Growing up in the mid-2000s was both an odd and dynamic time. It was the new millennium and we had access to more technology than ever before. Unfortunately, much of that was still in its infant phase. That meant technology had a lot of glitches and unique requirements. But we didn’t mind — we loved using it so much, we did it anyway.
And yes, that consisted of painfully slow downloads that sometimes, took days to complete. It meant limited battery space on pretty much any device. And it equated to giving your entire computer a deadly virus because you just had to download a song off Limewire.
Of course, the mid-2000s weren’t ALL about tech. There were also some truly horrendous fashion choices. Remember gauchos, Crocs, Livestrong bracelets, and bubble shirts? Those crimes against fashion were totally cringeworthy, but admit it: you thought they were super cool.
Fifteen years later, the world has completely changed. But if you were a teen in the mid-2000s, you’ll never forget these problems you faced on a daily basis. We should all get badges that say, “I survived the years 2003-2006.” Kids today will never understand.
The ancestors of the tech we use today were getting their start in the mid-2000s. Unfortunately, they had a minuscule battery life. Nothing was worse than trying to listen to your new Blink-182 album only to have it die halfway through the first track.
2. Your CD Player Wouldn’t Recognize Your Burned CD
The mid-2000s were the heyday of music piracy, so most millennials technically have a criminal record. But we weren’t ripping digital albums. We were burning CDs, which inevitably would not be recognized by any player available.
3. You Had to Wait for the Sweet After-9-p.m. Free Cell Minutes
Back in 2006, cell phones still used minutes. You had a monthly limit, and once those minutes were gone, you were out of luck. But there was a sweet caveat: talking after 9 p.m. was free.
Everyone back in the day had a Livestrong bracelet — or at least, everyone who was cool. But, they weren’t particularly durable. Before you knew it, you were fiddling with it in class and the whole thing tore.
Netflix was in its infancy in the mid-2000s and streaming didn’t yet exist. That meant Blockbuster was your best option for getting a movie fast. But when your local movie rental store ran out of copies, you were out of luck.
Computer downloads in the mid-2000s could take anywhere from hours to days. When you tried to download a song, you could expect to be waiting for a while. Even worse, it could be interrupted at any time.
7. When Someone Interrupted the Download You’d Been Working On All Day
Speaking of which, when you settled in waiting for something to download, you couldn’t use the computer for anything else. If someone tried, it meant starting the whole process over from the beginning. Thanks, Mom.
What browser do you use — Chrome, Firefox, or Safari? Back in the mid-2000s, the choice was Internet Explorer, which was prone to random crashes that wiped out whatever tabs you had open.
Remember TV Guide, watching channels scroll by while you tried to select yours? If you missed (and you usually did), it meant watching all the channels scroll through again until you managed to catch it.
Back in the mid-2000s, you’d go on vacation and load your camera up with what you thought were great pictures. But you also didn’t have access to an instant camera review. A week later, you’d get your photos developed and find out they were all blurry.
While CDs were pretty revolutionary when they came out, they were a far cry from streaming service quality. Sometimes, seemingly for no reason, they started to do the dreaded “skip.” That usually spelled the end for your CD.
You’d lend a CD to a friend, reminding them to be careful with it, and they swore they would. But then when they returned it, it would have a scratch that they said wasn’t their fault. It didn’t matter — it made the CD totally unplayable.
Xboxes were super cool even in the mid-2000s, but they were prone to developing the “red ring of death,” meaning “general user error.” Good luck figuring it out on your own!
Remember scootering along with your friends, having a grand old time with your Razor? Then suddenly, it flipped under your foot and clipped your ankle. The pain was so bad, you probably still remember it 15 years later.
Ah, Limewire, our favorite music pirating application of the 21st century. It moved as slowly as molasses and was liable to give your computer a fatal disease. But we all loved it.
You would set up a recording on your phone and hold it up close to your CD player, ready to make the perfect ringtone. Then your mom would walk into your room right as you were about to finish.
Customizing Converse shoes were the height of cool back in the mid-2000s, but making a spelling error meant disaster. There was no salvaging them, and your cool shoes just got significantly less cool.
Back in the day, we thought Uggs were the coolest shoes around. Of course, they looked like clumpy Lego feet, but we thought they were amazing. The problem – they weren’t exactly waterproof. One misstep and you had wet shoes for the rest of the day.
Gel pens were extremely popular in middle school but they weren’t exactly known for being long-lasting. If you lost the cap to one of them, you could bet the pen would dry out and be useless in just a few hours.
Boogie boards were the flotation devices we never needed. They were slippery, awkward, and always ended up shooting up out of the water to hit you in the face. Every kid growing up in the mid-2000s tried to hold it under, though.
Back in the day, Netflix wasn’t a streaming service. It was a movie delivery service, but not exactly speedy. You could wait anywhere from days to weeks to get the movies you wanted to watch.
22. When You Had to Organize Playlists with Album Art
We were extremely dedicated to our music organization back in the day. We downloaded each song at a glacial pace and then sorted them into playlists complete with customized album art. It took days to make a single playlist.
At one time, we used VHS tapes to watch movies, and heaven help you if you pulled the tape from the VCR the wrong way. Doing so meant pulling the actual tape material out and absolutely ruining it for good.
24. When You Had to Text Your Significant Other from Your Mom’s Phone
Cell phones are a necessity nowadays, but in 2005, they were a luxury. More often than not, that meant texting your significant other from your mom’s phone and telling them not to reply with anything too scandalous (like “XOXO”)\.
