I do not totally disagree with those who get down on the 2010s, although methinks they doth protest too much. However, I think a lot of hatred of the decade is quite narrowly focused (ignoring politics for a moment). There are things to appreciate about the decade.

Yes, if the whole of the 2010s can be summed up purely with reference to musical creativity and increasingly addictive technology, then sure, the 2010s were completely, irredeemably terrible. The decade saw the death of rock music, and, lacking a suitable replacement, we've been stuck with uninspired trap and mumble rap ever since. And yes, I'm sure it's quite obvious now that I'm very much down on tech since the 2010s, from increasingly powerful and invasive social media to unnecessary smartphones.

But this is ignoring a lot of incredible positives and innovations that came with the previous decade. For one, although many of you might not care about this, children's animation actually underwent a legitimate renaissance during the 2010s, hailed by the widely popular Adventure Time. As adults we may not care for silly cartoons, but shows like Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Gravity Falls actually proved to be a revolution in not only the animation itself but also the stories that could be told to children. Writers did not shy away from tackling serious issues with children and did not insult their intelligence with simple one-offs, but rather spoke to them frankly through sophisticated storytelling. Cartoons became serialized during the 2010s, in a way and at a scale never seen before! And again, visually, this new generation of CalArts animators really pulled all the stops.

I'm sure it goes without saying that live-action, prestige TV shows also saw a significant revolution during the 2010s. For example, whatever you may think of Game of Thrones' finale, there is no denying that it has left its imprint on fantasy films and TV ever since. I was watching The Three Musketeers from 2011, a swashbuckling, high-flying adventure much more in the vein of Pirates of the Caribbean. Game of Thrones flipped the script with its insistence on low fantasy, gory deaths, coarse language, and a fantasy world that actually felt lived in and real. Now there are dozens of imitators trying to replicate that same feeling.

And I believe I have talked here before about how great the 2010s were for video games. If not, I did write a blog post about it back in 2019 (I think it's linked in my signature?). I'm not saying this to plug my blog post or anything; I truly, ardently believe that the 2010s were significant for video games above all else. Because it was during the past decade that video games transcended from a widely enjoyed form of entertainment (as the 2000s saw gaming widen from a narrow demographic of nerds to just about every other demographic imaginable, including suburban moms) into a legitimate art form in its own right. Yes, the 2010s saw the rise of microtransactions and pay-to-win games on smartphones and whatnot, but it also saw the explosion of artistically creative indie games, which are not only aesthetically creative but some of which represent experiments with the very notion of play or game mechanics. Thanks to online distributors like Steam and GOG, the 2010s have paved the way for video games to become art, no different from movies or graphic novels.

Anyway, that's my say. I don't know if this will change any minds, but I at least wanted to offer my perspective that things were not all bad. There were developments during the previous decade that have proven to be net positives. Thanks for reading.

That and movies being oversaturated with Marvel/Avengers, and (politics aside) the rise of cultural turmoil and tensions and extreme polar opposite views.

It's also easy to focus on the core/mid part of the decade that defined the decade, and not in a good way. The early and late part of the decade were a lot more enjoyable especially music wise. Gaming wise the only system I really enjoyed was the Switch (late 10's).

It's not just that, even though the terrible music is arguably the worst aspect. The fashion was painstakingly bland and depressing, the games were mediocre and commercialized, the movies were soulless and oversaturated with corny marvel movies. Pop culture aside, the economy sucked in the first half of the decade. You could say it was peaceful with no big scale wars or something on the level of 9/11 or COVID but it was filled with many smaller scale terrorist attacks, police brutality and school shooting. The overall air of the 2010s was just soulless, artificial, dull and depressing and I hate that I had to spend most of my formative years in it rather than the 2000s. I will never be nostalgic for the pop culture.

I don't claim to know this for sure, but I'm willing to bet whatever I can afford that the economy sucked in the late part of the decade as well as the early part.


I hate that I had to spend most of my formative years in it rather than the 2000s. I will never be nostalgic for the pop culture.


Tell me about it. You could say I spent most of my formative years in the 2000s since I was born in 1999, but, sadly for me, I remember more from the '10s than the mid-to-late 2000s.

I'm not in a position to apply for work at the moment, but if anyone needs to know this, because I had to be told this from a friend, even when employers don't specify this, they somehow expect you to know that it is the only way to show them you have initiative if you call them after giving them a resume. Probably on the same day if not the day after. And it doesn't matter if it was a paper resume or an electronic one.

They expect you to call one or 2 weeks after the first call, as well.

I hope today's children are formally getting taught this in their schooling, but I'm not optimistic.

Dude, if you need to be told to be persistent when applying for a job, then I don't know how to help you.

I don't claim to know this for sure, but I'm willing to bet whatever I can afford that the economy sucked in the late part of the decade as well as the early part.

Tell me about it. You could say I spent most of my formative years in the 2000s since I was born in 1999, but, sadly for me, I remember more from the '10s than the mid-to-late 2000s.

