There is something about early 2000s nostalgia that hits completely differently.
Maybe it’s because life was changing so fast back then. We had the internet, but it didn’t follow us everywhere. We had cell phones, but they mostly just made phone calls. We could take digital pictures, but they were grainy, blurry, and probably trapped forever on a computer that hasn’t turned on since 2008.
And somehow, we survived.
Actually, I kind of miss it.
I miss getting online specifically to go online instead of being connected every second of the day. I miss burning CDs, ridiculous AIM away messages, wandering around the mall, and taking pictures without immediately wondering whether they were good enough to post somewhere.
If you grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s, some of these are probably going to unlock memories you haven’t thought about in YEARS.
Here are 35 things from the early 2000s that we somehow completely forgot about.
1. AIM Away Messages
Before social media statuses, we had AIM away messages.
And we took them VERY seriously.
You couldn’t just write “brb.”
Absolutely not.
You needed song lyrics.
Preferably something just vague enough that the person you were mad at would wonder if it was about them.
Then you’d go away from the computer and come back 15 minutes later to see who messaged you.
It was basically our first version of posting cryptic things on social media.
2. Calling Someone’s House Phone
I cannot explain to my kids the absolute terror of calling someone’s house and having their dad answer.
You had to politely ask if your friend was home and hope you remembered how to speak like a normal human being.
And if you had a crush?
Forget it.
There was no texting first.
You called their HOUSE.
Where their entire family lived.
Kids today will never know this level of bravery.
3. Burning CDs
Making someone a CD was basically a love language.
You spent forever finding the perfect songs, putting them in the perfect order, and waiting for your computer to burn the CD.
Then came the most important part.
Writing the track list on the CD with a Sharpie.
Bonus points if you decorated the case too.
4. LimeWire
We really downloaded absolutely anything onto the family computer.
You wanted one song?
Congratulations. You may have also downloaded three viruses and completely destroyed your parents’ computer.
And half the time the song wasn’t even the song you wanted.
There was always that moment when you clicked the file and waited to see what you had actually downloaded.
The early internet was the Wild West.
5. Custom Ringtones
Having the default ringtone was simply unacceptable.
You needed a SONG.
And sometimes you actually paid money for a tiny, terrible-sounding version of it.
Looking back, paying several dollars for 20 seconds of a song that sounded like it was being played through a potato is kind of unbelievable.
But we did it.
6. T9 Texting
Before smartphones, we could type entire conversations using nine number buttons.
And somehow we were FAST.
You could text under a desk without even looking at your phone.
Honestly, it was a skill.
If you know exactly how many times you had to press the 7 button to get the letter S, congratulations. Your knees probably hurt now too.
7. Flip Phones
There was nothing more satisfying than dramatically closing a flip phone after an argument.
You didn’t tap a red button.
You SLAMMED that thing shut.
Conversation over.
We have lost something as a society.
8. Taking Pictures With Digital Cameras
Before our phones had amazing cameras, you carried a separate digital camera everywhere.
You took 74 pictures with your friends from slightly different angles and then went home and uploaded them to the family computer.
Half were blurry.
Several had glowing red eyes.
We kept them anyway.
9. Disposable Cameras
Even better were disposable cameras.
You took the pictures and then just…waited.
You had absolutely no idea if they were good.
You dropped the camera off to get developed and hoped for the best.
Sometimes you’d get an amazing picture.
Sometimes you’d get 14 pictures of somebody’s thumb.
10. MySpace Top 8
There has never been a social media feature capable of causing more drama than the MySpace Top 8.
Friendships were tested.
Relationships were questioned.
People noticed when they moved from number three to number six.
And if somebody disappeared completely?
Oh, there was a STORY there.
11. Designing Your MySpace Page
For approximately five minutes in the early 2000s, we were all web designers.
We were copying HTML codes, changing backgrounds, adding glitter graphics, choosing fonts that were almost impossible to read, and making a song automatically blast through someone’s speakers when they visited our page.
Honestly, our pages were hideous.
We thought they were incredible.
12. The MySpace Profile Song
Choosing your MySpace song was a major decision.
This wasn’t just music.
This was your PERSONALITY.
Anyone who visited your profile needed to immediately understand who you were as a person based on whichever song started playing.
No pressure.
13. Mall Culture
The mall wasn’t somewhere you went because you needed something.
The mall WAS the activity.
You walked around for hours.
You got food court fries.
You went into stores without buying anything.
You somehow ran into everyone you knew.
There was no real plan. Someone’s mom dropped you off and came back several hours later.
It was glorious.
14. Hollister Stores Being Completely Dark
Why was Hollister so dark?
Why was the music so loud?
Why did the entire store smell like cologne?
And why were we all wandering around in there pretending we could see?
Shopping there felt like trying to buy a shirt inside a nightclub.
15. Abercrombie Shopping Bags
If you know, you know.
You didn’t throw that bag away.
That bag stayed in your bedroom.
It was practically decor.
16. Low-Rise Jeans
I am convinced we collectively blocked these out.
The jeans were LOW.
Like…dangerously low.
And somehow we wore them with shirts that were also incredibly short.
There was absolutely no margin for error.
I am perfectly happy leaving this trend in the early 2000s.
17. Layering Tank Tops
Why wear one tank top when you could wear three?
You needed multiple colors showing underneath each other.
And if they were extra long?
Even better.
We were layering shirts like our lives depended on it.
18. Wearing Dresses Over Jeans
This happened.
I know some of us would like to pretend it didn’t.
