I was 24 in 2004. Just out of college and two years into my career life.
Some notable things that were different…
Obviously the preponderance of social media today. Back then it was mostly emails and getting phone numbers the old fashioned way (from the ladies, I was single and ready to mingle, lol)…by a piece of paper. In 2004 I got my first phone that texted. It was a big deal for my friends and I. Later that year I got my first camera phone, but it was so terrible I almost never used it. If we wanted to get together as friends, we called each other. We didn’t have Facebook to schedule a party (it was in existence but unheard of outside most college campuses). Friendster was kind of a thing, but never really took off. Match.com had been around a few years, but internet dating was still kind of embarrassing to my age group back then. Now it’s accepted pretty well IMO.
I still used a map to get around, or at least printed directions off the internet. The iPod was getting bigger, I got my first one in early 2005. You could still download music for free (not me, a friend was into that). Today nearly all of those sites are gone unless you go with torrents, which is nowhere near as widespread as LimeWire or Kazaa. I find myself often cursing bc I have to pay for songs I had downloaded a decade ago, but lost bc my computer went haywire.
The fashion has changed. I still have t-shirts from that year I still wear, though they are mostly worn out old ones I wear to do yard work. Sadly I was big into Abercrombie and Fitch, thank goodness I came to my senses. As did most of today’s youth, judging by their falling profits. Tight jeans for men are back in, but I would agree that style has evolved less drastically than in previous decades. I would say that the colors and styles of the 80s are back “in”…short shorts for ladies with the 80s high waistbands, neon and bright colors, Ray Ban style sunglasses, even shorter shorts for men.
I think today’s 20 somethings are more sensitive and PC than we were. I mean, we weren’t bigots, but I think things have swung a bit far in the opposite direction. I am all for acceptance, but some of the things I see today are so over reactive it’s stupid. Common sense has been lost in a lot of cases.
The movie 21 Jump Street lampooned today’s HS kids vs circa 2004-2006 pretty well. Of course it was an exaggeration, but the crux of the movie was that the “cool jock” (Channing Tatum) of 2006 was out of place and crude in 2012 (when the movie came out). Green is in, tolerance to other lifestyles, “nerds/geeks” aren’t locked in lockers, the sensitive guys get the girls, etc. it was pretty interesting.
I think cars are another big area of change. In 2004, no car I’d heard of had an auxiliary jack for MP3 players. Sure there probably were some, but it was not a mainstream thing. Now few cars DON’T have them. And even those are old news. Bluetooth is the way to go now. Same thing with phones. I love getting into my car and not having to look down at my phone to dial someone. I rarely listen to CDs anymore…most of mine are collecting dust in my office. Cars now have big “infotainment” and navigation systems, offering streaming radio and other things: USB Ports, collision avoidance systems, etc. And the factory stereos are miles ahead of anything but top tier cars in 2004. My Buick Regal has a Harmon Kardon stereo that is absolutely outstanding. It makes the Blaupunkt system in my 2009 Pontiac G8 GT look pedestrian.
I think the single biggest thing has been smartphones. Today’s phones have 13+ megapixel cameras, and video capabilities that were non-existent in 2004. Look at all the people who have been caught in compromising situations bc of camera phones. Celebrities, athletes, politicians, etc. have all come under fire for things done and caught on camera. This ties into social media as well. Twitter and Facebook can get you fired these days. Or give a corporation a black eye. And for the regular folks, as an above poster mentioned, everywhere you go people are just looking down at their phones.
Texting and driving was virtually non existent in 2004, now it’s a big problem. An older friend lost his daughter to this, she was texting and lost control of her car. A big reason I sold my motorcycle in 2010 was bc I had so many near misses with people in cars, busy on their phones.
I’d say that this nation is more divided than ever, sadly. I won’t get into too much politics, but the news media is sharply divided and both sides possess strong agendas.
There seems to be no middle ground anymore. And for someone like me, who is a middle of the road type of guy, that is tough to see.