Any memories on this school year?
I consider this year the most innocent out of all the 2000s years.

When it comes to kid culture, 2003-04 and 2004-05 are my favorite school years, before things started getting mediocre in the 2005-06 school year.

When it comes to kid culture, 2003-04 and 2004-05 are my favorite school years, before things started getting mediocre in the 2005-06 school year.


highschool 2004-2005 was fun

I miss psp

Basically my kindergarten year, also known as my favorite year of my childhood. I felt so innocent back then.

2005 was pretty much this
I3FL9_tDWlQ

2005 was pretty much this
I3FL9_tDWlQ


This is the kind of high school that made the 2000s great, which is what I sadly didn't experience. Also, the use of so many 2000s rock songs make it awesome. Especially when they used All-Star before they made it into an overrated meme.

Tipsy - J-Known was like the theme song of my school in 04, the days I can't believe are so gone. 2005 wasn't a decline in quality for me. Just as on pair with 04.

I agree that 2004-2005 had a different innocence to it. 2005 especially, since I had to leave my home city at the time.

I was in Kindergarten during the 2004-05 school year. Great times man...I was just a young little kid about to embark on a 12 year journey that will come to an end in 15 days.

When it comes to kid culture, 2003-04 and 2004-05 are my favorite school years, before things started getting mediocre in the 2005-06 school year.


Same here, I was in 2nd & 3rd grade at the time and those school years are pretty damn nostalgic :D :D :D

AKA 8th grade. That was basically the last good school year for me, although even it had some hints of the sh*ttiness that was to follow.

I started driving, and all hell broke loose!  :-X  :-X  :D Just kidding.

That was my freshman year of college.  I would consider 2003-04 to be the most "innocent" year of that era.  2004-05 was close though.  I do miss those days, though if I could redo them I would make completely different decisions.  I look back on myself back then and want to knock myself out with a 2x4.

I was in Grade 7 and I moved to a new school. I had difficulties making new friends, to say the least!  :-X

I remember this was the year a lot of technology took off. My new school installed WiFi throughout the school, people started bringing laptops to school, iPods took off, cellphones started having cameras on then, the PSP and the DS came out etc. A very gadget focused year!

The TV shows started becoming "epic". I'm still shook at those first seasons of Lost and Desperate Housewives. Those were damn good!

I was in Grade 7 and I moved to a new school. I had difficulties making new friends, to say the least!  :-X

I remember this was the year a lot of technology took off. My new school installed WiFi throughout the school, people started bringing laptops to school, iPods took off, cellphones started having cameras on then, the PSP and the DS came out etc. A very gadget focused year!

The TV shows started becoming "epic". I'm still shook at those first seasons of Lost and Desperate Housewives. Those were damn good!


Yeah.  The mid '00s were the golden age of the TV serial drama.  They were actually good back then.  Today there really isn't anything that's that great.  Everything seems like a cheap knockoff of the greatness that were mid '00s serial dramas.

I was in grade 4 and I was 10 years old that year. In fall 2004 and I remember rap music being super dominant on the top 40 radio and Nelly being played a lot. This was a pretty good school year indeed. Probably the last school year with an innocent feel to it.

Yeah.  The mid '00s were the golden age of the TV serial drama.  They were actually good back then.  Today there really isn't anything that's that great.  Everything seems like a cheap knockoff of the greatness that were mid '00s serial dramas.


So you're telling me that Handmaid Tale isn't that good?  :-X

I wouldn't call it a "cheap" knockoff, if you've been keeping track of the budgets  ;D

2005 was the beginning of my Britney type meltdown.  :-X  :-X  :-X

For me it was a "transitional" period...and by that, I was considering a different academic major. I had been majoring in Computer Science, but I found that to be very challenging and nightmarish, that by the end of 2003-04, when I reached the upper division courses, I wanted to go a different direction. So I thought of maybe pursuing the math major, since I've always been good with math...so in Fall 2004 I took a couple of math courses, as well as some "activity" courses, to have less tension in my life. I did pretty well. Then in Spring 2005 I took a physics course, since that was required for the math major, but I found that to be challenging too. Finally, at the end of May, I decided on Liberal Arts.

Our school years only span during the one year, so for me, 2004-2005 marked the end of pre-school and the start of kindergarten. I graduated Pre-school for the second time in October 2004. :P I had completed Pre-school in October 2003 and I was originally supposed to start Kindergarten the following February, however my parents decided at the last minute to hold me back and I had to stay at Pre-school for another year.

