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Post by SharksFan99 on Oct 1, 2020 0:20:35 GMT 10
I've got to be honest, I miss 2008 and the Late 2000s in general so much. It's not even the fact that I wish I could go back in time and re-live those years; I just miss how the world was back then. It's such a different world to the one we are living in today and unfortunately, that isn't for the better.
I was 9 at the time. There was so much more hope for the future back then. People felt as though they could make a real difference. "Earth Hour" used to receive international coverage on the news, a lot of people even went to the trouble of preparing for it. It used to get people talking, and people knew that they were helping the environment. My Mum and I went for a walk around our housing estate on the night of "Earth Hour" and the majority of the households had switched their lights off for that one hour. Cities around the world even took part in it; I remember the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House had went 'dark' for the hour as well.
Our prime minister, Kevin Rudd, was talking about revolutionising the education system and significantly reducing greenhouse emissions by 2020. I was in Year 3 at the time, and my school received interactive whiteboards in all of our classrooms. We were promised that the new technology would allow us to be able to speak to classes on the other side of the country. Instead of using chalk to draw on the board, we now had touch pens. The possibilities seemed endless. Then, of course, 2008 also saw the election of Barrack Obama to the White House, who was the first African-American President in US history. I remember shortly after he was elected, there were fears that there was a chance he could be assassinated, but thankfully that never came to be. His election victory felt like a real sign of progress, that we were heading for a much brighter future. One where there was less division, more acceptance, and greater equality.
Now, here we are in 2020, and the world has gone backwards. The US has a president in office who supports white supremacy and is threatening to start a dictatorship, far-right extremists and climate-change deniers are given a voice, we're constantly living on the brink of what seems like an imminent war. People are glued to their smartphone devices, there's no originality or real substance in pop culture due to the over-reliance on 'shock value' or things from the past, we're living through the worst recession since the Great Depression and a global pandemic that has killed over a million people in just six months. 2008 and 2020 are only twelve years apart, but they may as well be from two completely different centuries. The difference between them is astounding given how little of a gap there is between them in the grand scheme of things.
What do you like or miss most about 2008?
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Post by kev2000sfan on Oct 1, 2020 1:37:35 GMT 10
Honestly, I miss the hype behind the Carter 3. Obama's election was also groundbreaking and fun. Naruto was in its heyday as the Sasuke Retrieval Arc aired on Cartoon Network. It was amazing that it was finally dubbed in English and legendary to witness. Super Smash Bros. Brawl somewhat lived up to its anticipation. I miss T Pain, Jeezy and pre lean Wayne.
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Post by y2kbaby on Oct 1, 2020 2:39:22 GMT 10
I miss 2008 too! I have a hard time picking that year or 2005 as my favorite childhood years. From the Pop Culture, to the Sports to world events, 2008 was a mystique year from start to finish.
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Post by bestmvp29 on Oct 1, 2020 3:23:42 GMT 10
I miss 2008 for sure. That was like the peak of my childhood, especially since I went to Chuck 'E Cheese's every birthday at the height of my childood; 6th birthday: 2008, 7th birthday: *2009, and 8th birthday: 2010. I also vividly remember the whole year, I started developing my own tastes as that was the year that I realized I hated cheese. I was also a big Pokemon fan around that time as a 6-year old in 1st grade. I got a Pokemon DS or something like that on my 6th birthday in late August and a Pokemon handbook from the Book Fair in November. I remember some of the Bush administration but I don't think I remember the 2008 election (I definitely remember the 2009 inauguration) or the global financial collapse of that year. A lot happened that year. The 2007-2008 school year, followed by the summer of '08 was the last hurrah of the core 2000's, while late 2008-2009 was the start of the electropop era (transition from 2000's to 2010's) but had the last remaining influences from the core 00's. I also watched a lot of Adult Swim and Cartoon Network that year, as well as some Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and PS Kids. I am not sure if I had Disney Channel yet but I definitely knew of what was on at the time and even watched it at another person's house. I miss 2008. Good times.
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Post by Telso on Oct 1, 2020 7:55:31 GMT 10
If you told to my 2008 self that there would be a semi-economic depression later the year and a giant pandemic 12 years later, I would have been far more concerned about the future in 2020. Being already into history, I sort of already knew which was more painful to live through.
But anyway, I strongly miss the internet of 2008 in particular. The content was more limited back then, but creative outlets and expressive freedom were far greater on the other hand. It was an aesthetic mess where anything went, and it was glorious. There wasn't this repetitive meme-baiting and attention mongering that now suddenly defines internet nowadays. Honestly, the late 2000s and early 2010s are easily the most exciting times for internet surfing.
