Do you need some advice on how to write a story set in the 2000s? Check out the 10 top tips we’ve included below!
1. The decade began with 9/11 and the “War on Terror.”
Why It’s So 00s
You cannot set a story in the 2000s without mentioning the shocking plane attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on 9/11/2021. They changed the Western world and, for the entirety of the US, at least, created a splinter moment in life of ‘before 9/11’ and ‘after 9/11.’
The ensuing ‘War on Terror’ in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan drew out that collective feeling of fear and anxiety and concern for the safety of the country and way of life. Not until the death of Osama Bin Laden in the 2010s did that feeling ever really subside.
How to Include It
Especially if your story is based around anyone living in or near New York City, have your characters discuss how they were affected by the event. Nearly everyone alive and over the age of 10 at that time has a ‘I was [here] when the towers were hit’ story, so your characters would have one, too, if the topic gets brought up.
You could include TV reports on the military developments in the Middle East, or have your characters discuss how they feel about the way the government is handling the crisis.
2. Hurricane Katrina wrecked the Southeast.
Why It’s So 00s
The next defining moment of the 2000s was Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. What made Katrina so devastating was the lack of preparation: it wasn’t just that the levees protecting New Orleans hadn’t been reinforced in over 30 years like they should have been, resulting in them breaking and flooding the city center; it was that, overnight, Katrina strengthened by nearly double and changed direction dramatically.
Evacuations like what was needed for Katrina often take days and lots of coordination; the people of Louisiana and south Mississippi had hours. The government didn’t have enough funds or emergency personnel to handle helping 15% of the country recover from nothing, especially after 9/11 four years earlier.
How to Include It
This depends largely on where your story is set: if set elsewhere in the country, you could include conversations about the devastation or even have characters who travel down to help in the relief effort (there were thousands).
If set in Louisiana or South Mississippi between August 2005 and 2008, then show how your characters deal with the complete destruction of their homes and hometowns. They lost all their worldly possessions essentially overnight. Describe how they had to climb onto their roof to escape the flooding or the sheer lawlessness and looting that took place directly before and after the storm. They would have some sort of PTSD after the event, so be sure to include it and why.
3. The first few Marvel superheroes made their way to the big screen.
Why It’s So 00s
Before the 2000s, superhero films were generally regulated to Batman and Superman and even those were a bit of a joke by the end of the 90s. It was the success of the X-Men film in 2000 and the first Spiderman film in 2002 that expanded the support for more Marvel superheroes on the big screen.
When the first Ironman movie was released in 2008, it launched the Avengers franchise as we know it today. Even Batman got a bit of a makeover with Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy taking a darker and grittier turn that impacted the other films in the DC extended universe.
How to Include It
As popular animated cartoon series in the 90s, the X-Men and Spiderman films were hotly anticipated, so if your characters are 30 years old or younger, they would be excited about these films (and equally as disappointed by the third installment of each franchise).
Nolan’s Batman series was also such a change from the 1980s Batman that your characters would likely discuss which one they preferred or whether Ledger would make a better Joker than Jack Nicholson. You could also include characters who feel the opposite: a lot of older movie goers often felt that superhero films were going to ruin films by focusing too much on action and comic book themes.
4. The British Invasion of Harry Potter.
Why It’s So 00s
This century’s ‘British invasion’ started not with music but with the release of the first Harry Potter film in 2000. Queues formed around the block for hours on end when a new book or new film was released. While there were other successful book-to-film adaptations, Harry Potter arguably had more of an impact on society because its popularity grew as its audience grew. Fans who loved the books and films as preteens in 2000 loved it as much, if not more, as early 20-somethings at the end of the decade.
How to Include It
You could include characters discussing the books and comparing them to the films. If your characters are big film buffs, you could have them planning to attend a midnight launch of the new books. They should also be discussing which ‘house’ they would most likely get sorted into and making predictions on how the books will end.