I do miss those days, though if I could redo them I would make completely different decisions.  I look back on myself back then and want to knock myself out with a 2x4.


Yes!

I just want to smack the sh!t out of me from back then. Like, snap out of it, dude. People are trying to speak to you.

What an awesome school year. 2004-05 was my senior year of high school. Those last magical days before college life and adulthood hit you for good. Honestly, I have a lot of nostalgia for this year. There's many people I used to hang out with back then that I haven't seen since. 2004-05 was also arguably the last year where being a teenager was still largely like it was during the '90s, before cell phones and social media completely took center stage.

Here's some things I remember from 2004-05.

*This was the first year when I could drive myself to school everyday. Even though I got my license the year before I did not get my first used car until 2004.
*Going to the pep rally the day before our high school football team won it's first playoff game since 1999. Awesome time.
*Halo 2 LAN parties. Enough said.
*Some guy bringing the PlayStation Portable to class the week after it first launched. I knew I had to have it after that.
*Skipping the last two classes of the day so I could go with my cousin to get Grand Theft Auto: San Adreas before the mall sold out.
*Seeing students start to get flip phones. Finally got my own during the last months of the year.
*Having to use a payphone to call people at school before I got my first cell phone.
*First hearing about this thing called MySpace.
*Arguing with other kids about the 2004 presidential election.

What an awesome school year. 2004-05 was my senior year of high school. Those last magical days before college life and adulthood hit you for good. Honestly, I have a lot of nostalgia for this year. There's many people I used to hang out with back then that I haven't seen since. 2004-05 was also arguably the last year where being a teenager was still largely like it was during the '90s, before cell phones and social media completely took center stage.

Here's some things I remember from 2004-05.

*This was the first year when I could drive myself to school everyday. Even though I got my license the year before I did not get my first used car until 2004.
*Going to the pep rally the day before our high school football team won it's first playoff game since 1999. Awesome time.
*Halo 2 LAN parties. Enough said.
*Some guy bringing the PlayStation Portable to class the week after it first launched. I knew I had to have it after that.
*Skipping the last two classes of the day so I could go with my cousin to get Grand Theft Auto: San Adreas before the mall sold out.
*Seeing students start to get flip phones. Finally got my own during the last months of the year.
*Having to use a payphone to call people at school before I got my first cell phone.
*First hearing about this thing called MySpace.
*Arguing with other kids about the 2004 presidential election.


Damn all of this just screams mid 2000's :D! I was 8-9 years old back then and this just brings me back to a simpler time before Web 2.0 fully took over, when flip phones like the Razr were at their peak in popularity, and when things just seemed less polarizing and politically correct in comparison to the present.

Would you say, from your personal experiences, that this school year was the first mid 00's school year from a cultural perspective? For me, like Zelek, I though this was the last good year for kid culture for the most part, as things started to decline during 2005-06'. But it seems from a adolescence and adult perspective there seemed to had been a shift between 2003-04' & 2004-05' school years.

2004-05' seemed to be the first year in the 2000's to not have any major long running 90's TV shows on the air and or showing regularly reruns like Friends, Frasier, Buffy, Angel, etc.

It also seemed like by this point, while we were still within that weird Web 1.0/2.0 transitional period, that we weren't as close to the 90's technologically as we were in 2003 & before with MySpace starting to take center stage, HDTVs starting to become viable to the general public, DVDs now clearly being the standard way of watching home movies, and DVRs becoming common.

I think overall 2004-05' still had a classic ambiance similar to much of the early-mid 00's that is certainly dated from a 2016-17' perspective. However, it was also the start of things becoming more modern.

Damn all of this just screams mid 2000's :D! I was 8-9 years old back then and this just brings me back to a simpler time before Web 2.0 fully took over, when flip phones like the Razr were at their peak in popularity, and when things just seemed less polarizing and politically correct in comparison to the present.

Would you say, from your personal experiences, that this school year was the first mid 00's school year from a cultural perspective? For me, like Zelek, I though this was the last good year for kid culture for the most part, as things started to decline during 2005-06'. But it seems from a adolescence and adult perspective there seemed to had been a shift between 2003-04' & 2004-05' school years.

2004-05' seemed to be the first year in the 2000's to not have any major long running 90's TV shows on the air and or showing regularly reruns like Friends, Frasier, Buffy, Angel, etc.

It also seemed like by this point, while we were still within that weird Web 1.0/2.0 transitional period, that we weren't as close to the 90's technologically as we were in 2003 & before with MySpace starting to take center stage, HDTVs starting to become viable to the general public, DVDs now clearly being the standard way of watching home movies, and DVRs becoming common.