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Post by John Titor on Oct 1, 2020 8:16:26 GMT 10
If you told to my 2008 self that there would be a semi-economic depression later the year and a giant pandemic 12 years later, I would have been far more concerned about the future in 2020. Being already into history, I sort of already knew which was more painful to live through. But anyway, I strongly miss the internet of 2008 in particular. The content was more limited back then, but creative outlets and expressive freedom were far greater on the other hand. It was an aesthetic mess where anything went, and it was glorious. There wasn't this repetitive meme-baiting and attention mongering that now suddenly defines internet nowadays. Honestly, the late 2000s and early 2010s are easily the most exciting times for internet surfing. For me id say mid to late 2000s was the most exciting for internet usage  but in general internet in 2008 was fun, you had Myspace, aol Aim, and Facebook in its second year of being public, youtube was fun there was less restrictions on content and no click bait, the only click bait there was was Rick Rolls. The only negatives have to be Windows Vista rolling out beta in 2006, like just using a PC in general in the 2000s just was homely if that makes sense? it was relaxing
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Post by bestmvp29 on Oct 1, 2020 8:31:02 GMT 10
If you told to my 2008 self that there would be a semi-economic depression later the year and a giant pandemic 12 years later, I would have been far more concerned about the future in 2020. Being already into history, I sort of already knew which was more painful to live through. But anyway, I strongly miss the internet of 2008 in particular. The content was more limited back then, but creative outlets and expressive freedom were far greater on the other hand. It was an aesthetic mess where anything went, and it was glorious. There wasn't this repetitive meme-baiting and attention mongering that now suddenly defines internet nowadays. Honestly, the late 2000s and early 2010s are easily the most exciting times for internet surfing. Internet games were the BEST back then! It was probably better even in the late 90s and early-mid 00s but it was definitely better when it came to that than 2020.
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Post by John Titor on Oct 1, 2020 8:47:30 GMT 10
If you told to my 2008 self that there would be a semi-economic depression later the year and a giant pandemic 12 years later, I would have been far more concerned about the future in 2020. Being already into history, I sort of already knew which was more painful to live through. But anyway, I strongly miss the internet of 2008 in particular. The content was more limited back then, but creative outlets and expressive freedom were far greater on the other hand. It was an aesthetic mess where anything went, and it was glorious. There wasn't this repetitive meme-baiting and attention mongering that now suddenly defines internet nowadays. Honestly, the late 2000s and early 2010s are easily the most exciting times for internet surfing. Internet games were the BEST back then! It was probably better even in the late 90s and early-mid 00s but it was definitely better when it came to that than 2020. Candy Stand lol
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Post by SharksFan99 on Oct 1, 2020 9:13:09 GMT 10
But anyway, I strongly miss the internet of 2008 in particular. The content was more limited back then, but creative outlets and expressive freedom were far greater on the other hand. It was an aesthetic mess where anything went, and it was glorious. There wasn't this repetitive meme-baiting and attention mongering that now suddenly defines internet nowadays. Honestly, the late 2000s and early 2010s are easily the most exciting times for internet surfing. That's how I feel as well. I can remember how much of an improvement Google Chrome felt over Internet Explorer, it made internet browsing so much easier. I quite often used to go onto the school computers during our recess breaks and check the latest medal tally of the Beijing Olympics. In my spare time, I also used to read Wikipedia articles about shows I was into, like "The Simpsons" or "Spongebob". It was definitely better back then.
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Post by bestmvp29 on Oct 1, 2020 10:00:39 GMT 10
Internet games were the BEST back then! It was probably better even in the late 90s and early-mid 00s but it was definitely better when it came to that than 2020. Candy Stand lol Interesting. I had the experience of websites like Miniclip, Y8, Nick & CN (when they actually had good games), etc. So I experienced some of the kid-oriented games while also experimenting some older age games online.
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Post by prodanny288 on Oct 1, 2020 11:44:38 GMT 10
I'd do anything to go back to anytime pre-2012. Hell, go back to anytime before my birth. I hate my shitty existence.
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Post by slashpop on Oct 2, 2020 3:11:38 GMT 10
I think the late 00s and 2008 may have been lacking in certain technology, internet, tv and carrying some annoying stuff from earlier but overall there was an optimism and improved brand new feeling and it truly felt that 00s were finally getting better and this new era was taking us somewhere. It definitely didn't have the cheesiness and mass produced feeling that most of the 2010s had. TBH, I think the 2010s kinda of overdid, commercialized or ruined stuff that wasn't necessarily bad when it first started in the late 2000s. I felt the music scene was an improvement from the mid 00s and a bit better than 2010s in general in certain ways.
What makes 2008 stand out:
- Youtube is more exciting; watching shows you've never seen before, reviews, new youtubers before they started doing click bait and selling out, Angry Video Game Nerd etc.
- Wii finally having a good amount of stand out and good titles and being a massive improvement over the gamecube
- Geekdom isn't ruined by oversaturation of comic con events, 80s movie remakes and vintage looking superhero merchandise.
- A lot more people appreciating or into rock music
- More printed graphics on clothing
- Better balance between technology and social interaction
- More creativity in pop music
- Hipster influence hasn't overtaken the mainstream and they tend to be more genuine or involved in artistic endevours
- Retro gaming isn't a brand yet collector prices still reasonable and old gaming is starting to get more attention
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but in general internet in 2008 was fun, you had Myspace, aol Aim, and Facebook in its second year of being public, youtube was fun there was less restrictions on content and no click bait, the only click bait there was was Rick Rolls.