education.
I’m talking even at the level of kids tv shows and cable networks. Mr wizard beekman’s world, and then Bill Nye the science Guy shaped so many young minds into understanding science and critical thinking, and we haven’t had another show like that in over 20 years.
Bill Nye the science Guy was created by Disney and funded by the national science foundation. The magic School bus taught me more biology than what a lot of kids today don’t see again until late middle school.
The Discovery channel, history channel, national geographic, the science channel used to show programs that were actually focused on educating people! None of it was reality TV, speculative anti-scientific conspiracy theory bullsh*t or alien and ghost hunters.
For a while we had single programs like the universe or planet Earth, but today if you truly want something scientific you have to go to BBC, which typically isn’t available in the USA anyways. Not to mention, the science channel and national geographic and some of the others may not be available with basic TV programs if you wanted to watch those at all you have to pay a f*cking premium through your TV provider.
We are at the point now in the USA that we’ve experienced several decades of exhaustive anti-science and anti-education campaigns and now seemingly half the population of the country doesn’t understand that covering your mouth stops germs from spreading during a deadly global pandemic and they are afraid of windmills and cell phone towers.”
Now it’s your turn.
In the comments, tell us what things you’d like to see again from the early 2000s.
Let’s see what you got!