I'm not in a position to apply for work at the moment, but if anyone needs to know this, because I had to be told this from a friend, even when employers don't specify this, they somehow expect you to know that it is the only way to show them you have initiative if you call them after giving them a resume. Probably on the same day if not the day after. And it doesn't matter if it was a paper resume or an electronic one.

They expect you to call one or 2 weeks after the first call, as well.

I hope today's children are formally getting taught this in their schooling, but I'm not optimistic.


I was born in 2000 and don't remember much prior to 2005/2006 so I am in a similar boat. I wish I was born a bit earlier so I could experience the core 00s more vividly. Thanks for the tip btw.

Dude, if you need to be told to be persistent when applying for a job, then I don't know how to help you.


Don't need your pathetic trolling, lol. Should have been clear when I said "not in a position" rather than "not bothering" to apply for work. And that isn't even in the long term that I'll still be in this position.

Wasn't even clueless about calling employers being a possible adding to my chances so much as realizing it was a possibility, however remote, calling them after applying for a position could make me look like a wannabe wise guy, and therefore ruin my chances.

Don't need your pathetic trolling, lol. Should have been clear when I said "not in a position" rather than "not bothering" to apply for work. And that isn't even in the long term that I'll still be in this position.

Wasn't even clueless about calling employers being a possible adding to my chances so much as realizing it was a possibility, however remote, calling them after applying for a position could make me look like a wannabe wise guy, and therefore ruin my chances.


Actually it depends on where you give them the resume. If you give an employer a resume at a job fair it is perfectly acceptable, and, in fact, expected, to follow it up with a phone call. If you have already had an in person interview where you presented them with a resume, it is customary to send a thank you note for their time. This used to be done by actual snail mail, but it is now more likely done with email. The thank you note after a job interview is widely accepted protocol. It also gives you the edge over the people who don't know you are supposed to do this. That's the name of the game in the job search. Give yourself every advantage. A lot of people out there looking for jobs are pretty dumb about it, and you don't want to be one of those. Stack the deck in your favor.

Actually it depends on where you give them the resume. If you give an employer a resume at a job fair it is perfectly acceptable, and, in fact, expected, to follow it up with a phone call. If you have already had an in person interview where you presented them with a resume, it is customary to send a thank you note for their time. This used to be done by actual snail mail, but it is now more likely done with email. The thank you note after a job interview is widely accepted protocol. It also gives you the edge over the people who don't know you are supposed to do this. That's the name of the game in the job search. Give yourself every advantage. A lot of people out there looking for jobs are pretty dumb about it, and you don't want to be one of those. Stack the deck in your favor.


Yep, exactly.

I will look past the name calling and assume it was done in the heat of anger. Either way, this shouldn’t have to be taught; it should just be common sense.

I'm not in a position to apply for work at the moment, but if anyone needs to know this, because I had to be told this from a friend, even when employers don't specify this, they somehow expect you to know that it is the only way to show them you have initiative if you call them after giving them a resume. Probably on the same day if not the day after. And it doesn't matter if it was a paper resume or an electronic one.

They expect you to call one or 2 weeks after the first call, as well.

I hope today's children are formally getting taught this in their schooling, but I'm not optimistic.


Everywhere is being picky about hiring now, I'm struggling with it too. It's part of our currently failing economy.

Anyway, on topic, I grew up in the 2010's, & for the most part I think it was an awesome time! Especially compared to the 2020's so far

I do not totally disagree with those who get down on the 2010s, although methinks they doth protest too much. However, I think a lot of hatred of the decade is quite narrowly focused (ignoring politics for a moment). There are things to appreciate about the decade.

Yes, if the whole of the 2010s can be summed up purely with reference to musical creativity and increasingly addictive technology, then sure, the 2010s were completely, irredeemably terrible. The decade saw the death of rock music, and, lacking a suitable replacement, we've been stuck with uninspired trap and mumble rap ever since. And yes, I'm sure it's quite obvious now that I'm very much down on tech since the 2010s, from increasingly powerful and invasive social media to unnecessary smartphones.


What? the 2010s (2010-2016 at least) were the golden age of cellphones in my opinion we had iPhone 5/6/Samsung Galaxy S4/ tons of great repairable smartphones loaded with features like headphones jacks, IR Blasters, etc. Not like 2020s were we have no headphone jacks, software locks, (super) glued in batteries and deliberate tricks to get us to buy more crap. I still use my smartphone from 2014 because I honestly don't like the late 10s/2020s phones but to say "smartphones are Unnecessary" is an understatement , god bless the 20s but the phones released nowadays (in the past 5-6 years) are awful with no bang for your buck anymore, you pay a high price for so little where as in 2010-2014 you got what you paid for,IMO. I think smartphones that are released today are Unnecessary as they provide no value other than being disposable junk. but I do agree that companies should chill out with releasing 8 phones every year :(