But there is photographic evidence.
We really looked at a perfectly good dress and thought, “You know what this needs? Jeans.”
Fashion was going through something.
19. Gaucho Pants
For a brief period of time, gaucho pants were EVERYWHERE.
They were stretchy.
They were comfortable.
They were extremely questionable.
And somehow we all owned a pair.
Probably black.
20. Chunky Highlights
Not subtle highlights.
Not blended highlights.
STRIPES.
You wanted people to know you had gotten highlights.
There was absolutely no attempt to make them look natural.
Bonus early-2000s points if they were paired with aggressively straightened hair.
21. Straightening Our Hair Into Oblivion
Speaking of straight hair…
We wanted every single strand FLAT.
No volume.
No wave.
No movement.
Just pin-straight hair absolutely fried within an inch of its life.
Heat protectant?
Never heard of her.
22. Butterfly Clips
Tiny butterfly clips were everywhere.
And we didn’t just use one.
You needed approximately 47 of them strategically placed across your head.
I actually wouldn’t be mad if these made a full comeback.
23. Livestrong Bracelets
For a while, everybody had those yellow rubber Livestrong bracelets.
Then suddenly there were rubber bracelets for everything.
People stacked them halfway up their arms.
It was such a specific little moment in time that I completely forgot about until recently.
24. Silly Bandz
You could not simply wear a normal bracelet.
It needed to come off your wrist and magically turn into a dinosaur.
Or a princess.
Or a random household object.
We traded these things like they were currency.
25. iPod Nanos
Having an iPod Nano felt like having the future in your pocket.
You could carry hundreds of songs around with you!
HUNDREDS.
At the time, this seemed unbelievable.
And you carefully curated what went on there because storage space actually mattered.
26. MP3 Players That Weren’t iPods
Before everyone had an iPod, there were approximately one million random MP3 players.
They held like 37 songs.
The menus made no sense.
The battery died constantly.
But being able to carry your own music around without a CD player felt amazing.
27. Portable CD Players
And before that?
The portable CD player.
You had to carry your CDs with you in one of those giant zippered CD cases.
Then you tried to walk without making the CD skip.
“Anti-skip protection” was apparently a suggestion rather than a guarantee.
28. DVD Menus
This is such a tiny thing, but I completely forgot about sitting through DVD menus.
The little animations.
The music playing over and over.
The “Play Movie” button.
And if you were lucky, there were deleted scenes, bloopers, behind-the-scenes clips, and random bonus features.
Streaming is convenient, but DVD extras were actually fun.
29. Netflix Coming in the Mail
Before Netflix was something you opened on your TV, Netflix showed up in your mailbox.
You made a queue online.
A DVD arrived.
You watched it.
Then you put it into the little red envelope and mailed it back.
And somehow this felt incredibly high-tech.
30. Blockbuster on Friday Night
Going to Blockbuster was part of the movie night.
You didn’t just instantly choose from thousands of movies.
You wandered through aisles looking at DVD cases.
Sometimes the movie you wanted was gone.
So you had to pick something else.
And honestly?
I kind of miss having fewer choices.
31. TV Shows That You Had to Watch When They Aired
If your favorite show came on Thursday at 8, you watched it Thursday at 8.
There was no waiting until you felt like watching it.
There was no entire season sitting there ready for you.
And if you missed an episode?
Good luck.
You hoped for a rerun.
The next day, everyone talked about the episode at school, so missing it was a legitimate problem.
32. Recording Shows on VHS
At some point, almost every family had a collection of VHS tapes with handwritten labels.
You’d set the VCR to record your show and pray you programmed it correctly.
And heaven help you if somebody recorded over something important.
There were arguments.
Serious arguments.
33. Printing MapQuest Directions
Before we had GPS telling us exactly where to turn, we printed directions.
On PAPER.
Then someone in the passenger seat had to read them while you drove.
If you missed a turn, there was no automatic rerouting.
You were just lost.
Sometimes you had to pull over and figure it out.
I genuinely don’t know how we got anywhere.
34. Computer Rooms
The computer had a ROOM.
Or at least a desk.
There was one family computer, and everyone shared it.
You didn’t carry the internet around with you.
You physically went to the computer to use the internet.
And if someone needed the phone while you were online?
That could become a whole family argument.
35. Being Completely Unreachable
This might be the thing I miss most.
You could leave your house and nobody knew exactly where you were.
Nobody could see whether you’d read their message.
Nobody expected an immediate response.
You went outside.
You went to the mall.
You drove around with friends.
You lived your life and then came home and told people about it.
There was something really peaceful about that.
The Early 2000s Really Were a Different Time
It’s funny because the early 2000s don’t feel THAT long ago to me.
Then I start thinking about printing MapQuest directions, carrying around CDs, waiting for pictures to get developed, and paying for individual ringtones, and suddenly it feels like another lifetime.
Technology was definitely less convenient.
But I think that’s part of what makes the nostalgia hit so hard.
We weren’t documenting every second.
We weren’t reachable every second.
We weren’t constantly scrolling through what everyone else was doing.
Sometimes we were just bored.
And being bored usually meant calling a friend, riding around town, going to the mall, watching whatever happened to be on TV, or sitting at the family computer waiting for somebody interesting to sign onto AIM.
Was everything better back then?
Of course not.
But some parts of it really were fun.
And I’d give just about anything to walk through Blockbuster on a Friday night one more time, pick out a movie based entirely on the cover, grab some snacks, and have absolutely no idea what anybody else in the world was doing.
