Will the 21st century have distinctive decades? (1990s, interior, Japanese)

[callmemaybe]

The 1920s, 30s and 40s had very different events going on, but the pop culture was generally of similar stock, ie Jazz based music and culture.

It's the same with the 90s, 00s, and 10s, all Hip Hop and 'Alternative' based culture even though each decade has different wars, different events.

[PhenomenalAJ]

That's ridiculous, the 90s are way different than now:

90s:
Grunge music and fashion
Gangsta rap
Boy bands
Pro wrestling
Trashy daytime talk shows
Everything is "to the extreme"
Rap metal
Optimism about the tech boom
Hit up the music store for music

2000s-2010s
Dubstep
Trashy reality shows
MMA
Dance influenced rap
Indie rock goes mainstream
Electro-rock
Hipster fashion (seriously wouldve looked weird in the 90s)
No R&B, black and white pop singers basically sound the same
Smart phones and constant internet connectivity
Nerd culture is mainstream
Go to Youtube for music
General pessimism that everything is getting worse
More acceptance toward gays

Watch a 90s show like Seinfeld and look how different everything is from now, definitely a different era.

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by PhenomenalAJ

That's ridiculous, the 90s are way different than now:

90s:
Grunge music and fashion
Gangsta rap
Boy bands
Pro wrestling
Trashy daytime talk shows
Everything is "to the extreme"
Rap metal
Optimism about the tech boom
Hit up the music store for music

2000s-2010s
Dubstep
Trashy reality shows
MMA
Dance influenced rap
Indie rock goes mainstream
Electro-rock
Hipster fashion (seriously wouldve looked weird in the 90s)
No R&B, black and white pop singers basically sound the same
Smart phones and constant internet connectivity
Nerd culture is mainstream
Go to Youtube for music
General pessimism that everything is getting worse
More acceptance toward gays

Watch a 90s show like Seinfeld and look how different everything is from now, definitely a different era.

I would say that many of the things you put under "2000s-2010s" really only apply to the 2010s and maybe 2008/9.

I did not know what "dubstep" was until 2010, and I'm pretty in tune with current music.

Hip-hop dominated the charts until about 2008, when Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, etc. became popular and the style of other artists trended towards upbeat dance music. That Snoop Dogg would collaborate with a pop artist on what basically amounted to a eurodance track or Flo-Rida would come out with songs like "Good Feeling" or "Sugar" would be unthinkable in 2004-05. I remember watching a "dance music" show on MTV around that time and one of the headline tracks was Destiny Child's "Lose My Breath", and thinking how lame it was.

Black and white singers DID differ through much of the 2000s, although there were always exceptions (e.g. Eminem).

Smart phones became popular in 2008-2010. Prior to then they were basically a tool for business or a toy for early-adopters, but "normal" people didn't have them. It was only with the introduction of the iPhone (and really, the iPhone 3) and attractive contract plans that people started getting them. Internet was obviously possible on "dumb phones", but it was awkward and few people really used it.

I would say the '00s have a unique place in history between the '90s and '10s.

[PhenomenalAJ]

Originally Posted by tvdxer

I would say that many of the things you put under "2000s-2010s" really only apply to the 2010s and maybe 2008/9.

I did not know what "dubstep" was until 2010, and I'm pretty in tune with current music.

Hip-hop dominated the charts until about 2008, when Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, etc. became popular and the style of other artists trended towards upbeat dance music. That Snoop Dogg would collaborate with a pop artist on what basically amounted to a eurodance track or Flo-Rida would come out with songs like "Good Feeling" or "Sugar" would be unthinkable in 2004-05. I remember watching a "dance music" show on MTV around that time and one of the headline tracks was Destiny Child's "Lose My Breath", and thinking how lame it was.

Black and white singers DID differ through much of the 2000s, although there were always exceptions (e.g. Eminem).

Smart phones became popular in 2008-2010. Prior to then they were basically a tool for business or a toy for early-adopters, but "normal" people didn't have them. It was only with the introduction of the iPhone (and really, the iPhone 3) and attractive contract plans that people started getting them. Internet was obviously possible on "dumb phones", but it was awkward and few people really used it.

I would say the '00s have a unique place in history between the '90s and '10s.

I agree with your points but I was arguing to the OP who said the late 90s is pretty much the same as now. The 2000s is very much a distinct decade covering Bush and part of Obama. It was very much the decade where the internet exploded and people used Myspace/Facebook. I think were in the beginning of this new decade because everyone has their smartphones and music has changed a ton just this past year.

The 2000s seems like a transition decade, thats not how historians will look at it but ill always see it that way. It was all the things the 2010s will likely be. It's a lot like the 70s, those residual 60s singers still popular but things settling in. Very bad decade.

[pvande55]

2000-2009 has already been named a "lost" decade. 2010-2019 probably a "trying to recover" decade, wars finally ending, energy production increasing. The next decade might actually roar. I won't even hazard a guess for the remaining decades.

