The final summer of the 2000s thread made me think of doing this one, asking what you think was the first "culturally '00s" summer?  I know numerically it's 2000, but the first '00s summer could have been as early as 1999 or I can see it being as late as 2002.  I personally would probably go with 2002.  The Y2K era, the more distant it gets, seems to have more in common with the '90s than the '00s.  2002 was the first largely because it was the first post-9/11 summer.  By that point we had Nickelback and Avril Lavigne.  The boy bands and teen pop divas like Britney and Christina had peaked in popularity and were trying to present an edgier, trashier image.  By 2002, goth was gone and we were getting into the early stages of emo.  2002 was also the first summer that a lot of people had broadband Internet and you started seeing the first generation of social media become popular (or second if you consider AOL chatrooms and bulletin boards to be social media).  One of the biggest albums of that summer was The Eminem Show, which was a more toned down Eminem compared with what we had on the very violent and controversial Mashall Mathers LP.  All in all, by summer 2002 we were in a world that would pretty much remain the same, evolving only slowly, up through late 2008.

What are your thoughts?  Would you say the first culturally '00s summer was 1999, 2000, 2001, or 2002?

2002


I would say 2001, but a few weeks later the REAL 2000s started , to me the REAL 2000s started
the night of the 2001 VMAS leading into 9/11 unfortunately.

Tbh the early 00s seem to have had more in common with the 90s than the rest of the 00s

Definitely summer 2002. I can absolutely relate. That summer between Kindergarten and 1st grade was one of the best memories of my childhood. I was the ring bearer at my aunt's wedding and went on my first limousine ride to the reception, it was a lot of fun. This is not even including all the fashion, music, and the shows on TV at the time. It's just the vibe and smell of summer 2002 that you knew it had a fresh young 2000's vibe. It's like your sexy-fine looking girlfriend in her early to mid 20's. That's how 2002 felt like. 2009 was like your arguing ex-wife in her late 40's.

Summers 1999-2001 felt late '90s to me. I travelled all three summers and I didn't have to take my shoes off at security. Enough said!

Definitely summer 2002. I can absolutely relate. That summer between Kindergarten and 1st grade was one of the best memories of my childhood. I was the ring bearer at my aunt's wedding and went on my first limousine ride to the reception, it was a lot of fun. This is not even including all the fashion, music, and the shows on TV at the time. It's just the vibe and smell of summer 2002 that you knew it had a fresh young 2000's vibe. It's like your sexy-fine looking girlfriend in her early to mid 20's. That's how 2002 felt like. 2009 was like your arguing ex-wife in her late 40's.



Summer 2002 felt like the start of a new era,  The early part of 2002 felt like it as well

Summers 1999-2001 felt late '90s to me. I travelled all three summers and I didn't have to take my shoes off at security. Enough said!


IMO the Y2K/immediate post Y2K era is still an epoch of its own and doesn't really identify with both decades. I don't see Pokemon, Californication, Marshal Matters, early Survivor and Big Brother, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the original Matrix, American Pie, latino pop, and early Spongebob as classically '90s. The Internet even was starting to be seen as an appliance, even though my family didn't get it full time until fall 1999. The summer of 1998 was the last time it really felt '90s to me IMO, with the final months of 1998 seguing into the Y2K era, which is seemingly more shallow in attitudes and more preppy than the real '90s. Overalls, Starter Jackets, and bowl haircuts were out, with synthetic fashion, super straight hair, tattoos, and skinny jeans in.

IMO the Y2K/immediate post Y2K era is still an epoch of its own and doesn't really identify with both decades. I don't see Pokemon, Californication, Marshal Matters, early Survivor and Big Brother, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the original Matrix, American Pie, latino pop, and early Spongebob as classically '90s. The Internet even was starting to be seen as an appliance, even though my family didn't get it full time until fall 1999. The summer of 1998 was the last time it really felt '90s to me IMO, with the final months of 1998 seguing into the Y2K era, which is seemingly more shallow in attitudes and more preppy than the real '90s. Overalls, Starter Jackets, and bowl haircuts were out, with synthetic fashion, super straight hair, tattoos, and skinny jeans in.


I thought that guys still had bowl cuts in early 1999.

IMO the Y2K/immediate post Y2K era is still an epoch of its own and doesn't really identify with both decades. I don't see Pokemon, Californication, Marshal Matters, early Survivor and Big Brother, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the original Matrix, American Pie, latino pop, and early Spongebob as classically '90s. The Internet even was starting to be seen as an appliance, even though my family didn't get it full time until fall 1999. The summer of 1998 was the last time it really felt '90s to me IMO, with the final months of 1998 seguing into the Y2K era, which is seemingly more shallow in attitudes and more preppy than the real '90s. Overalls, Starter Jackets, and bowl haircuts were out, with synthetic fashion, super straight hair, tattoos, and skinny jeans in.


Idk, I didn't watch much TV in the summer, I was just outside doing stuff. It felt identical to summers 1997/1998. I remember people had curtain hair in the countries I went to well into 2001/2002, and most the world was wearing baggy jeans in the early 2000s.

In 1999 especially, there were still little to no cellphones around when I was travelling. But by 2002 they were universal in Europe and Asia (more so than North America).

I thought that guys still had bowl cuts in early 1999.


In my area people still did have bowl cuts in early 1999.  JNCOs were also still popular then.  By fall 1999 however both bowl cuts and JNCOs were out.

In my area people still did have bowl cuts in early 1999.  JNCOs were also still popular then.  By fall 1999 however both bowl cuts and JNCOs were out.


I still had a bowl cut in the early 2000s, but that was my mom's decision  ;D

Summer 2002


Summer 2001 only felt 2000s in 2 weeks of August so it does not count

First summer of the 2000s = Summer 2000
Last summer of the 2000s = Summer 2009

First summer of the 2000s = Summer 2000
Last summer of the 2000s = Summer 2009


Thank you for addressing the obvious.

First summer of the 2000s = Summer 2000
Last summer of the 2000s = Summer 2009

Summer of 2003 for sure it felt different from the past 00s summers!

Summer of 2003 for sure it felt different from the past 00s summers!
It was a lot hotter

Who remember summer 2003?  That was the year snooki!

Summer 2002


it was the first post 9/11 summer