How will you remember the 00s?

[Mel]

Article featured in Avatar - Volume 3, Issue 7 (January 2010).

How will you remember the 00s?
(That's “two thousands'” or “oh oh zies”, if you like.)
By Rob

This year is a special one because it marks the start of a new decade, something that many of us have not seen before – or in the very least cannot remember much about. A lot of the time we hear elder people talking about what happened in a certain decade. The 70s brought us hippies, the 80s cheesy horror, the 90s pop bands, and now at the dawn of the 10s (“tensies”) what can we do but look back and ask, “What have we left behind?”

Are the 00s the years of the Internet? The Internet existed long before the millennium of course, but for consumers the speeds were slow, the websites were boring, and the applications were majorly undeveloped, leading to a rather poor experience over all. The last decade has seen massive developments in the Internet and the material that forms it. It has seen the rise of a global media phenomena that includes the likes of Wikipedia and YouTube, as well as the advent of social networking (such as Facebook and MySpace), and the rapid spread of instant messaging (such as MSN messenger). The Internet has become a platform for collaboration and expression that has led to a truly open media that has been both a blessing and a curse – a way to reveal many of the most talented people in the World, but also a way to reveal some of the most horrific ways that people can treat one another. On the other hand, the Internet has brought with it some much less constructive uses, such as the wide spread appeal of memes, which to many are an annoyance. It has also brought with it a massive deterioration in the quality of language, in the form of text speak (“wut u up 2?”) and the ambitious introduction of a few too many acronyms (“lol”). The anonymity of the Internet has also led to the troll culture, where by groups of people intentionally bother others for the sake of it, and not to mention the constant spam we all receive through email and other routes. The Internet has also seen a generation of young people turn to criminal behaviour, with the advent of P2P and torrent-based file sharing, which in some countries has led to prosecutions. The Internet has had a profound impact on the way we live our lives, and as technology continues to change and spread to more remote regions of the World, it is likely it will continue to play an important role in our daily lives, media, and culture.

Are the 00s the years of Harry Potter? I've never read Harry Potter myself so I can't really go into much detail, but apparently there's a wizard, and he does some pretty cool things, and then a whole generation of young people decided to adore him. Pretty neat. The last decade has seen many different media sensations surface - from literature to film and television – each with their own, respective, cult followings. It has seen the dawn of the Twilight saga, the growing popularity and diversity of reality television such as Big Brother, Pokemon (from the late nineties, strictly speaking), High School Musical, Scrubs, and many more works that are sure to leave a cultural impact for decades to come.

Are the 00s the years of terrorism? The last decade has seen the development of crises in the Middle East, ranging from Iraq, to Afghanistan and Israel. It has seen terrorist attacks in New York, London, Madrid and Moscow, among many others. It has also seen sharp rises in Islamophobia and a misunderstanding of eastern cultures, leading to violent outbreaks across the developed World. This has led to a rise of far right political and religious organisations, who have used these kinds of incidents to further their agendas. For many, the decade has also seen a downward trend in human rights, for example the use of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, and the general political climate of fear that has been heavily felt since the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. Despite some recent developments including withdrawing (some) military forces from Asia, setting up new governments in Iraq, and more liberal governments in the USA, it is likely that terrorism will continue to be a part of our World for many years to come.

Are the 00s the years of recession? The last few years have seen the World economy collapse in one of the greatest economic contractions since the 1930s. While many countries have begun to leave recession, it has left the economic climate devastated, with thousands out of work, and many international corporations finding themselves bankrupt from their debts. When the World emerges from the crisis, the economic scene will be radically changed, and one would hope various measures will be implemented to protect the economies of the future.

Are the 00s the years of global warming? The last decade has seen the rise in political activism on a range of issues, from global warming to vegetarianism and more. Aided in part by a global culture, and free media inspired by the Internet, it has brought us to a higher level of understanding of our World and those within it. Recent years have seen the introduction of civil liberties for LGBT people, and the first black President of the United States, which may suggest a future of progress and change in the World that will benefit all of us.

All in all, as we ask ourselves what we have left for future generations, and what we will face in the coming decade, we remember the 00s. Not just as the first decade of a new millennium, nor as the rise of technology, but also as the decade of great change.