If You Grew Up In The Early 2000s, You Likely Still Do These 11 Oddly Specific Things Without Thinking
Only something someone who grew up in the early 2000s will understand doing certain things that seem weird to everyone else.
Krakenimages.com | Shutterstock I was born in the 1990s, which means that my formative years took place in the early 2000s. There are so many things I remember from that time period. From the increased popularity of cell phones to the music download sites that infected our parents’ computers with viruses. Those of us who grew up in this period are unique.
It was a time of technological advancements and interesting fashion choices. While the younger generations originally questioned our interests, they are now embracing our favorite things. From matching sweat suits to low-rise jeans, things we never thought would make a comeback are. However, for many of us, these trends never died. There are many oddly specific things that people who grew up in the early 2000s have continued to do even into the mid-2020s. You may not even notice they’re still part of your life all these years later.
If you grew up in the early 2000s, you likely still do these 11 oddly specific things without thinking
1. Say ‘BRB’ and “TTYL’ in conversations
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I don’t know about you, but the trend of saying ‘be right back’ and ‘talk to you later’ is ingrained in me. We loved to use shortcuts when texting. Not only was it practical, but we come from a generation that had to worry about word count in our messages or we’d get charged more on our phone bill, and our parents would not be happy. We'd use as many abbreviations as we could. It was just part of texting and instant messaging in the early 2000s.
I still, to this day, say these phrases in my daily life. Sometimes, I’ll even say the abbreviation out loud. My friends and I often say ‘BRB’ to each other, even when we are speaking in person. At this point, it feels like it’s ingrained in our DNA. I don’t even think before I do it! If you grew up in the early 2000s, you know all about this form of communication.
2. Have phone numbers memorized
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In the early days, we didn’t have cell phones with address books. Instead, we wrote down phone numbers on paper and eventually would memorize them. If you needed to call your parents from school or a friend's house, you wouldn’t have access to your list of phone numbers. Memorization was the only way to make sure you could stay in touch with certain people. We may not need to do this anymore, but for those who grew up during this time, we still memorize phone numbers because what if our phones die?
“Knowing your family, friends, and emergency contacts’ phone numbers is important if you lose your mobile device. This is especially true for business owners who may need to call a repairman, a delivery driver, or a customer service representative,” says StrategyDriven. Need a trick to help you remember them? They recommend repetition. “When attempting to memorize a phone number, repetition is key. Repeating it out loud or writing it down multiple times helps you establish neural pathways in your brain, making it easier to recall the number when needed.”
3. Stay loyal to fashion trends
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For a long time, I refused to give up my skinny jeans. They were my go-to pants for well over a decade of my life. I’ve decided to branch out now, but it was hard at first. Fashion trends from the early 2000s have come in and out of style over time. However, those of us who grew up during this time don’t want to give up our favorite trends without thinking about it. We are too attached.
Low-rise jeans are an example of this. For many of us, we grew up wearing low-rise jeans and had to get used to high-rise pants. Now, low-rise jeans have come back in style. A lot of early 2000s kids are ecstatic to have their beloved style back in fashion. I can’t relate, but I know many people who can.
4. Have a strong fear of computer viruses
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Technology has advanced far beyond what we had in the early 2000s. That doesn’t mean that we have lost our fears of the viruses that once mutilated our computers. Downloading music could land us grounded for life if it meant making our family computer crash. I don’t know about you, but whenever I download anything, I am still fearful that some sort of virus will destroy my computer from the inside. Of course, it never happens anymore, but it’s something those of us who grew up in the early 2000s oddly still do today.
In case you didn’t grow up in the 2000s, this is what we were dealing with. “Computer worms and viruses experienced significant evolution throughout the 2000s, largely fueled by the rapid expansion of Internet access and connectivity,” writes George Whitson, PhD., for EBSCO. “A notable incident was the ILOVEYOU worm in May 2000, which infected millions of Windows computers via email attachments, underscoring the need for effective antivirus solutions.”
5. Still use a calculator for simple math problems
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What was going on in math classrooms in the early 2000s? It seems like everyone I know, myself included, struggles to solve basic math equations. For most of us, we spent the early years of our education being forced to multiply and divide without technology. However, come middle school and high school, we could use calculators, and we never looked back.
Maybe we became a bit too attached to our calculators. Sure, I could probably do some basic math on my own. But why should we have to? Math was hard enough, and now we have a calculator with us at all times through our phones. Of course, I am going to use it, no matter how simple the equation.
