In my opinion the 2008-2012 era was the turning point in society.

It was when everything started going downhill. 

2008 despite the recession it was actually a decent year. 2008 was a hybrid of both 2000s culture and early 2010s culture but was still mostly a core 2000s year.

However, 2009 was very different and very little to do with the 2000s and i would consider that more of an early 2010s year. 

In my opinion this was one of the worst eras ever. 

I personally enjoyed this era, despite the recession. The culture was upbeat with a lot of good music, especially the EDM based ones. Also plenty of good movies and TV shows, and the 7th gen gaming with the Wii and PS3. I was active duty military so I was pretty much immune from the recession, and I was stationed overseas during that entire era (3 years in Japan and 2 in Italy) so it was nice to be away from the American way of life, only to return in 2013 and see it decline even further. On that note I thought 2013-2016 was one of the worst eras in my lifetime (2nd worst after the Early 2020's).

It was a horrible period.

Early 2008 still felt like mid 2000's though.

Late 2000's culture didn't start really until mid 2008.

Unlike the 90's where late 90's culture started even in late 1996/1997 then we had a unique Y2K period within the late 90's and early 2000's until early 02.

2000's was a really long and ever changing decade:

2000-early 2002 - Y2K Era(Continued from 1997/1998)

Mid 2002 - Early 2004 - Core Early 2000's

Mid 2004-early 2005 - Transitional Mid 2000's period.

Mid/late 2005-Mid 2008 - Core Mid 2000's

Mid 2008 - mid 2011/Late 2011 - Late 2000's/Early 2010's culture, that I don't know how to define, as Late 2011-Mid 2014 is also early 2010's but a different era.

Either way the last remnant of the 90's with the Y2K era taking up the beginning of the decade is what delayed pure 2000's culture until mid 2002.

Same way 80's culture was still booming into the 90's, and we didn't get pure 90's culture until around 92-94.

The 2010's culture though however you can say either it started in 2008/2009. or you can say 2010-2012 is still late 2000's culture.

Either way 2012 is the year that smartphones became standard household items, before that they were a novelty and not everyone had it(I had a blackberry during this time for example)

It was within this period of time that I had the best (and most fulfilling) work position I had, and to cap it of with the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

In the opinion of this "Boomer", post 9/11 was worse.  Although the financial misery of the time period was more widespread.  And yes, I speak as one who had some financial hardship from the Great Recession.  (Many had it worse than me, though; thinking of people who went upside down on their houses, short sales or worse - endured foreclosure.)

What was worse for us that period was on a personal level, hubby and me both went thru some serious health issues starting in 2008.  The good news is that both of us got through them.  And we both are grateful for modern medicine.

I lost my grandmother at the age of 99 & 1/2 years young in Feb. 2008 and lost my oldest sister in Nov. of that year.

In 2009, Carlos underwent radiation therapy for prostrate cancer. (He has been cancer-free since then.)

In 2012, We both lost our dads on the same day.

In 2013, I lost my mother.

And throughout all this time I was fighting a hormonal imbalance called Menopause. It was NOT pretty.


Cat

In the opinion of this "Boomer", post 9/11 was worse.  Although the financial misery of the time period was more widespread.  And yes, I speak as one who had some financial hardship from the Great Recession.  (Many had it worse than me, though; thinking of people who went upside down on their houses, short sales or worse - endured foreclosure.)

What was worse for us that period was on a personal level, hubby and me both went thru some serious health issues starting in 2008.  The good news is that both of us got through them.  And we both are grateful for modern medicine.


I also don't have many fond memories of the 9/11/2001-2003 period, mostly for personal reasons but also the feeling of uncertainty/vulnerability and then when the Iraq war started. It was a change from the more happier and brighter Y2K era.

I loved 2004 and 2005, but no so much 2006 and 2007, again for personal reasons. The one financial difficulty I had was with the house I purchased in 2004, a few years later it had lost value and I couldn't sell it, so I had to rent it out. I finally sold that property in 2019.