Obviously the Trump election was the biggest event in this period but his policies wouldn't come to effect by around mid 2017. Plus, Obama was still president from Aug-2016 - Jan 2017. There was still a considerable amount of EDM hits and Trap rap started to dominate the charts but trap-pop didn't become popular until the next two school years so it's not completely late 2010s.

I remember the PC/woke culture gaining steam from mid-late 2016 and it intensified after Trump's win against Clinton. After the upset, the political atmosphere became more toxic and divisive, despite Obama being a lame duck.  Vine, despite it shutting down in early 2017, was still pretty popular around my school, especially the "Mannequin challenge".

Trump was inaugurated, and the new reactionary political shift was set into motion once and for all.  Smartphones were in the hands of most teenagers, and we usually used Snapchat and Instagram for connecting with our friends. Fidget spinners became popular in the early summer of 2017, memes became more surreal ("deep-fried"), and trap music/mumble rap became the main sound of my generation. There was also the reggaeton invasion.

So while I did experience the mid-2010s flavor for a little bit before mid-November, the late 2010s just came in fast after Trump won with post-election riots, the Women's March, "fake news", volatile political climate, and "alternative facts".

Late 2010s undoubtedly. Maybe a case could be made the September-October 2016 to be mid. But as a whole the school year was marked by Trump election being now a reality. Trap was now non-stop on the radio. The Soundcloud scene surged. Vine culture oddly enough collapsed early that school year and vanished entirely with the app shutting down in January 2017, and got completely replaced by Musical.ly (proto-Tik Tok). Athleisure and brand names were now the coolest fashion trends to jump on for teens/young adults, leaving the hipster aesthetics in the dust.

2017 really doesn't feel too different from 2019 in my opinion, while it does noticeably from 2015.

Transitional school year from the mid to late 2010s, it was quite wild to experience at the time...

Transitional school year from the mid to late 2010s, it was quite wild to experience at the time...

Indeed it was. That whole era from Late 2014-2017 feels like an exhausting fever dream looking back, when polarized politics (i.e. SJWs vs alt-right) hit a peak and everyone acted like they were hopped-up on crazy pills. 2018-2019 was when things calmed down a bit.

Indeed it was. That whole era from Late 2014-2017 feels like an exhausting fever dream looking back, when polarized politics (i.e. SJWs vs alt-right) hit a peak and everyone acted like they were hopped-up on crazy pills. 2018-2019 was when things calmed down a bit.


I agree. But while the political climate wasn't as divisive as 2016-2017, there were still some significant issues for people to debate about, like the longest-running U.S. government shutdown in history, and it was mainly because Trump didn't have enough funding for his wall.

I voted late 2010's but honestly I think it was transitional.

Indeed it was. That whole era from Late 2014-2017 feels like an exhausting fever dream looking back, when polarized politics (i.e. SJWs vs alt-right) hit a peak and everyone acted like they were hopped-up on crazy pills. 2018-2019 was when things calmed down a bit.


2017 felt pretty calm by comparison. It had this vibe like Trump is now president and we just have to accept it whether we like it or not. Although the later half of the year things started picking up again, with the Charlottesville, VA incident, the Las Vegas mass shootings, and the Times Square incident. 2016 seemed to be the boiling point of the SJW vs. Alt-right tensions, which escalated in 2015 and started in 2014.

From my point of view, September 2016 was when things shifted. Now dont get me wrong, I do believe Late 2016 to Late 2017 was transitional although I could tell things went for a more interesting turn during that time. Memes went for a more dank style with deep-fried and starts with "when," along with the decline of Vine's popularity. Trap started to really take over pop at this point because of Desiigner, Rae Sremmurd, Lil Yachty, etc. The iPhone 7 got huge traction for the headphone jack removal, and bezel-less phones were first showcased with the Xiaomi Mi Mix. Overwatch got really big, and PC Gaming started becoming more popular over consoles. Fashion was mainly the same, although the Hipster scene started to really fade at this point, until around Mid 2017 when Hipsters are fully gone. Pewdiepie was out of his Brofist phase, and new YouTubers like MrBeast came into the scene.

From my point of view, September 2016 was when things shifted. Now dont get me wrong, I do believe Late 2016 to Late 2017 was transitional although I could tell things went for a more interesting turn during that time. Memes went for a more dank style with deep-fried and starts with "when," along with the decline of Vine's popularity. Trap started to really take over pop at this point because of Desiigner, Rae Sremmurd, Lil Yachty, etc. The iPhone 7 got huge traction for the headphone jack removal, and bezel-less phones were first showcased with the Xiaomi Mi Mix. Overwatch got really big, and PC Gaming started becoming more popular over consoles. Fashion was mainly the same, although the Hipster scene started to really fade at this point, until around Mid 2017 when Hipsters are fully gone. Pewdiepie was out of his Brofist phase, and new YouTubers like MrBeast came into the scene.

I would say Athleisure already became more popular than hipster throughout the period.

From my point of view, September 2016 was when things shifted. Now dont get me wrong, I do believe Late 2016 to Late 2017 was transitional although I could tell things went for a more interesting turn during that time. Memes went for a more dank style with deep-fried and starts with "when," along with the decline of Vine's popularity. Trap started to really take over pop at this point because of Desiigner, Rae Sremmurd, Lil Yachty, etc. The iPhone 7 got huge traction for the headphone jack removal, and bezel-less phones were first showcased with the Xiaomi Mi Mix. Overwatch got really big, and PC Gaming started becoming more popular over consoles. Fashion was mainly the same, although the Hipster scene started to really fade at this point, until around Mid 2017 when Hipsters are fully gone. Pewdiepie was out of his Brofist phase, and new YouTubers like MrBeast came into the scene.