I think overall 2004-05' still had a classic ambiance similar to much of the early-mid 00's that is certainly dated from a 2016-17' perspective. However, it was also the start of things becoming more modern.


Yeah, I think you could tell during the 2004-05 year that things were beginning to shift towards the mid '00s culturally. That 9/11 wave of patriotism really started to fade that year as George W. Bush became more and more polarizing, cell phones really started to become must have items for teenagers, and MySpace really started to become a huge topic of conversation like it really hadn't been even the year before.

But, like you said, there were still many things about 2004-05 that give an old school vibe. Social media still wasn't vital then the way it would be by 2007, a majority of people still used a dial-up connection, HDTV's were still considered a luxury item, and VCR's still had a decent presence. Also, 2004-05 was the last school year before the 7th generation of gaming started to take off.

It was the last year that was mostly pre-social media. In spring 2005, people started making their MySpace pages. I didn't make one, but you could still talk to people on their MySpace if they had a chatbox on their page. :D

But, like you said, there were still many things about 2004-05 that give an old school vibe. Social media still wasn't vital then the way it would be by 2007, a majority of people still used a dial-up connection, HDTV's were still considered a luxury item, and VCR's still had a decent presence. Also, 2004-05 was the last school year before the 7th generation of gaming started to take off.


I have to say that 2005 is the last year where VHS tapes were released regularly, aside from reprints in 2006 and 2007. But aside from that, they were usually movies from the early and mid 2000s at the latest.

I have to say that 2005 is the last year where VHS tapes were released regularly, aside from reprints in 2006 and 2007. But aside from that, they were usually movies from the early and mid 2000s at the latest.

I'd say it's 2006 because the movie "A History of Violence" was released on VHS in 2006.

There were no more VHS for me in 2004-05 school year, those were history. I got the Spongebob movie on DVD! :D ;D

I learnt how to pirate this year. I did use Limewire, Rapid Share and BitTorrent to download some movies  :-[

The music industry was taking a huge beating around this era because of the piracy.

2004-05' seemed to be the first year in the 2000's to not have any major long running 90's TV shows on the air and or showing regularly reruns like Friends, Frasier, Buffy, Angel, etc.

That's not entirely true. That 70s Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Charmed, Will and grace, Crocodile Hunter, Catdog, All That, Zoom, and some other 90s shows were still having new episodes in the 2004-05 school year, some of the ones I mentioned even lasted till late 2006 (not joking) or 2007.

That's not entirely true. That 70s Show, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, Charmed, Will and grace, Crocodile Hunter, Catdog, All That, Zoom, and some other 90s shows were still having new episodes in the 2004-05 school year, some of the ones I mentioned even lasted till late 2006 (not joking) or 2007.
I think he means shows that began before the late 90s. Most of the shows you listed lasted longer in the 00s.

I'd say it's 2006 because the movie "A History of Violence" was released on VHS in 2006.


That's basically the last major VHS release. I meant of when VHS tapes were released regularly. By 2006, barely anybody used VHS tapes to watch movies. They were already using DVD players, which were really cheap by 2006.


The music industry was taking a huge beating around this era because of the piracy.


It had a huge beating by the early and mid 2000s, before people regularly uploaded songs on Youtube by late 2006/early 2007.

Also, 2004-05 was the last school year before the 7th generation of gaming started to take off.

Error 404: Incorrect. The 7th generation of video gaming took off in the 2006-07 school year.

Error 404: Incorrect. The 7th generation of video gaming took off in the 2006-07 school year.


Well, not for me, because I waited for six hours at a Wal-Mart to buy an Xbox 360 on launch day. But, I would agree that the 7th gen didn't truly take off fully until 2006-07.

Any memories on this school year?
I consider this year the most innocent out of all the 2000s years.

Why do you consider it the most innocent year?

It was a crazy year for me. A lot of people were either scared of me or thought I was stupid. ;D ;D ;D ;D On top of that, I made some friendships that I still have today.

It's amazing how this academic year seems old school even though it still feels like yesterday.

Now pop culturally, this was the last year before snap-rap took off. All the songs from that period were either pop-rock, crunk/alternative hip-hop, country, R&B, and emo/alternative rock. I totally agree that this was the year that people had cell phones such as the Razr and that social media was still in its infancy. Not gonna lie, but I did enjoy the men's and women's fashion of that era. It was very comfortable ;D. Games were still fantastic, and the films/TV shows had that variety that seems to be missing today.

