What i mean by this is what is the closest year that when you see videos and photos from this year it looks clearly dated comparing to how things look now

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I saw a bit of Kitchen Nightmare lately for some reason, and I was quite surprised that this is from 2012. It's HD, but the colors are off and the quality is quite muddy. This definitely wouldn't pass on late 2010s tv ;D

2012 or 2013, probably. I'm not sure exactly when Gopro took off, I'm assuming it was around late 2014. The year before Gopro was everywhere, was the last year that seemed a bit antiquated technologically speaking. I would say the 2012-13 school year. Back when smartphones were already commonplace in middle-class/lower-middle class suburban areas, but rural poor US/Canada were still clinging to them flip phones.

I looked at a lot of photos from 2013 and they look dated compared to today. My parents still used a digital camera to take photos until 2014.

I’d go with 2012 or 2013 too. I still have my first smartphone from 2012 and it’s surprising how dated the pictures I took look.

I would say 2014/15 before 4k tvs become relatively affordable. Obviously most people still use 1080p tv sets but now watching YouTube in 4k is normal. The early 10s is very dated technology wise, Ipod touch and BlackBerry phones were still the norm.

I think if you transported me back to 2016 or early 2017 I'd be able to tell.

As for which year looks like it was a while ago I would say 2008.

Around Fall 2012 to Spring 2013.

2013 because of the fashion, but also too because of graphical design trends. 2012 for technological reasons, because 1080p was a lot less feasible on devices.

Maybe 2012. Bright colors were all the rage.

Yeah, 2012/13 looks dated because neon colors were still everywhere, In fashion, music videos, commercials, etc. Besides neon, skeuomorphism was still popular over flat design because of Windows 7 and iOS 6, and most websites still had that design until flat took over around late 2013.

Man, I miss the electropop days. Everything was so fun in my childhood, and I used to dance a lot as a little kid, sigh, good times  :-\\

2012 was the year earthiness and pastels went in and neon colors went out of fashion if I remember correctly.

By 2013 it was already very tacky to dress like a partygoer and the indie/festival look was all the rage.

2013/2014 imo. The fashion looks very different than now and all the pictures had those instagram filters on them :P.

I would say 2008 at the latest. This is around the time everything went HD and music videos were no longer 3:4 aspect ratio. I cannot notice a difference in quality of a TV show of 2009 and today. The colour and quality looks the same to me. Before 2008 visually you can see many TV programs were a bit more blurry and visually dated.

Honestly 2016 is starting to look dated to me

Honestly 2016 is starting to look dated to me

Visually dated? There is no difference in quality of video format from today and 2016. How is it visually dated?

Probably around 2010/2011, is when going outside would feel noticeably different. There were still a decent amount of late 80s and early 90s cars on the road.

I’m probably going to have to go with either 2013 or 2014.

Maybe I misunderstood OP but I thought they were talking about which year looks visually by video quality.

If we're talking just generally what's the last year that can be considered dated then I would say 2014. (But in terms of video quality which I thought OP was talking about in terms of 'visual datedness' then it would be 2008).

I'd say 2012. Because its the last year (that I can think of) that is relatively detached from the current core culture of the 2010s in pop culture, technology, and (especially) politics. Other people have already brought good points on why 2012 is already pretty dated, so I'll leave it with that.

It's a year in which if I were to be transported to, I'd easily recognize that I am no longer in the current era. The world of 2012 was much more connected with the world of 2005-2007, than it is with the world of 2017-2019.

I'd say 2012. Because its the last year (that I can think of) that is relatively detached from the current core culture of the 2010s in pop culture, technology, and (especially) politics. Other people have already brought good points on why 2012 is already pretty dated, so I'll leave it with that.

It's a year in which if I were to be transported to, I'd easily recognize that I am no longer in the current era. The world of 2012 was much more connected with the world of 2005-2007, than it is with the world of 2017-2019.


I would extend that to 2013, especially the first half. It was truly the last year where it was politically stable, music still had an electro sound, the memes were completely different. 2013 is numerically closer to the late 2000s than today. The world of 2013 feels mostly detached from the late 2010s. Heck, even 2014 is dated culturally and politically.