6. Never leaving anyone on read
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This one goes back to our constant hours spent on AOL Instant Messaging. Do you remember the anxiety that would come from sending a message to your crush, seeing them typing, only to have them never send a message in return? I don’t know about you, but I never want to instill that fear in someone I love. I always try to get back to the people who text me. Leaving them on read after our AIM days just feels wrong.
“If you're the type of person who leaves texts on read, explain that you often get distracted or engaged in something else. If you're the type of person who expects quick responses or feels upset or anxious when texts are left on read, start a healthy conversation about it so that you don't continue to feel that way,” says Marisa Casciano for Elite Daily.
7. Have the urge to flip things
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If you didn’t have a cell phone in the early 2000s, this one might sound strange. The younger generations grew up with iPhones, while the older ones only had landlines. Those of us who came of age in the early 2000s were sandwiched between these two and experienced something truly magical: the flip phone. Better yet, the T-Mobile Sidekick had a screen that would fully flip over to open up a keyboard.
There was something so satisfying about flipping phones open and closed. I remember the popular girls at school constantly flipping their phones and letting out that loud smacking noise that came with it. It was a cool thing to do. If there’s something I can snap open and close, I have to do it. To get that sweet sense of nostalgia.
8. Keep your phone on silent
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Do you remember how loud our ringtones were in the early 2000s? We had so much fun customizing them. However, they were a bit obnoxious. Now, I can’t imagine ever having my phone on silent. It brings me a sense of peace that we didn’t have very often with our first cell phones.
If you do the same, it may be from the stress a phone call would induce back then. Turns out, we’re on the right track in preventing unnecessary stress and distractions. “Keeping the ringtone off shields the nervous system from that steady stream of alerts, letting heart rate and cortisol stay low for longer stretches,” says Eric Ralls. “Physiologically, every ping can produce a brief spike in sympathetic nervous activity, a response designed for survival but unhelpful when the alert is a discount code.”
9. Close pop-ups without reading them
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The early days of the internet were wild. We would open websites and behold: 2,000 pop-ups. They would all come up at once. Whether they were advertisements or warnings about potential viruses, they could be so overwhelming that, without even thinking, we would close them all as quickly as possible. Did we read them? No way!
Now, I do the same. Is this website asking me to approve cookies or warning me that they might steal all of my personal information? I wouldn’t know! It’s an oddly specific trait I inherited from that mad dash to close out of all the occasionally inappropriate pop-ups I would get from trying to download my favorite songs. It’s a normal response for some of us now.
10. Collect physical media
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Much of this article has focused on the art of downloading music. It was a serious thing back in the early 2000s! However, we also had a strong physical media collection. We would have to go to the local music store to get the latest CDs by our favorite bands. When movies would leave theaters, if we wanted to watch them again, we had to buy them on DVD. This led to me having a large DVD collection of my own. Sure, we can stream anything now, but there’s something special about owning it in the flesh. It’s a specific trait we’ve inherited and do without thinking.
“There’s a real joy in slowly building up our collection over time. We actively keep an eye out for movies in estate sales and charity shops,” says Kate Moran, a millennial who is building her physical media collection again. “We dig through bargain crates in local vinyl shops to find hidden treasures. The effort and time we put into this activity probably contribute to our overall enjoyment. (This is also why collectors of luxury goods value most those items that are hardest to obtain — though vintage DVDs are substantially cheaper than a vintage Chanel bag.)”
11. Turn something off and on to fix it
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I have very vivid memories of a DVD player malfunctioning. My parents told me, ‘Turn it off and turn it back on again.’ This became an oddly specific thing that I continue to do without thinking about it. My phone is acting weird. I’m turning it off and turning it back on before I try anything else. I know I am not the only one. Our generation grew up with this idea, and we’ve stuck with it.
If you do this, you’re making the right move.
“In the realm of IT support, the age-old advice to 'turn it off and on again' has become a go-to solution for individuals encountering issues with their devices. The simplicity of this method prompts curiosity – why does rebooting a device often prove effective in resolving problems?” says Flex I.T. “At its core, electronic devices operate as state-based machines, where the input dictates the state they transition to. In the complex landscape of modern computers and laptops, a myriad of processes occur simultaneously. However, when a device encounters issues, it usually involves a single program struggling or conflicting commands, confusing the machine about its current 'state.' Turning the device off and on again effectively resets it to its initial state, allowing a fresh start and often resolving the issues.”
Haley Van Horn is a freelance writer with a master’s degree in Humanities, living in Los Angeles. Her focus includes entertainment and lifestyle stories.
