29 Things That Were Very Much "A Thing" In The 2000s For People Who Are Now Ages 27–36
Remember when you had to upload your photos from your camera to your desktop, and then upload them from your desktop onto Photobucket?!
1. Complaining about how you hated that TRL wouldn't play an entire music video (except for like the top three):
Nothing was worse than when TRL would cut in the middle of a music video you liked just so they could show a bunch of screaming teens that you could barely even understand.
2. Making a mix CD for your BFF or crush:
And carefully decorating the CD with a Sharpie — as well as giving it a clever album title.
3. Bragging about what movies you had on your Netflix DVD queue:
It was also about constantly checking your queue, too, to see when your DVD was coming!
4. Coming up with a clever and racy email address as your first "official" address:
And making sure your parents didn't know what it was.
5. Taking a group selfie like this on a flip phone:
Truly, you and your friends had it down to an art form.
6. Taking a mirror selfie like this — with the camera flash going off:
Which, really, was also an art form once you got it down.
7. Playing Cranium with your friends or family:
Seriously, it was the best game ever!
8. Emailing your friends a link to a viral video you found funny — usually with the subject line, "Watch this video!":
Remember when you had to share videos over email?!
9. Making sure you had your digital camera so that you could document everything (and be able to share the photos with your friends later):
And usually you would give your friends CDs you burned with all the photos of you guys together!
10. Having a cool case for your camera:
You really had to protect that camera 'cause they weren't cheap!
11. Also having a cool case for your iPod:
'Cause an iPod truly wasn't cheap, and one unfortunate drop and it could be GAME OVER!
12. Creating Sims characters based on your friends and crushes:
And trying to be low-key, 'cause you didn't want your siblings to figure it out if they played your game.
13. Composing a text — that included everything you wanted to say — in 160 characters or fewer:
It truly felt like an accomplishment.
14. Shutting your flip phone hard and getting that satisfying noise and the "BITCH, BYE" feeling inside:
Listen, I love my iPhone, but that is a feeling I've been missing since 2007.
15. Wearing pants that were super long and dragged all over the ground:
Jean/pant hems in the 2000s were ripped and so dirty (and even after you washed them, the bottoms were still filthy).
16. Going with your friends to Jamba Juice (or any juice bar) for smoothies:
And having that internal debate of just what "Boost" you needed that day whenever you went to Jamba.
17. Calling any guy who was even vaguely into grooming a "metrosexual":
Honestly, it was just a dumb buzzword.
18. Finding a good-quality MP3 (non-radio rip) of a new song you wanted on LimeWire:
It was all about looking at the file size!
19. Buying studded belts from Hot Topic:
Sure, it was the place to get band tees and Nightmare Before Christmas stuff, but it was also the most reliable place to score studded belts and the all-too-ubiquitous white leather belt.
20. Getting belt buckles with your name or phrases on it:
It was a choice 🙃.
21. Uploading photos and making a bunch of photo albums on Photobucket:
Back when you had to upload photos onto your computer from your camera, then upload them onto a site (as your computer struggled not to crash from the file sizes).
22. Being obsessed with doing Sudoku puzzles:
And bonus points if you actually completed one!
23. Destroying someone in a poking war:
At the time, it was a novelty and everyone enjoyed doing it.
24. Using the Photo Booth Warhol-esque photo filter to death:
You felt so, so cool using it too.
25. Reading the LiveJournal of a classmate (whom you had a crush on or whom you hated) so that you could low-key snoop on their life:
But let's be real: Most of the time, it was boring.
26. Hearing the squeaky-door-opening noise and seeing that your friend was logging on to AIM:
Nothing like seeing your friend on AIM and being able to chat with them, even if you had just seen them 30 minutes earlier at school.
27. Going to Subway and making sure you collected your Sub Club sticker:
Although half the time, you forgot your card and had to get a new one (which led to your having several cards that were partially filled).
28. Getting free Pick of the Week cards from Starbucks:
Even if they weren't songs you wanted, they were still free!
29. And finally, lying on Myspace and saying your age was 99 years old:
Listen, there was no real reason we did this; it was just funny to us!