This was the last school year of the "real 2000s". Once 2005 - 2006 school year came, it wasn't the same great decade anymore and things felt less and less 2000ish.

I think overall 2004-05' still had a classic ambiance similar to much of the early-mid 00's that is certainly dated from a 2016-17' perspective. However, it was also the start of things becoming more modern.

2005-06 still had something of a classic 2000s feel too, I think, because shows like Malcolm in the Middle were still around then, but it was another step into the pool of modern-ness, with Youtube starting to really become popular around late 2005.

Although I had moved on to college by that point, the first school year that felt fairly modern to me was 2006-07. YouTube was at it's height, everybody had a MySpace, HDTV's started to replace CRT sets on campus, everybody had MP3 players, and all that stuff. Plus, by the time that year got going, the PlayStation 3 had replaced the PlayStation 2 as the console of choice for most dorm rooms, which was another big sign that the Classic '00s were on the way out.

Although I had moved on to college by that point, the first school year that felt fairly modern to me was 2006-07. YouTube was at it's height, everybody had a MySpace, HDTV's started to replace CRT sets on campus, everybody had MP3 players, and all that stuff. Plus, by the time that year got going, the PlayStation 3 had replaced the PlayStation 2 as the console of choice for most dorm rooms, which was another big sign that the Classic '00s were on the way out.

The first school year that felt kind of modern to me in the 2000s was 2005 - 2006 but that may be because that was the school year I moved cities so my life transformed a lot then. Although there were still a couple notable changes. Then things felt a lot more modern and closer to today in the 2008 - 2009 school year.

The first school year that felt kind of modern to me in the 2000s was 2005 - 2006 but that may be because that was the school year I moved cities so my life transformed a lot then. Although there were still a couple notable changes. Then things felt a lot more modern and closer to today in the 2008 - 2009 school year.


Funny, I moved in 2004 and I felt like that year was modern ;D

People debating what feels modern but yet we've lived in modern times for over a 100 years now and if you're talking in a contemporary sense....we've been modern since the 1980s.

People debating what feels modern but yet we've lived in modern times for over a 100 years now and if you're talking in a contemporary sense....we've been modern since the 1980s.


Modern and modernism aren't the same thing :o The latter is a philosophy, there's nothing modern about the 1920s ;D And the dominant philosophy today is post-modernism anyway ;)

Modern and modernism aren't the same thing :o The latter is a philosophy, there's nothing modern about the 1920s ;D And the dominant philosophy today is post-modernism anyway ;)

Like I said: "if you're talking in a contemporary sense....we've been modern since the 1980s.".

Like I said: "if you're talking in a contemporary sense....we've been modern since the 1980s.".


I'd have to disagree. The Internet changed everything. It was like the telephone or the television in terms of how life changing it was. People who got to live before the Internet will be like your grandma who told you about when she got her first television. Smartphones were also another big jump.

I'd have to disagree. The Internet changed everything. It was like the telephone or the television in terms of how life changing it was. People who got to live before the Internet will be like your grandma who told you about when she got her first television. Smartphones were also another big jump.

The Internet existed in the 1980s. Also, smartphones are a big revolution but they aren't everything...if you get what I'm saying. If you transported me back to 1987, it would take some adjusting but not nearly as much as if you transported me back to 1937. I think some people think too much about the "the Internetz and smartyphones".

The Internet existed in the 1980s. Also, smartphones are a big revolution but they aren't everything...if you get what I'm saying. If you transported me back to 1987, it would take some adjusting but not nearly as much as if you transported me back to 1937. I think some people think too much about the "the Internetz and smartyphones".

Well the internet didn't really exist in the 1980s though. It only started popping up in the early to mid 1990s. Now I know you're thinking it existed because it was invented in the 1960s, but that's different because that wasn't the web as we know it today and it was only used for military reasons during the cold war and wasn't around for the public.

The Internet existed in the 1980s. Also, smartphones are a big revolution but they aren't everything...if you get what I'm saying. If you transported me back to 1987, it would take some adjusting but not nearly as much as if you transported me back to 1937. I think some people think too much about the "the Internetz and smartyphones".


