In today’s world, pop culture is more accessible and intertwined into our daily lives than ever before. Blurbs of celebrity gossip are found on every app from Snapchat to Apple News. Thanks to social media like Instagram and Twitter we can know what our favorite celebrities are up to in real-time. Popular television can be accessed anywhere with Xfinity, Hulu, and Netflix. There is no doubt about it, modern technology is a blessing for pop culture junkies like me. Yet with more access than ever before, we die-hard consumers of pop culture can’t help but find ourselves longing for an old feeling, filled with desire and nostalgia. And for those of you who know what I’m talking about but can’t quite figure out why you feel this way, I have bad news for you: Pop culture peaked a long time ago.

The 2000s were a magical time. Technology was still newish, with websites like Perez Hilton and TMZ giving us breaking celebrity news, featuring exclusive paparazzi footage of the latest scandals. But there was still much unknown about the secret lives of famous people. Stories weren’t confirmed, tabloid sales skyrocketed, and people couldn’t get enough of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But, as everyone knows, all good things must come to an end. Let’s take a look at what gave this decade its unbreakable edge…

Excess

The years 1999-2009 were all about more - moderation simply didn’t exist. It was all about pushing the limits. Excess was attractive. More spray tan, more bleach in your hair, more body glitter on your chest. Why put one butterfly clip in your hair when you could put in five? The skirts were made shorter and the girls were becoming skinnier. Just look at the original Hollywood starlets - I’m talking Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie. Everything was pushed to the extreme and people couldn’t get enough. In today’s world we realize there’s no reason to be a cookie cutter of each other and celebrities are a little freer with what trends they feel they need to embrace and which ones they won’t. It's great and all, but it’s just not the same.

Exposure

The celebrities of the early 2000s were the ultimate trendsetters. They practically wrote the book on the art of exposure. For example, anything could be a shirt. A handkerchief? Sure. A scarf? Perfect! Pretty soon celebs *cough Britney cough* were even exposing their privates. People went nuts! And this concept goes far beyond the literal. Audiences were still naïve then. Madonna Frenching Britney at the VMAs was utter shock. Nowadays you just can’t get back that innocence. We’ve seen it all, we’ve heard it all. Shock value can’t exist in a desensitized world.

Exclusivity

It was hard to be a somebody back then. No one started off being Insta-famous or got discovered on Youtube. You were simply part of the It Club or you weren’t. Everything had this aura of exclusivity around it. You could read all the gossip blogs in the world, but did you really know who so-and-so was hooking up with? Now with celebs giving their own two cents on all media outlets, claiming that they’re ‘just like us!’ in every interview, that sparkle is gone. Fame no longer feels unobtainable, popularity no longer a secret formula.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to hark on today’s generation. The 2000s was a decade of magic and glory; but it was time to move on. Trends, celebrities, and moments of groundbreaking news still come and go. Pop Culture will never die, and for that I am thankful. But it will never be what it was. And for that, 2000s, I salute you.