I first noticed it around 2008-2009. Now, at the time it wasn't in the mainstream media since it was still too recent, but on the Internet I mean. On the Internet, 2008-2009 was when I noticed people started talking wistfully about G1 Pokemon, 1997-2004 Cartoon Network, Tamagotchi, etc. and making YouTube tribute videos about the late 90s-early 2000s era. That's also when I first saw people saying "Everything after 2004 sucks" and "90s culture didn't end until 2004" (yes, people were saying this even in 2009).

It's funny, if you look at Retrojunk posts from 2008, older users there were getting mad about the influx of Pokemon nostalgia among younger users and saying "Late 90s will never be retro", "Current culture is still stuck in the shadow of 1999", "I don't see a huge difference between now and the late 90s", etc. In retrospect, I have to admit that 1999 does seem more connected to 2008, than 1989 was connected to 1998.

Ehh... late 90s nostlaiga(mid 1997-early 1999 or late 1996-early 1999): around 2012ish, 2012-13 school year in particular.
Y2K era nostalgia: 2014

Early 00s nostalgia: 2015-16ish

And yes I consider them different eras! ::)  come at me!! 8) ;D

Well I consider the Y2K Era to be 1998-2003 at the widest, but I know many people here think it was 1999-2001 only or something. We've all got different opinions on this.

For me I was already posting on video game forums in 2006/7 saying how no good video game came after 2001. In threads like "What are your top 10 favourite games" my list was all 1991-2001 games (mostly late '90s) ;D

For me I was already posting on video game forums in 2006/7 saying how no good video game came after 2001. In threads like "What are your top 10 favourite games" my list was all 1991-2001 games (mostly late '90s) ;D


Shame you gained an attitude like that at that time, because 2007 was THE best year for gaming.

Shame you gained an attitude like that at that time, because 2007 was THE best year for gaming.


I agree. Maybe not the best, but one of the best. This was in early 2007, all the good games came out in late 2007.

Well I consider the Y2K Era to be 1998-2003 at the widest, but I know many people here think it was 1999-2001 only or something. We've all got different opinions on this.

Which i find weird considering the year 1998(still cultural 90s)aside from the kiddie culture that year had nothing that much in common with 2002 and 2003(cultural 00s years). I used to be like you and think the late 90s and early 00s were the same EXACT era boy, but boy was I WRONG! Y2K was its own thing, in between the 90s and 00s, a weird transitional time!!

Ehh... late 90s nostlaiga(mid 1997-early 1999 or late 1996-early 1999): around 2012ish, 2012-13 school year in particular.
Y2K era nostalgia: 2014

Early 00s nostalgia: 2015-16ish

And yes I consider them different eras! ::)  come at me!! 8) ;D


I think Y2K nostalgia peaked in 2016, with teen pop and Pokemon 2.0. The first signs of it was in 2013 in the movie "This is the End" (Backstreet Boys). Early 00's nostalgia was more like 2018-ish (remember the "2002" song?)

On a pop cultural level I think we haven’t properly reached mid 90s nostalgia yet.

On a pop cultural level I think we haven’t properly reached mid 90s nostalgia yet.


There was a little bit of it in the early 2010's, but it was barely noticeable. What I did notice was that 90's themed parties being popular, with the DJ playing dance hits like Haddaway's "What is Love" and "Beautiful Life" by Ace of Base. Also with the relaunch of Beavis and Butthead in 2011 even though it didn't do too well (imo they should have just stuck to music videos instead of clips from reality shows like Jersey Shore or 16 and pregnant, that ruined it). I also felt in 2012 there was a lot of nostalgia for 1996, and a lot of bands and artists from that year released songs in 2012.

There was a little bit of it in the early 2010's, but it was barely noticeable. What I did notice was that 90's themed parties being popular, with the DJ playing dance hits like Haddaway's "What is Love" and "Beautiful Life" by Ace of Base. Also with the relaunch of Beavis and Butthead in 2011 even though it didn't do too well (imo they should have just stuck to music videos instead of clips from reality shows like Jersey Shore or 16 and pregnant, that ruined it). I also felt in 2012 there was a lot of nostalgia for 1996, and a lot of bands and artists from that year released songs in 2012.


I mean more on the level of mass pop culture.

2012-2017/8 was all about the neighties and then the early to beginning of mid 90s in the sense of social media buzz and culture , fast fashion and interests ( nes, retro action figures going mainstream, hipster interests etc)

It still is in a way...

I think the more of the fads of the mid and late 90s before the y2k period will slowly make their way throughout 2020-2024 and blend in the mass culture at least.

Decade/retro nostalgia can stay for a long period of time.

70s nostalgia lasted for a long time throughout the 90s and into the 00s.

I agree. Maybe not the best, but one of the best. This was in early 2007, all the good games came out in late 2007.


Super Mario Galaxy and the first Assassin's Creed came out then, but I'm not sure about it being the best year for gaming. I think 2004/05 was better as it was the peak of the PS2/Gamecube generation, and 2008/09 was pretty decent for PS3/Wii.

It's funny, if you look at Retrojunk posts from 2008, older users there were getting mad about the influx of Pokemon nostalgia among younger users and saying "Late 90s will never be retro", "Current culture is still stuck in the shadow of 1999", "I don't see a huge difference between now and the late 90s", etc. In retrospect, I have to admit that 1999 does seem more connected to 2008, than 1989 was connected to 1998.


I remember back in the mid/late 2000s people even here were saying that. And 1997-1999 is when everything got ruined. Now I rarely see that anymore.

I remember back in the mid/late 2000s people even here were saying that. And 1997-1999 is when everything got ruined. Now I rarely see that anymore.


It's the rose-colored glasses effect. Everything in the past is perceived to be better than the present due to nostalgia clouding memories and making them idyllic. I bet the late 2010s and early 2020s will also be remembered as a great time by us Zoomers despite the bad things that happened.

I first started being interested in this period from around when I was born in about 2009, but there didn't seem to be many people with much nostalgia for it at the time, though there was more as the 2010s went along. It's funny to think that 2009 was about as far away from now as the late 1990s were from 2009.  :D

I remember back in the mid/late 2000s people even here were saying that. And 1997-1999 is when everything got ruined. Now I rarely see that anymore.

Yeah, it's funny. Reading old posts here, the user Donnie Darko (who started "decadeology") was born in 1990 and most of his childhood took place in 1997-1999, yet he was trying to distance himself from that era or saying 1992-1996 would be "more iconic" when 90s nostalgia starts.

Yeah, it's funny. Reading old posts here, the user Donnie Darko (who started "decadeology") was born in 1990 and most of his childhood took place in 1997-1999, yet he was trying to distance himself from that era or saying 1992-1996 would be "more iconic" when 90s nostalgia starts.


This is the reason I never made fun of 2000s kids like my peers online did in the early/mid 2010s. I use to hate being born when I was when I use to read stuff like that. And I didn't want anyone to feel upset over something nobody can control like i did. Is it because boybands were popular is why the late 90s got so much hate for nearly a decade?