You hit the spot ! This is a great summary of how I view 2016-2017.

2016-2017 was late 2010’s in my opinion. It was the start of a new era culturally and politically.

Seems like we ALL view this season as transformative.
I can't wait until the 2020-2021 school year gets here!!! that's probably gonna be 2008-2009 LEVEL I predict, since right now the cultural/societal world has been put at a halt!

I'm surprised at how many people said late 2010's instead of transitional.

From what I remember, the 2016-2017 school year felt a lot more transitional than just outright "late 2010's". I'd said most of the school year leaned late 2010's, but IMO it had a different vibe compared to 2017-2018 and especially 2018-2019. This was the last full school year before anyone heard of Fortnite. This is also the last school year I noticed iPhone 5c's were still quite common.

2017-2018 is the first outright late 2010's school year IMO. You could tell it wasn't the same era as 2015-2016 anymore. If TikTok is still popular 2-3 years from now, then that school year will win the most quintessential late 2010's school year.

I technically voted late 2010's but I should've voted transitional. I wish I could change my vote.


Seems like we ALL view this season as transformative.
I can't wait until the 2020-2021 school year gets here!!! that's probably gonna be 2008-2009 LEVEL I predict, since right now the cultural/societal world has been put at a halt!

I feel like the 2021-2022 school year will be the quintessential "post-coronavirus" school year because that's when a vaccine is predicted to officially be out. It'll be after the coronavirus pandemic is over but the effects will linger. It's like the 2001-2002 school year with 9/11.

I'm surprised at how many people said late 2010's instead of transitional.

From what I remember, the 2016-2017 school year felt a lot more transitional than just outright "late 2010's". I'd said most of the school year leaned late 2010's, but IMO it had a different vibe compared to 2017-2018 and especially 2018-2019. This was the last full school year before anyone heard of Fortnite. This is also the last school year I noticed iPhone 5c's were still quite common.

2017-2018 is the first outright late 2010's school year IMO. You could tell it wasn't the same era as 2015-2016 anymore. If TikTok is still popular 2-3 years from now, then that school year will win the most quintessential late 2010's school year.

I technically voted late 2010's but I should've voted transitional. I wish I could change my vote.
I feel like the 2021-2022 school year will be the quintessential "post-coronavirus" school year because that's when a vaccine is predicted to officially be out. It'll be after the coronavirus pandemic is over but the effects will linger. It's like the 2001-2002 school year with 9/11.


I think the reason people consider this a late 2010s school year is because of the obvious election of Donald Trump. Trap starting to dominate the charts and Soundcloud rap began to influence Gen Z. Vine culture was six feet under throughout the year. I picked transitional, but it does lean more late.

I think the reason people consider this a late 2010s school year is because of the obvious election of Donald Trump. Trap starting to dominate the charts and Soundcloud rap began to influence Gen Z. Vine culture was six feet under throughout the year. I picked transitional, but it does lean more late.


The 2017-2018 school year solidified late 2010s culture imo. Soundcloud and mumble rap was at its peak with artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, and Lil Pump. Cardi B was the new female face of rap. I also remember undercuts and hypebeast clothing being popular with kids around my school. Snapchat and Instagram became the two most used platforms for teens (and still are to this day).

There was a tragic uptick of mass shootings like Las Vegas and Sutherland Springs in late 2017. I remember my social studies and forensics classes analyzing the former shooting from the location where the shooting took place. The Sutherland Springs shooting was still a tragedy, but it wasn't as widely notable. The Parkland shooting, however, changed everything. There were national 17-minute school walkouts and the largest youth-led US protest in history was held (March for Our Lives). The Santa Fe shooting also happened, and I knew about it during school.  :\'(

I remember kids getting iPhone Xs by spring of 2018, probably because of the exorbitant price of $1000 for the phones. Before then, I've seen mostly iPhone 7/8s on their hands.

I also want to point out that I remember XXXTentacion blew up in early 2017 with his song "Look At Me". I remember when I heard this, I thought that he was going to make a new movement of young rappers, which he did.

Summer 2016 was the last "hoorah" of late mid 10s.

Was that the year when you left school?  ;D

Oops... i obviously meant to say "mid 10s" not "late mid 10s"...

Coincidentally yes...


But I live in SE Asia so there are obviously differences in cultures... I only see the 2016 as the last hoorah of mid 10s in general terms... Pokemon Go comes to mind...


I agree with you. Late 2016, in particular, felt like a transition from the mid-2010s to late 2010s with Trump's win, Brexit, trap becoming more popular, pop being more downbeat, and surreal memes. Obama was a lame duck, but the late 2010s reality was emerging around the fall months, imo.

Summer 2016 was the last "hoorah" of mid 10s.

Fall 2017 was when late 10s culture started to dominate: Fortnite, mumble rap, etc.

In between those is the 2016-17 school year, which saw the 2016 election, SJW culture going strong, the rise (again) of Twitter, Vine dying..., But late 2010s culture wasn't really established either...

in late 2010s (past 2 years), I started to notice that the decline in the number of recent (less than a year old) music videos among the "top 100 ALL TIME most viewed YouTube Music videos", which marked the "Exodus" (for lack of a better word) of music listeners from YouTube to Spotify...Up until "Despacito" era, there are still a fair amount of recent (less than a year old) music videos in the top 100 all-time most viewed YouTube video list...  Not really the case for the past two years or so... I mean even "Old Town Road" still hasn't reached top 100 most viewed YouTube music videos...

So, 2016-17 is transitional to me...

I definitely agree. 2016-2017 was more transitional than a full-on late 2010s period like 2017-18 and 2018-19 were.

Late 2016 was probably the last time when many mid 2010s stuff were relevant before declining rapidly at the turn of 2017 and disappeared for good at fall 2017.