The Internet did not exist as we know it. That's like saying TV existed in the 1910s because of the theatres playing 20 second silent films :P

You couldn't pay me to go back to 1987. We would not be talking right now. I would be listening to music through a Walkman, I wouldn't have cable. I wouldn't be about to play my handheld (3DS) etc. etc. ;D

I didn't get to experience life before Internet, but I knew how recent the whole tech revolution was in 1997-1999 and how new the WWW was. I never took it for granted. And as 2000 approached, I knew sh*t was getting real with all these nifty new gadgets. And it got increasingly relevant as the 2000s dragged on and the smartphones came. The Internet was a massive change, I think you're underestimating it.  :-X

Well the internet didn't really exist in the 1980s though. It only started popping up in the early to mid 1990s. Now I know you're thinking it existed because it was invented in the 1960s, but that's different because that wasn't the web as we know it today and it was only used for military reasons during the cold war and wasn't around for the public.

It still existed. The Web was also invented in 1989.

Also....there's a reason why so many 1980s TV shows are still on reruns and why Hollywood is rebooting many 1980s movies and TV shows. Not just because of nostalgia but because they are still relatable and can be cashed in on.


The Internet did not exist as we know it. That's like saying TV existed in the 1910s because of the theatres playing 20 second silent films :P

You couldn't pay me to go back to 1987. We would not be talking right now. I would be listening to music through a Walkman, I wouldn't have cable. I wouldn't be about to play my handheld (3DS) etc. etc. ;D

I didn't get to experience life before Internet, but I knew how recent the whole tech revolution was in 1997-1999 and how new the WWW was. I never took it for granted. And as 2000 approached, I knew sh*t was getting real with all these nifty new gadgets. And it got increasingly relevant as the 2000s dragged on and the smartphones came. The Internet was a massive change, I think you're underestimating it.  :-X

So...the Web, a 3DS and smartphones are the be all and end all on what is modern? ??? You guys need to expand your 21st century technophile viewpoint/spectrum.

When you make comments like "The Internet existed in 1980s", I don't think you completely understand how much the world changed because of the Internet.  :-X

Noooooo.

This thread was almost purely 2000s. There are different versions of modern that span their own topics.

It may have existed in the 80's, or 60's, or whatever. But it didn't become big and for mass consumption until roughly 1995 and after.

When you make comments like "The Internet existed in 1980s", I don't think you completely understand how much the world changed because of the Internet.  :-X

I do but things have been done using computers for a long time now. Once again, if modern to you basically means 1995 - present (or whatever)....then that's very narrow.


Noooooo.

This thread was almost purely 2000s. There are different versions of modern that span their own topics.

Sorry for sidetracking the thread but the part in bold is basically what I'm trying to say.

It may have existed in the 80's, or 60's, or whatever. But it didn't become big and for mass consumption until roughly 1995 and after.
more like 2001 ;). Prior to that from 1995 to 2000, it was between 15% and 40%.

more like 2001 ;). Prior to that from 1995 to 2000, it was between 15% and 40%.

No, the internet became available to the public in the mid 1990s and people knew what it was, even if they may not have had it yet. I was in a poor financial situation and even my family got it in 1998. It was mid '90s, not 2001 lol. And you're forgetting using friend's internet, the library, etc. Just because people didn't have it in their household did not mean they did not use it until 2001.... It would be absolutely ridiculous to not know what the web was or not use it at all until 2001.

more like 2001 ;). Prior to that from 1995 to 2000, it was between 15% and 40%.


Maybe not until 1996. It's hard for me to imagine the average person with internet before 1996.

Maybe not until 1996. It's hard for me to imagine the average person with internet before 1996.

Yeah consumers started getting it in 1996 or 1997, but big companies had it a couple years prior and many people heard of the term a couple years before too.

It still existed

No I would say it didn't even exist because no one knew what it was. It was irrelevant to everyone's lives therefore it has no impact on the average consumer whether it existed or not. The 1980s is a very different time from today.

Maybe not until 1996. It's hard for me to imagine the average person with internet before 1996.


I think I got it that year, or 1997. It was definitely available at school in 1997 though.  8)

Anyway, I won't ever see 1987 as modern. Even in the early 2000s I thought that year was the stone age, so let's just leave it at that and get back on topic. ;D

I got a digital camera for my 12th birthday, in 2005.  8) it had a literal "delete everything"  button (reformat SD card) though, so my early 2005 pictures are lost to history.  :(

Yeah consumers started getting it in 1996 or 1997, but big companies had it a couple years prior and many people heard of the term a couple years before too.


I think someone on here posted facts/data that the internet didn't even become a 'majority' in America, or was it worldwide?? until 2003. That's believable to me, even UltraGameDog's post is believable.