5. Alternative rock and dubstep were taking over the air waves.
Why It’s So 00s
The 2000s were all about alternative rock and dubstep. Bands like Nickelback and Coldplay were gaining popularity with their ‘not-quite-soft’ rock approach. Skrillex popularized dubstep and influenced mainstream music to include a more techno-, bass-inspired rhythm. Much of the synthpop and club music of the 2010s and 2020s was inspired by dubstep’s rhythms and baselines.
How to Include It
Dubstep was pretty controversial; people either loved it or hated it with a passion, so if you include it, your characters cannot have mixed feelings about it. If you want your characters to be more into alternative rock, have them listen to bands like Dashboard Confessional and Coheed and Cambria, along with Coldplay and Nickelback (two other ‘love them or hate them’ bands people had strong feelings about in the 00s).
6. Texting was the newest form of communication.
Why It’s So 00s
Mobile phones were more popular in the 2000s, having gained color screens and texting ability. People, teens especially, developed the uncanny ability to use the phone’s keypad to text without even looking at their hands while they did it. ‘Text speak’ became part of everyday lingo and was so popular that older generations were actually worried it would ruin the English language with its lack of grammatical conventions.
How to Include It
Include text messages between your characters using only text speak (instead of ‘Meet you at the front door at 9pm,’ they’d say ‘C U @ front door @ 9’). Texting was often an extra cost on phone contracts in the 00s (usually 10 cents per text), so you could have your characters really annoyed when someone texts them or frustrated that their friends don’t all have unlimited texting plans.
7. Ereaders were going to destroy the printed word.
Why It’s So 00s
When the first Kindle came out in 2007, it revolutionized reading for pleasure. No longer did one have to carry three or four books with them on vacation; they could load up to 10 or 20 books on their ereader and pack it in their carry on for easy reading. While many worried ereaders would destroy the printed word (hint: it didn’t), this early ereader technology was the steppingstone to the launch of iPads and tablets in the 2010s.
How to Include It
Ereaders were also polarizing, so if you have characters who love the concept of the ereader, you should portray them as desperate to get others to buy one. You should also have characters who refuse to buy one simply to ‘protect the printed word.’
8. Social media was in its infancy but growing.
Why It’s So 00s
While Facebook is a social media giant now, it was only getting started in the mid-00s as a social networking tool for students to connect with other students at their own university. It wasn’t until 2007 that it opened its doors to the public at large.
But that’s not to say social media wasn’t a thing: Myspace was arguably the first truly popular public social media platform, and Twitter and YouTube both launched in 2005, opening the world to viral video memes and direct access to our favorite stars.
How to Include It
If you want to reference popular viral sensations of the 2000s, include comments regarding Charlie the Unicorn, Overdramatic Squirrel, Old Greg, Chocolate Rain, or Llamas with Hats. You could combine texting and Twitter by showing your characters texting their tweets (which is why there was originally the 120-character limit) and getting followed or replies by famous people of the era. You could also show characters writing blogs on Myspace or ‘Facebooking’ people who attend their university or high school.
9. Digital cameras were the main method of capturing memories.
Why It’s So 00s
Because smartphones weren’t a thing in the 00s and camera phones didn’t really get introduced until the late 00s, digital cameras were considered the big technological leap in photography. The ability to delete badly taken photos and replace them with better ones was novel, and with social media becoming more popular as a method for sharing photos and memories, digital cameras went everywhere we did.
How to Include It
If your characters are going on an adventure of some kind, have at least one character bring along their digital camera and take photos of everything. They should complain about having to change ‘memory cards’ (we didn’t call them SD cards back then) and be worried about the batteries dying.
10. The crash of the global market system in 2008.
Why It’s So 00s
The final big moment of the 00s was the crash of the housing market in 2008. Its effects were catastrophic to Western economies worldwide and, to some degree, the world still hasn’t recovered. Banks and businesses folded overnight, interest rates and mortgages skyrocketed, and many, many people were left without jobs or homes. Gas, in particular, nearly quadrupled in price from 2000 to 2010, starting at $1/gallon in 2001 and topping out at $5/gallon in some places by 2010.
How to Include It
If your characters are homeowners, show them struggling with the sudden change in the value of their house. Or may they lose their job. Restauranteurs would complain about the lack of customers, and everyone would complain about the rising costs of living.