2006: Culturally more like 2003 or 2009?

2006 is more like 2003. 2003 and 2006 are core 2000s, Bush, 6th generation gaming, pre-iPhone and pre-Great Recession years. PS2’s and flip phones dominated these years. 2003 is classic 2000s and so is most of 2006. PS3 and Twitter debuted in 2006, but they did not make dents until 2007-2009. 2006 is peak Myspace along with fall 2004-2005.

Disney Channel enters their golden era in January 2003 with “That’s So Raven” starting. Disney Channel shows cracks in 2006 with Hannah Montana and High School Musical premiering, but 2006 is the tail end of their golden era as classic shows still air that year like Suite Life of Zack and Cody, That’s So Raven, Lilo and Stitch, American Dragon Jake Long and more. WB and many shows associated with the early to mid 2000s like That 70s Show, Bernie Mac, Will and Grace and more end in 2006.

Crunk gets popular in 2003 and has some juice left in 2006 before loosing to snap. 50 Cent is somewhat relevant in 2006, but less so than 2003-2005. NuMetal lingers in 2003, but gone by 2006. Emo creeps in 2003 and peaks in 2006. Emo experiences minor backlash in fall 2006, giving way to scene which goes strong in 2009. Rock, rap, R&B are less popular in 2009 than in 2003 and 2006 thanks to the rise of ElectroPop music. ElectroPop music rises in fall 2006 with Timbaland, Nelly Furtado’s “Loose” and Justin Timberlake’s “Sexyback.”

2009 is an Obama, 7th generation gaming and Great Recession year. The iPhone is out for a year or 2 by that point. The App Store makes strides in 2009 after coming out in July 2008, making iPhones more than an iPod, camera and cellphone into one. Myspace is close to their death in 2009. 2009 is not core 2000s or classic 2000s. Out of 2003, 2006 and 2009, 2006 best represents the 2000s.

The only aspects that makes 2006 more like 2009 are Web 2.0 era of internet, social media and broadband arguably like today, except we might be in Web 3.0 or transitioning to Web 4.0 with the rollout if 4G internet. YouTube is popular in 2006, but more popular and maybe peaking in 2009. 2003 is pre-social media, Web 1.0 era of internet and dial up like the 1990s.

Cellphones are popular and seem like necessities in 2006 than 2003. Texting and cellphone obsessed teenager becomes a thing in 2006. In 2003, they are starting to get popular and or become necessities. Texting is beginning to catch on in 2003.

DVD’s are king by the 2nd half of 2003, but movies still release on VHS. People still by and use VHS in 2003. “A History of Violence” is the last movie on VHS in 2006.

5th generation gaming consoles like the PS1 linger in 2003, but are history by 2006. 6th generation gaming consoles like the PS2 linger in 2009, but are history by 2013 or 2014.

2003 has late 1990s influences, disappearing before 2006 hits. 2006 has early 2000s influences, disappearing before 2009 hits.

Your chart makes sense. 2006 being a tie between 2003 and 2009 socially makes sense. 2003 is a conservative year. Bush is popular that year and everyone sees him as a hero after 9/11. Many people support the Iraq War in 2003. But by 2006, they oppose it. I think stories of American soldiers being tortured came out around then. 2009 is a liberal year. While 2006 is mostly conservative, liberal backlash against Bush accelerates. Democrats win in the November 2006 election which predates do Obama winning in November 2008. Various 1990s technology survive into and are relevant in 2003, but dead by 2006. Technology introduced in 2003 are around in 2006 and maybe into 2009. 2006 has the last bit of early 2000s fashion and the earliest hipster fashion which came to dominate 2009. 2003 also has plenty of 1990s and early 2000s shows which 2006 and 2009 have almost none of. The OC from 2003 is one of the only shows that lasts into 2009. Other than that 2003 does not have much shows that last into 2009. PS3 comes out in November 2006 which ties 2006 to 2009, but PS2 being relevant in 2006 ties it to 2003. Some cars from 2003 resemble the 1990s, but cars from 2006 and 2009 resemble today.  Film photography is almost standard in 2003 despite digital becoming popular, but digital photography takes over and becomes standard by 2006. 

Your chart makes sense. 2006 being a tie between 2003 and 2009 socially makes sense. 2003 is a conservative year. Bush is popular that year and everyone sees him as a hero after 9/11. Many people support the Iraq War in 2003. But by 2006, they oppose it. I think stories of American soldiers being tortured came out around then. 2009 is a liberal year. While 2006 is mostly conservative, liberal backlash against Bush accelerates. Democrats win in the November 2006 election which predates do Obama winning in November 2008. Various 1990s technology survive into and are relevant in 2003, but dead by 2006. Technology introduced in 2003 are around in 2006 and maybe into 2009. 2006 has the last bit of early 2000s fashion and the earliest hipster fashion which came to dominate 2009. 2003 also has plenty of 1990s and early 2000s shows which 2006 and 2009 have almost none of. The OC from 2003 is one of the only shows that lasts into 2009. Other than that 2003 does not have much shows that last into 2009. PS3 comes out in November 2006 which ties 2006 to 2009, but PS2 being relevant in 2006 ties it to 2003. Some cars from 2003 resemble the 1990s, but cars from 2006 and 2009 resemble today.  Film photography is almost standard in 2003 despite digital becoming popular, but digital photography takes over and becomes standard by 2006. 

Okay thank you for clarifying and agreeing. I understand where you are coming from now. I never considered PC gaming because I am more of a console gamer. That is cool to know. The PS3 release situation in 2006 is similar to the PS2 release situation in 2000 where classic games for those consoles came out in 2007 and 2001 respectively. I think we are facing a similar situation with the PS5. We might see classics for PS5 in late 2021 since the PS5 came out in late 2020. No surprise 2007 is regarded one of the best years for video games along with 1998, 2001 and 2004.