The Decades Newest Stuff

Forget the big political or personal events of the past decade. Those gradual lifestyle changes that people do not always notice when they are happening are the kind that sometimes make even greater impact on people. So kick off those clog shoes (I hope you didn't actually buy a pair this decade), turn off that 52 inch big screen TV and get ready for a list of some of the things we had this decade, but didn't have prior to it.

* Infornews- It started about year 2000-2001. The "no news is good news unless it is entertaining" began. It's a sad fact but important news no takes second place to gossip and triviality, that is, if we are fortunate enough to get real news at all. Too, Reality TV is now our reality, and we are all much worse for it.

* Twittering- The new social network introduced tweets, retweets, follows and trending topics, as long as the message fit into 140 characters. I swear that I have never "tweeted" nor had any desire to do so.

* "Going green"- It took hold this decade because of environmental concerns of consumers and profitability advantages for sellers. the question about the excesses of greening is whether or not it has become sickening enough to turn us all blue.

* Tattoos- What was seen as deviant prior to the 2000's is now mainstream. Even moms get them, but I still can't think of a tattoo as anything but body mutilation.

*Cell phones- They are now used by more than 85 percent of the U.S. population and for some have replaced land lines. But not for me. I still fight my one man crusade to show they are the abomination of civilization.

* Facebook- They say it is a time sucking, time wasting obsession for more than 300 million users (me too) that are every where on the globe. Facebook may be a bigger uniter of cultural understanding and tolerance than any single thing prior to this decade.* ipods- It is hard to believe this portable media player was launched in 2001.....seems like everyone has one and they have been with us as long as the telephone.

*Tweenagers- Tweens, especially girls, became an economic force to be reckoned with, buying everything from clothes to electronic devices to music to concert tickets. "Like, it's totally awesome......"

*YouTube videos- The video-sharing site was born in 2005. Political candidates in 2008 even had their on YouTube channels and major news events are even discovered or covered with amateur yu tube productions

*Blogging- the world's favorite new sport in which unqualified writers post, inane commentary about nothing. What's worrisome is that people actually read the blogs in great numbers.

*Fat- This was the decade that fat became the enemy of the state. New York City banned trans fats, and Alabama, second in national obesity rankings, introduced a tax on overweight state workers. I'm just afraid they will take away my doughnuts.

*Starbucks- It is a cliché that there is one on every block..or is it? Well, the product is good, if way too expensive. I think the next decade will see the decline of Starbucks coffee dominance.

*Information Overload- An explosion in Internet use led to an overload of information about practically everything a large part of it being inaccurate? Just another reflection of the dumbing down of societies.

*Instant Gratification- Being able to get anything you want within an instant or throwing a tantrum became the norm. Might this be the theme of the first decade of the 2000's?

On that note, since I don't know if you agree....I am stomping my feet and ending this discussion right now.