[banjomike]

Societal changes don't follow the calendar very much. Most following decades start out being much like the one before for several years before things begin to change. Sometimes one decade passes almost all the way to the end with few changes, then a bunch come along very quickly. Technology always plays a part as well.

[Emman85]

Originally Posted by callmemaybe

The 1920s, 30s and 40s had very different events going on, but the pop culture was generally of similar stock, ie Jazz based music and culture.

It's the same with the 90s, 00s, and 10s, all Hip Hop and 'Alternative' based culture even though each decade has different wars, different events.

This is getting ridiculous, there's a good reason most posts in the thread disagree with what you've said, especially about the '40s being very similar to the '20s, have you seen women's clothes and hairstyles from these decades? The '60s, '70s, and '80s were mainly dominated by Rock music and culture(please have some consistency which I notice these threads tend to completely lack). How the heck can you even say the 2010s are the same as the '90s when it's not even been three years since the decade began, are you from the future or something, WAIT UNTIL THE FREAKIN DECADE IS OVER WITH!

[North Beach Person]

Well, in 2063 an eccentric physicist and inventor in what is now Montana named Zephram Cochrane will develop warp drive. His test flight will gain the attention of a passing starship from Vulcan. This will usher in, within 100 years, a new age on Earth and humans will finally travel to the stars.

The above is about as worthwhile as speculating on what will happen.

I agree with a couple of the above posters (see this AJ) that the first decade of this century was formed by the war on terror (which will never end, by the way) and the current decade will likely be considered a "lost" decade due to the world economy.

[Nolefan34]

The 20's were nothing like the 30's or 40's. I also believe that decades don't always begin or end on a year with a zero at the end, and don't always last exactly 10 years. If we examine the past 100 years, I measure it this way.

1900's went from 1900-1913-Combustion engines, great improvements in every day technology/standard of living
1910's went from 1913-1919-covered WW1 mainly
1920's went from 1920-1929-"The Roaring 20's"- great economy, social liberalization, women's rights
1930's went from 1930-1940- The Great Depression years, dust bowl, rationing, mass poverty, New Deal
1940's went from 1941-1948- WW2 and post-war, beginning of cold war, Marshall Plan
1950's went from 1949-1962- Social conservatism, Cold War, emphasis on family, education, and sciences
1960's went from 1963-1973- Social liberalization, Civil Rights, Vietnam, Hippie Movement
1970's went from 1974-1982- Environmentalism, Stagflation, Energy/Economic Crisis, General Pessimism, and Disco music
1980's went from 1983-1991- Conservatism, optimism, improving economy, Punk Rock, Hair bands, MTV, end of Cold War
1990's went from 1992-2000- Booming stock market, Internet, Alternative Rock, Gangsta Rap, U.S. is sole super-power
2000's went from 2001-2009- 911, Terrorism, wars, economic depression, cell phones, texting, Hip-Hop, Rock is dead
2010's went from 2010-present- It is too early to define this decade. The early signs point to slightly more economic stability, wars coming to an end soon, Hip Hop music fading (finally), Electronic dance music becoming mainstream, China's rise to being a world super-power and possibly over-taking the U.S. any time now, increased tensions with Iran and North Korea, social liberalization of Middle Eastern countries.

[Cyberville Outcast]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

The 20's were nothing like the 30's or 40's. I also believe that decades don't always begin or end on a year with a zero at the end, and don't always last exactly 10 years. If we examine the past 100 years, I measure it this way.

1900's went from 1900-1913-Combustion engines, great improvements in every day technology/standard of living
1910's went from 1913-1919-covered WW1 mainly
1920's went from 1920-1929-"The Roaring 20's"- great economy, social liberalization, women's rights
1930's went from 1930-1940- The Great Depression years, dust bowl, rationing, mass poverty, New Deal
1940's went from 1941-1948- WW2 and post-war, beginning of cold war, Marshall Plan
1950's went from 1949-1962- Social conservatism, Cold War, emphasis on family, education, and sciences
1960's went from 1963-1973- Social liberalization, Civil Rights, Vietnam, Hippie Movement
1970's went from 1974-1982- Environmentalism, Stagflation, Energy/Economic Crisis, General Pessimism, and Disco music
1980's went from 1983-1991- Conservatism, optimism, improving economy, Punk Rock, Hair bands, MTV, end of Cold War
1990's went from 1992-2000- Booming stock market, Internet, Alternative Rock, Gangsta Rap, U.S. is sole super-power
2000's went from 2001-2009- 911, Terrorism, wars, economic depression, cell phones, texting, Hip-Hop, Rock is dead
2010's went from 2010-present- It is too early to define this decade. The early signs point to slightly more economic stability, wars coming to an end soon, Hip Hop music fading (finally), Electronic dance music becoming mainstream, China's rise to being a world super-power and possibly over-taking the U.S. any time now, increased tensions with Iran and North Korea, social liberalization of Middle Eastern countries.

Quoted for truth. I've noticed it too that decades don't last from *0-*9 so to speak. Personally, I think distinctive eras is a better term to describe the list I quoted above.