to try to live in the 2000s

[xXcalamity]

i'm so tired of modern life. of the smartphones, social media, redevelopments, drama, tacky clothes and 'trends'

starting last year, i started doing that. bought myself a flip phone, a digicam, an laptop that looks like it escaped from the 2000s despite still being in production, as well as a netbook from the same company and an ipod style mp3 player (images of all the tech attached), and some 2000s clothes.

i'm just questioning if all this is worth it. my workplace doesn't push ai or smartphone bullshit on me but i'm wondering if creating a fake life that does not exist is really worth it. my activities are based around stuff that is 2000s, i will not go to a modern looking restaurant or place...

it's too late to go back but i just sort of sulk about it now. it's fun but also a sacrifice

Bit of an inaccurate photo of the netbook, mine has this colourway:

I hear you, but I’m pretty sure there were trends, drama, tacky clothes etc in the 2000s. Also social media.
If you prefer it then for sure use all that stuff but I’m not sure it’s easier than just deleting socials, eating worse microwave meals and getting a library card tbh.

I do have a library card haha

It just seemed more human and normal. even the social media wasn't full of identical influencers but normal humans

How old are you OP? I’m glad it’s not the 2000s anymore - the media was absolutely vile, tearing people (especially women) down at every opportunity. And looking back on the influences at the time - awful magazines highlighting cellulite, next top model, biggest loser etc, it’s obvious to me why I ended up taking my unhappiness out via an eating disorder.

There are pros and cons to every era. But if the tech stuff makes you happy then good for you.

i feel like honestly it hasn't got much better at all, if anything it's worse nowadays

eds are on the rise, the ozempic epidemic and fat shaming...

late 2010s were a bit better but this isn't

The 2000s were basically 5 minutes ago! The music was crap and so were the clothes, and don’t get me started on the tabloid culture.

By all means ditch social media and iPhones, but claiming the 2000s were a better time is just plain daft and inaccurate.

at least everyone wasn't dressing the exact same and kids dressed like kids honestly

It certain seems more as if everyone tries for a particular look now but that will pass and honestly, it wasn’t great in other ways. Some things now are a lot better. The past always looks more appealing than it seemed when it was the present!

i just feel like all in all the 2000s were better sure there was a lot of shit stuff but not as bad as now, there was a genuine hope of sorts if you know what i mean

Using the word 'colourway' is not at all 2000's

Might have gotten into my language because I'm a trainer geek but it definitely was a thing in the 2000s

I know it’s probably not what you want to hear with your ‘trends’ in a sneering tone but it’s actually a bit trendy atm with millennials/gen z to have the 2000’s aesthetic and technological simplicity. Lots of my friends have reverted back to digital cameras and dumb phones. I’ve recently started to collect dvds. Maybe I’m thinking too deeply at 6am but I think our generation misses tangible things. Everything is streamed or an app these days, it’s not really ‘real’ ifgwim.

Ooh, I wish I had friends like that! I haven't been on social media at all for a year now so have no way to track these trends, nice to see it's coming back to some extent at least

Absolutely agree with the end of the message

It's not the 2000's anymore though. No matter how badly we want it to be it can't be. I've got a friend who does this. She pines for the 90s/00s a lot of the time and very much lives in the past. It's fair enough if it's what you want to do and tbh I think most people would probably agree that a lot of things were better in the past (including me). I look back fondly at my 80's/90's upbringing but am not sure that trying to recreate that time would make me happy. My friend is lovely and kind but she's not happy in her life and I think living in the past can be an escape mechanism for her.

Haha
You think fat shaming is bad now? You must have forgotten that Britney Spears and Kat Winslet were both criticised for being fat in the 00s. How big were they exactly? Size 10?
What about Bridget Jones? Give over.
Ozempic epidemic? Why don't you go all the way back to 1927 before the "penicillin epidemic" took hold?

What I mean by ozempic epidemic is that larger people are being treated like lazy and unbothered to even take an injection if they don't want ozempic.

Also I was definitely being fatshamed in 2023-2024 as a size 10-12 online.

Well, exactly. Nothing changed then, has it?
The reason you think there was more hope in the 00s is because you were young. I was 16, of course there was hope!
Everyone dressed the same. All my friends had low rise jeans, cropped band t-shirts and converse trainers. We all wore black eyeliner, sparkly eyeshadow and pink lipstick. We shopped in the same shops, listened to the same music...
You can live in whatever era you want but let's not pretend any of them were problem-free.

@xXcalamity I think we must live in parallel worlds. I am old and remember the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. However my DC are 27/31. Neither they nor I are particularly big on SM, it's a choice, but one is abroad and Facetime/Teams is fabulous. Far better than an old cine reel.

I wouldn't want to be without google, it's better than the Encyclopaedia Britannica of my youth.

Most of the children I see, dress like my DC did, scruffy urchins. My clothes were more formal for work but my style is no different - there's just more choice and comfort now.

The world's moved on. I recall my great grandma lamenting the decline of live in staff and my gran reminding her that in those days there was no electric light, they set fires and washed using the copper and mangle. Life moves on and we bring with us our favourite bits, leaving behind the bits we don't like.

My daughter had a 16th at weekend and her friend brought a digital camera. They played cd’s.

I have a library card - didn’t realise that was a thing! Just come off social media op.

kids have always tried to dress the same, it’s biological, urge to fit in so you don’t get thrown out of the tribe. The influencers well jobs change don’t they, sure people thought we were going to hell in a handcart when they stated to allow women to be actors.

I can understand why you feel the need OP, but the 2000s probably weren't better or worse - they just coincided with your age at the time where things were possible, the future was exciting and you were young(er)!

I can sometimes feel like this too, but I link it more to my age, circumstances, environment, and job at the time.

Now I cherry pick:
🚫 insta/FB/tiktok - it is all shite
🚫 news - they are only interested in keeping me angry and frightened 24/7 not giving me the news
🚫 fashion trends/fast fashion - i wear what suits me classically and to hell with trends
🚫 smart watch - the ping ping ping all day drives me nuts and if it's important someone will phone me. Oh, ny phone also makes a noise (not always on silent!)

✅ grocery deliveries - because I am not going to a bloody supermarket in my spare time
✅ phillips hue lighting system - because the hues are so relaxing and automation is easy
✅ netflix - because i can change my mind and start something else if i am not feeling ehat i have chosen
✅ amazon prime deliveries - saves so much fecking time and the shops never have what i need anyway
✅ smartphone - but until it dies. I upgrade to the latest then run it into the ground.

I hear you on the nostalgia OP, I aem 26, I remember getting the coolest digital camera for Christmas when I was about 9, and my first phone was a flip top. I would spend my Christmas spends on CDs.

Times seemed simpler but that is because I didn't have to work or cook everyday or do housework. I could snog lads without the expectation of commitment.

I think you’re trying too hard. Just stay off social media. Put screen time limits on your phone or leave it in another room whilst watching reruns of Robot Wars.

And you are too young for such nostalgic whimsy!

YABU - the 90s is the place to live, not the 2000s. It all went wrong when the 21st Century arrived.