21st Century Children

No longer the 20th century

      Some people think of the 21st century as an era of rebellion and decay. Other's consider it to be a positive turning point in history. It's hard to say which one it really is, though. While the availability of information has expanded and become much easier to access through the internet, the youth of the early 21st century has reacted to the plethora of accesability to one another in not so comforting ways. Right now, it's only the beginning of this century. Who knows where we'll be by the end. The speed of our growth in technology and of our decay in social interaction leaves hardly any clue to what lies ahead. 

      What defines the children of the 2000's? And by "children of the 2000's", I don't just mean children born in the 2000's. Primarily, I'm talking about kids who grew up then. That includes me, born in 1998 and technically a millennialist. I remember my childhood as being filled with days spent in our little yard playing with my siblings. In the summer, we rollicked around on the hill in our backyard, pretending we were horses or playing hide-and-go-seek-tag. We also biked up and down the block and ruled a domain consisting of a small wooded area across the street. In winter, I remember gearing up to play in the snow (building snow forts, sledding, pretending to be trekking in snow-covered mountain tops) only to come back inside a half hour later shivering and begging for hot cocoa. These are the memories that stand out the most to me. The truth, however, is that my childhood wasn't just an old-fashioned storybook. 

   

      In my early childhood, I delighted in watching movies on our giant cube-shaped TV, and later on, I spent a pretty chunk of my time playing computer games and taking Photo Booth videos on our new computer. I retained creativity in the technological world, mostly taking videos of plays acted out by my toys or by my sister and myself, but my slow introduction to technology and the internet provided that I held no qualms in regard to it. Later on, at the beginning of the 2010's, I began to use the internet and social media in larger amounts, until my use of it became excessive. Looking back, it is obvious to me how at that point, as a young "tween" and teen, the effects of so much time plugged in were not pretty. That period in my life was also probably the one I am least proud of. It's hard to say whether my overuse of the internet was a cause or an effect of that - or both. Either way, the internet didn't help. But going back to my first question, what sets apart me or any other kid who grew up in the 2000's? The children of the 2000's were (and are) the first generation born into easily accessible technology. But besides that, we had our little quirks too.

My sister and I taking a video on our computer

      Growing up, I went through several phases and had several interests. First I was obsessed with tigers, then I wanted to be a tomboy, and finally, I became a teeny bopper. Through all these stages however, I never ceased to be touched by the pop culture at the time. Probably my first experience with any kind of "pop culture" was Barney. He was more like toddler culture, though. Still, every toddler I knew either adored or strongly disliked him. I was part of the booing crowd. Next, it was Miley Cyrus, or "Hannah Montana". We had strong opinions about her too. Again, I turned my nose down on her. Finally, Justin Bieber claimed the lime-light, but he too found my opposition. It was part of my nature, as a kid, to rebel against everything extremely popular. There were, of course, still things I liked that were considered popular at the time. I loved Tamagotchi's, and so did everybody else. They were one of my first experiences of controlling my own mini virtual world. I also liked Taylor Swift at one point, and I probably spent too much time watching her videos online. With regards to fashion, even though I couldn't wear it for lack of money, I too desired after whatever expensive name brand was popular. Although I would never have admitted it at the time, I wasn't as independent from my peers as I liked to think. 

      On the whole, I remember the 2000's better for my childhood memories and nostalgia than for any certain culture, but bit's of culture were still infused into those memories here and there. I remember the neighbor boy's pants always sagged revealing the tops of his boxers. The early 2000's were the height of that popularity. I also recall kids collecting charms for their croc shoes, teens dressing emo, and the popularity of flare jeans. The 2000's were sometimes tacky and plastic, but other times they were actually pretty charming. (or maybe that's just because it was my childhood..) I don't miss them, but I won't forget them either.