18 Things From The Early 2000s That People Really, Really, Really Miss
Somehow — even though weirdly the '90s were only 10 years ago — we're now 20 years removed from the early '00s. And even though it was a turbulent time, full of questionable fashions and hairstyles, it was still just a great era to live through.
Last year, Reddit user u/Boring-Cauliflower was reminiscing when they asked: "What do you miss from the early 2000s?"
Needless to say, lots of people who lived through the era shared all the things they missed. And here are some of the top and best comments:
1."EBay when it was just people buying second hand stuff from other people who didn't want it anymore."
2."Being able to hang up dramatically by snapping shut my flip phone."
"Yeah, now when I dramatically slam my phone at the end of a call, it just costs me a few hundred dollars. ??"
3."Blockbuster. There was something fun about going to the movie rental shop and browsing through the collection to decide what you were going to watch that weekend, or renting a game and having, like, 48 hours to beat it."
"All these places had the same certain smell. Even the mom-and-pop shops. You can smell the cases' fruity plastic smell from the '90s, carpet cleaner, and popcorn. It’s like a retro aroma; it may sound crazy, but I wish I could experience these combos again."
4."The old Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows."
5."Burning CDs. Most computers don't have disk drives pre-installed anymore."
"I remember a time when it was a thing to burn your own mix CDs (in regular audio format), and you had to make sure the player you were putting the CD in was new enough to read the damn thing."
6."Buying music on CD and ripping it to MP3 myself. In the early 2000s, I'd burn it right back to CD but in an MP3 format for a portable player that supported it."
"I had an MP3 capable portable CD player and a disc burner right when they came out, and it cost a fortune. It's a good thing baggy pants were in style then or else the player would have never fit in your pocket otherwise."
7."Not being expected to be reachable 24/7."
8."AIM. I have so many great memories staying up late chatting with my friends on that. I remember how fun it was changing up your profile and trying to come up with cool, clever away messages."
"I miss the door opening and closing sounds of my friends logging on and off."
9."The music was so much better. So many great bands."
10."Translucent colorful electronics. Give me a translucent colored laptop goddamnit!!!"
11."Coming back home with a new video game. It would be a such a thrill. You'd sit in the car and look at the back of the case and read it 10 times over, then you'd run back home and pop that bad boy in. Now, it's just, 'Oh, this new game came out? Is it on Steam? OK, add to cart.'"
"Man, just the smell of a new freshly opened game case...addicting."
12."The mall being a fun place to hang. Anytime you were bored, you could find something to do at the mall."
13."The excitement of getting a new magazine."
"I used to like to go to Barnes & Noble and get the weirdest magazine I could find."
—[deleted]
14."Definitely the lack of social media. People just lived their lives, enjoying the moment without having to photograph it, then post it online. Meeting people meant going out and socializing."
15."The last legs of actual music videos being played on MTV."
16."LimeWire."
17."Old family members didn't use the internet."
"The same family members who made fun of me for 'always being on the computer,' are now constantly on Facebook."
—[deleted]
18.And lastly: "The simplicity of technology, I feel like tech was at a perfect point of useful and entertaining without completely taking over your life."
"Everything had its purpose, you know? If I wanted to watch something, I’d pop a VHS into a VCR (and if I didn’t have a copy of what I wanted to watch, I’d actually need to go out in public so I could rent it at Blockbuster). If I wanted to listen to music, I’d have to get my iPod. My phone could only call people. Now everything’s conglomerated into a little tablet in our pockets; anything we want is available in seconds. It fries our attention spans, causes us to take convenience for granted, and leaves us addicted to cyberspace. I honestly hate it, yet here I am typing this up on my iPhone LOL."
—[deleted]
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.