It's just that I can definitely see an everyday, average, American, in 1996, buying their internet.

There used to be a thread, maybe two, on here, from inthe00s's early years, that discussed when people first got their internet. Most people's answers were 1995, or after. I even read some rare 1993's, but perhaps they worked in a company, or were in a big company, or whatever. There were lots of 1995 to 1997 in that thread. It's been a long time.

I think I got it that year, or 1997. It was definitely available at school in 1997 though.  8)

Anyway, I won't ever see 1987 as modern. Even in the early 2000s I thought that year was the stone age, so let's just leave it at that and get back on topic. ;D

I got a digital camera for my 12th birthday, in 2005.  8) it had a literal "delete everything"  button (reformat SD card) though, so my early 2005 pictures are lost to history.  :(


Jealous!!!  >:(  >:(  >:(

We didn't get our internet until 2000.  :(  :(

Jealous!!!  >:(  >:(  >:(

We didn't get our internet until 2000.  :(  :(

But I got the internet in early 1998 and my family was actually almost in poverty at this time... I asked my parents how we were able to afford the internet in 1998 and they told me that almost everyone had it and it was an essential item at the time. So I find it quite interesting people lived without basic internet in the late '90s. Maybe if you live in a rural area, then I can understand. But I lived in a city.



It's just that I can definitely see an everyday, average, American, in 1996, buying their internet.


Yes same here. Many average middle income people were getting the internet in 1996.

No, the internet became available to the public in the mid 1990s and people knew what it was, even if they may not have had it yet. I was in a poor financial situation and even my family got it in 1998. It was mid '90s, not 2001 lol. And you're forgetting using friend's internet, the library, etc. Just because people didn't have it in their household did not mean they did not use it until 2001.... It would be absolutely ridiculous to not know what the web was or not use it at all until 2001, unless you are living in a third world country or something.
It may have been available at that time, but that doesn't mean that everyone used it. Even if people used the internet at their friend's house, school or library,  it still was not common. Here in America, it was less than 50% until 2001 and worldwide it was much lower. I got internet in 1999, but that doesn't mean I or my family were constantly using it like today. 


Maybe not until 1996. It's hard for me to imagine the average person with internet before 1996.
Same here. The only ways the average person had internet at that time was if they were techies/nerds or like you said he or she worked in a big company.

Jealous!!!  >:(  >:(  >:(

We didn't get our internet until 2000.  :(  :(


Wow, and they call me Slowpoke!

Just kidding.

But I got the internet in early 1998 and my family was actually almost in poverty at this time... I asked my parents how we were able to afford the internet in 1998 and they told me that almost everyone had it and it was an essential item at the time. So I find it quite interesting people lived without basic internet in the late '90s. Maybe if you live in a rural area, then I can understand. But I lived in a city.
Yes same here. Many average middle income people were getting the internet in 1996.


People were getting it, but not everyone had it yet. If I had to compare, getting Internet in 1998 would be like getting a smartphone in 2010. A lot of middle income and even low income did buy it, but it was still catching on.

And to stay in topic, in 2004-05, my school installed WiFi, and we had to hand in some homework through the school's network drive or a USB stick :o

It may have been available at that time, but that doesn't mean that everyone used it. Even if people used the internet at their friend's house, school or library,  it still was not common. Here in America, it was less than 50% until 2001 and worldwide it was much lower. I got internet in 1999, but that doesn't mean I or my family were constantly using it like today. 
Same here. The only ways the average person had internet at that time was if they were techies/nerds or like you said he or she worked in a big company.

It doesn't matter if the stats say to make a general statement on the popularity and availability of the internet because I think it's safe to say that the internet was mainstream well before 2001 and everyone knew what it was. If I knew what it was at 4 years old in 1999, I can't imagine people not knowing what it was in 2001.. Even if half the people didn't have it in their household (which can be for people in rural areas)

It doesn't matter if the stats say to make a general statement on the popularity and availability of the internet because I think it's safe to say that the internet was mainstream well before 2001 and everyone knew what it was. If I knew what it was at 4 years old in 1999, I can't imagine people not knowing what it was in 2001.. Even if half the people didn't have it in their household (which can be for people in rural areas)
I'm not saying it wasn't mainstream. It definitely was, but not everyone had it and it wasnt always related to economic class or neighborhooding areas. The late 90s wasn't as high tech as you think.

The late 90s wasn't as high tech as you think.

The mid to late '90s was the start of the high tech internet phase. The internet only improved and advanced in the 2000s, but it established itself in the 1990s.