I say 2006 becasue that was the year before iphones came out and there sightly less technology compared to today. Also this was before Obama was the President.Far as very dated, I say 2004 would be the last considering that was still Bush first term as President,most people were still using dial until late 2004,the last year VHS was relevant, YouTube didn't exist yet,CRT TV was still very common,Social media was still in it's early stages,and the Pop culture was very different compared to today.

I would extend that to 2013, especially the first half. It was truly the last year where it was politically stable, music still had an electro sound, the memes were completely different. 2013 is numerically closer to the late 2000s than today. The world of 2013 feels mostly detached from the late 2010s. Heck, even 2014 is dated culturally and politically.

2014 is the last year that is kind of dated imo.

I was just watching an episode of The Chase, which is a British quiz show. I immediately noticed that the quality wasn’t as good as recent episodes, the picture just looked more washed out and less clear. Turns out the episode aired in a June 2010!

I was just watching an episode of The Chase, which is a British quiz show. I immediately noticed that the quality wasn’t as good as recent episodes, the picture just looked more washed out and less clear. Turns out the episode aired in a June 2010!


I noticed a lot of early 2010s MVs have this dark/washed out quality to them.

I'm pretty sure I've seen videos from as recently as 2015 which have a 'slightly off-quality' look to them.

Honestly 2016 is starting to look dated to me
in my opinion, 2016 is not even close to be dated. Wait until 2022 or 2023 then maybe it will start to look dated.

I'd say about 2003 or 2004, but still in a vague way.

In a truly dated looking way before 1996-ish.

I'd say about 2003 or 2004, but still in a vague way.

In a truly dated looking way before 1996-ish.

To me the farthest I would go for still in a vague way would be 2007. Because I saw a video clip from the Ellen Show earlier from 2007 and the video quality looked a little different and music videos from this time still had 3:4 aspect ratio. For a truly dated looking way I would say 2002.

in my opinion, 2016 is not even close to be dated. Wait until 2022 or 2023 then maybe it will start to look dated.


2016 is dated in fashion. If you word a plaid shirt and thick frame glasses your style would look... dated.

I agree 2016 feels like yesterday. I dont know how people can call it dated. I dont know how anyone can call a year from 3 years ago dated. The last year that feels a little dated to me is 2014.

2018, last year, it's certainly in the past!

Internet in the early 2010s was sure something else. I just got recced this video:

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I thought for sure that this was something from the 2000s at first, but it's actually from late 2010 :o.

Internet in the early 2010s was sure something else. I just got recced this video:

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I thought for sure that this was something from the 2000s at first, but it's actually from late 2010 :o.


This could almost be from 1994 lol.  ;D

Internet in the early 2010s was sure something else. I just got recced this video:

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I thought for sure that this was something from the 2000s at first, but it's actually from late 2010 :o.


That reminds me of a meme that the software companies put out that said “You wouldn’t download a car”. Another meme was circulated that said, at the bottom,”Screw you. I would if I could.”  ;D

Internet in the early 2010s was sure something else. I just got recced this video:

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I thought for sure that this was something from the 2000s at first, but it's actually from late 2010 :o.


I can't say for sure but I think looking retro was a stylistic choice.  :P

Yeah, I've seen better quality videos from 2010 than this. The retro style has to be a choice.

2016 still feels extremely recent, but some trends like EDM forms (Future Bass, Dancehall, Trap EDM, etc.) simply wont top the charts by today's standards. Also, smartphones from 2016 is hard going back to especially when you have a bezel-less phone. Say, going from an iPhone X to an iPhone 6s, it's hard. Or going from an S10 to a Galaxy S7. Artists like Daya, Meghan Trainor, Mike Posner, Sia, Rihanna, struggled to top the charts since late 2017. Fifth Harmony,  Chainsmokers, Major Lazer, DJ Snake, are all 2016-18 bands, not gonna fit in 2019. Otherwise, 2016 is 75% identical to 2019.

As somebody who hasn't been following pop culture that closely for probably about 10 years, 2008 is around the last year that looks completely and totally dated to me. That's  not to say that there haven't been plenty of changes since then, but looking back at 2008 and having flip phones still being pretty popular, CRT TV's and even VCR's still being sold at some stores, online streaming being mostly a luxury, and older consoles like the PlayStation 2 still being sold, that's the last era to me that looks completely different from the modern era.