Recently, there was a debate in certain threads that the 2010-2011 or 2011-2012 school year was peak early 2010s. Do you guys think 2010-2011 was the quintessential early 2010s school year or do you think it's 2011-2012?

In my opinion, the 2010-2011 would be peak early 2010s because this was the time when electropop was absolutely everywhere on the charts. It was the time when smartphone sales began to have an increase compared to previous years while there were still plenty of sliders and blackberries. 2011-2012 was very early 2010s but there were core 2010s stuff beginning to appear.

Well, both years had a highly substantial amount of electropop and upbeat music, but 2010 and mostly 2011 were when electropop continued to dominate the pop scene. 2012 was a bit varied with indie pop (fun. and Gotye) and burgeoning EDM (Swedish House Mafia and Calvin Harris), but electropop was still huge.

I remember that Aero, Hollister, and neon clothing were the norm in both school years (back when I had casual clothing days in my catholic school), so it's a tie for clothing for me.

Smartphone usage wasn't really dominant in both school years, but with the way how smartphone sales continued to trend upward throughout the decade, I'm inclined to say that the 2011-12 period had more smartphones being used than 2010-11.

EDIT: Come to think of it, I'm changing my mind on the whole "peak early 2010s" debate. You and others convinced me that 2011-2012 or 2012-2013 does seem to be the peak of everything that happened in the early 2010s: EDM, electro-rap/pop, trollface memes and rage comics, Silver Age YouTube, indie pop, hipster fashion, and many more facets.

Thanks for that.  :)

I'm surprised with the answers. I expected 2010-2011 to get more votes considering the year was dominated by Teenage Dream-era Katy Perry, Loud-era Rihanna, and other electropop stuff. 2011-2012 was a bit more diverse than the previous year with EDM and Indie tracks.

I'm surprised with the answers. I expected 2010-2011 to get more votes considering the year was dominated by Teenage Dream-era Katy Perry, Loud-era Rihanna, and other electropop stuff. 2011-2012 was a bit more diverse than the previous year with EDM and Indie tracks.


Because, as I eluded to in the past, 2010-11' being the 'peak' of the 'Electropop era' doesn't necessarily mean it being the 'peak' of the cultural 'Early 2010s'. The 'Electropop era' as a whole encompassed 2008-2013 or so, covering both the Late 2000s and Early 2010s. Even if many things were already leaning more towards Early 2010s culture by 2010-11', particularly with music being a prime example, there was still a decent amount of Late 2000s holdovers that were still evident, fashion most notably.

Hence, why I think it makes more sense to ascribe 2011-12' as the 'peak Early 2010s school year', because it was undoubtably 'Early 2010s' by that point. The things that you used as examples of 'core' 2010s influences creeping in during 2011-12', essentially proves my point, as those were just symbolic of us 'officially' exiting out of the cultural 2000s, for whatever few influences that we may have had left, and into the cultural 2010s.

It's really hard to truly convey. I was in high school during these years, and I do remember how faintly different 2011-12' was merely just a year prior. Heck, I first heard of 'dubstep' in Late 2011, a word that didn't even cross my mind beforehand ;D.

2011-2012. Electro pop has nothing to do with culture outside of music. What about movies, fashion and trends ? Gangnam style, Hunger Games, Project X, Taylor Swift’s change from country to pop, 2012 scare, the popularity of iphones/smartphones (iphone 4/ 4s), etc.

If we simply talk about the Electropop era that lasted from 2008/09 till Mid 2013, then the 2010-11 school year would be the peak year for that. Electropop was everywhere as you guys know it, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Chris Brown, and lots of artists were all with the electropop movement. Even hip hop takes cues from Electropop thanks to Nicki Minaj, as well as EDM as LMFAO and Calvin Harris takes inspiration, although Dubstep hasn't begun yet. Shows like Glee, Breaking Bad, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, and Drop Dead Diva were in their golden age, so does Disney Channel shows like Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, Suite Life On Deck, and Phineas and Ferb continued their runs, although this was the last full year the former aired new episodes. Late 2000s influences remained relevant thanks to Flip phones, MySpace, and the last gasp of Emo, which was being taken over by 80s-inspired neon clothing, and iPhones were gaining momentum as the year progressed.

If we strictly talk about the Early 2010s, excluding 2009 and its late 2000s influences, then 2011-12 is the peak year for that. iPhones have completely taken over Flip Phones at this point, Emo was mostly gone, and Facebook became the new king of social media. The only late 2000s influences that remain at this point would be with the YouTube scene, Youtubers like Ray William Johnson, Ryan Higa, and Smosh were still in their prime, though newer YouTubers like Pewdiepie and Tobuscus were increasing in view counts and subscribers. New TV shows such as Homeland, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Grimm either premiered or enter their golden age, taking over the former shows that was mentioned on top. Music features a lot more variety, Electropop was still in its prime, and continues to influence Hip Hop and EDM in a lot of ways, though Indie Pop was gaining momentum thanks to Adele, and Hipster music broke into the scene. On the gaming side of things, it is also worth mentioning that the Xbox 360 was still at its apex as it was the dominant console at the time, and Call of duty peaked this year thanks to Black Ops 2, while newer games like Minecraft, Roblox, and Triple A Games like Skyrim and Dark Souls were gaining steam. Neon fashion was at its peak, so was the shaggy hair but thanks to Justin Bieber, the undercut was gaining popularity as well, and Hipsters were increasingly becoming the go-to style for millennials.

TL:DR? 2010-11 was the peak year of the Electropop era, but if we strictly talk about the Early 2010s, then 2011-12 fits that term better.