From the author of this thread http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=53982.0

I wrote that thread when I was 23 and am now 28. I don't know if my rose-coloured glasses have finally started working, but I've been thinking about it more and it was not that bad.

A question that prompted the introspection was "Would you want to wake up half your age?" and my initial response was "Hell no, I would never want to be 14 again". But thinking about it some more, I actually really enjoyed being 14 at the time because I got to do more and more things on my own. It was hell of a lot better than being a kid. I was my own person. It was also a unique time in terms of social attitudes and the state of technology.

Sure, I was not always "with it" and the insipid pop culture of the time. Most teenagers are also hella annoying to be around even when you're a teenager yourself. But that's partly what's so cool about it, you can finally do your own thing, find your own niche, and you can choose your own group of friends.

The crux of the question was whether I'd want to be 14 or 28 in 2021 and the answer for me is still the latter. Other than 28 being a good age to be in general, the main reason is social media. I know teenagers today are a lot more accepting and open-minded compared to when I was a teenager but I would not be able to handle cyber-bullying at all. It would have messed me up more than I already am. At that age I did not have a cellphone and I would block anyone that tried to add me on MSN that I didn't get along with. It was easy to create your own bubble back then.

I also liked that the Internet was around and quite well-developed. I learnt Japanese/Korean using the Internet, edited Wikipedia as a hobby, and I had online friends from all over the world. Before social media I was really convinced the Internet would make the world a better place, more intelligent, more interconnected and help us understand each other more. That was before social media siloed us into our own echo chambers, making us more close-minded, hateful and misinformed.

Overall I am now thankful I was a teenager when I was. It was a good balance of being open-minded, tech-savvy and optimistic. If I was 14 again I would come out to my friends as gay sooner and get therapy for my social anxiety disorder sooner (I didn't until I was 16). Other than that, I would not change it for the world. I was content.

TL;DR Being a teenager in the late 2000s was cool.

This is called getting older. One day you'll miss your teens and get all nostalgic about  it...it happens to everyone when you reach a certain age.  :) Some people are more nostalgic than others though.

I remember around 2005, I was not happy with how my teen years(in the 90s)turned out. And I didn't give it any thought. But as I got older, I appreciated it more because it was a once in a lifetime experience. I might have been a little bitter with my peers but these days I laugh about it. I was just a kid, why be so hard on myself?. And, I focus on the good memories. Also, the 1990s are never coming back. So I'm happy I was a teen back then.