The work that went into downloading and organizing playlists was far from perfect. If you mislabeled a song on your computer, the track was stuck with the wrong name for the rest of time.
VHS tapes weren’t just delicate — they were also reusable. Nothing was worse than when your mom taped over your copy of The Lizzie McGuire Movie with footage of your brother’s birthday party.
27. When You Could Only Play Sky Diver on Your Phone
Nowadays, the app store offers more options for games than you could play in your lifetime. However, in the mid-2000s, you only had the option of the games your cell phone came with. Let’s just say that they were pretty rudimentary.
28. When You Tried to Burn a CD And it Failed at the Last Track
Burning a CD didn’t take as long as downloading, but it was still a slow process. Then, in the 12th track, you’d see that dreaded error message that it failed to burn.
29. When You Didn’t Print the Whole Map Off Of MapQuest
We didn’t have Google Maps back in the day, just MapQuest, a faulty site that required printing directions. The second and third pages were usually just filled with ads, but sometimes you’d realize — halfway through your road trip — that they also had a few crucial directions that you’d forgotten to print.
30. When Your Friends Had Cool iPods and You Had a Lame MP3 Player
iPods were the ultimate in coolness back in middle school. Unfortunately, they were also insanely expensive. That meant you had to stick with an mp3 player, which was way less cool.
Texting was pretty laborious in 2005. You had to use T9, pressing each button multiple times for a single letter, and there was a character limit. Because of that, you had to keep things short and sweet. No wonder text talk evolved.
32. When You Had to Become an HTML Expert to Change Your MySpace Page
Personal blogs in the 2010s are easy to customize because they’re hosted on a platform like WordPress. If you wanted to change MySpace, you had to become an actual computer programmer.
We didn’t have laptops in the mid-2000s. Instead, there were single family desktop computers with a be background. Nothing like having to sign off IM because your mom had to send an email.
MySpace was the place to be in the mid-2000s, but it had some pretty odd features. Among them was your personal Top 8. There was nothing like having a fight with your friend and getting removed from their list.
35. When Windows Decided to Shut Down for no Reason
You’d be happily minding your own business, playing Oregon Trail, when up popped the message: “Windows is restarting.” There was no warning and apparently no reason. You just had to wait.
36. When Some Kid Was Hogging Dance Dance Revolution
You’d go to an arcade hoping to play the ultimately cool Dance Dance Revolution, only to have to wait on some other kid who decided it was his own personal machine.
We put a lot of thought into our Sims games. If your siblings really wanted to make you mad, they’d go in, rename your characters, and completely change the family structure that you’d worked so hard on.
38. When Your Downloaded Song Turned Out to be the Kidz Bop Version
We mentioned how slow downloads were back in the mid-2000s. Imagine waiting for hours or days to get that sweet track, only to find out it was mislabeled on Limewire and was actually the Kidz Bop version.
39. When You Got Called Out by a Friend’s Away Message
You and your friend would get into an argument, then they’d change their Away message on IM to read something like: “I wish you could always know who your true friends are.”
40. When You Had to Use a Portable DVD Player to Watch a Movie on The Road
In 2019, you can watch a movie from anywhere as long as you have a cell phone. In the mid-2000s, watching a movie on the road meant bringing a portable DVD player, a CD holder for the DVDs, and the charger.
41. When You Had to Get Off AIM Because Your Parents Needed the Computer
AIM was the place to be after school back in the mid-2000s. But with a single shared family desktop, if your mom needed the computer, you had to put up your Away message and log off.
42. When No One Would Let You Borrow a Cell Phone for Fear of Running Out of Minutes
Digital cameras were so cool when they came out, but they had seriously limited battery life. Better bring a backup battery or four if you were planning on going on vacation.
44. When the Sims Crashed Because it Used Too Much Memory
In the mid-2000s, we all still had landlines. That meant that inevitably while talking to your crush after school, your mom would need to make a phone call right away.
46. When Your Computer Mouse Stopped Working Because it Got Dirty
Desktop computers meant separate computer mice with the roller in the bottom. They constantly attracted dust and wouldn’t work unless you took them apart and cleaned them.
You’d get to school, excited to be the cool kid listening to their iPod at lunch, only to realize you’d forgotten to sync that awesome new playlist you had.
49. When TRL Cut the Music to Pan Over the Audience
With digital cameras, you could view your pictures before printing them. But inevitably, they’d look way better on the screen. You ended up with a bunch of blurry printouts.
50 relatable problems from the mid-2000s that will take you down memory lane
Cedric Jackson
05.10.19
Growing up in the mid-2000s was both an odd and dynamic time. It was the new millennium and we had access to more technology than ever before. Unfortunately, much of that was still in its infant phase. That meant technology had a lot of glitches and unique requirements. But we didn’t mind — we loved using it so much, we did it anyway.
And yes, that consisted of painfully slow downloads that sometimes, took days to complete. It meant limited battery space on pretty much any device. And it equated to giving your entire computer a deadly virus because you just had to download a song off Limewire.
Of course, the mid-2000s weren’t ALL about tech. There were also some truly horrendous fashion choices. Remember gauchos, Crocs, Livestrong bracelets, and bubble shirts? Those crimes against fashion were totally cringeworthy, but admit it: you thought they were super cool.
Fifteen years later, the world has completely changed. But if you were a teen in the mid-2000s, you’ll never forget these problems you faced on a daily basis. We should all get badges that say, “I survived the years 2003-2006.” Kids today will never understand.
