Things from the 2000s that are now obsolete

Can you quite believe that more than two decades have passed since the beginning of the millennium? For many, it seems like yesterday and, for others, a world away.

So much has passed in these two long decades. There are many things that were done on a daily basis that now seem completely old-fashioned. Let's remember some of them.

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Streaming was a distant dream in the early 2000s - if you wanted to watch a new movie at home, you had to go to the video store and rent it. In that era, Blockbuster ruled the world.

There are already several generations who do not know what a landline is, or even the prefix of a particular area in the country is. Nor have they experienced the anguish of calling your friend's house without knowing who was going to pick up the phone. Those were distant times.

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If there was a telephone line in the house and five people lived there, it was necessary to go down to the phone booth to call. Sometimes even waiting for an hour for someone to finish. Don't believe us? Watch the movies.

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Postal mail has been officially sent to the past. The immediacy of instant messaging services has replaced carefully hand-written, personal letters. Saying that, some nostalgic people still use this resource, especially at Christmas for well-wishes.

Photo: Álvaro Serrano / Unsplash

Long before 'The Squid Game' took Netflix by storm, 'Snake' took over the world! It was such a simple game - and just as addictive, hooking millions of people around the world.

Ahhh... CDs. Gen Z stare at these prehistoric circles in confusion. Yet, in the year 2000 everyone had their case or cases full of CDs that, realistically, they would not have time to use in three lifetimes. But there they were. Just 'in case'.

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There may have been gadgets more uncomfortable than the Discman but it's hard to think right now. This was an enormous device that consumed more batteries than a NASA rocket. And yet, many people carried them on their backs to listen to their music on the street. In the 2000s, the Discman was synonymous with cool.

Just compare the audiences of the 2000s with those of today. If video killed the radio stars, streaming killed the general television. It's still at it as people want more and more 'on demand'.

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If you went out, you knew that you, your clothes, and your hair would come back smelling like an ashtray. You could smoke in bars, restaurants, clubs... Yet, we had moved on from the 80s, when doctors smoked in their offices.

Photo: Possessed Photography / Unsplash

At the beginning of the century, there were no cell phones with cameras and digital cameras had not yet taken off so, if you wanted photos, you had to finish the film and take them to be developed. After waiting 24 hours and paying for them you then got a number of photos of your fingers that went straight in the bin.

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No GPS, no Google Maps... nothing like that. To get to an unknown place, there were only two options: carry a road map; or ask the locals.

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Do you remember those analog alarm clocks? You used to set the hand of the clock to a time that you didn't even know what it was. Those that woke you up either by scaring you or giving you a heart attack when you heard them? Now, it's true, we have won as a society.

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It is true that there were phone books - but they stayed at home. Just in case, there were always numbers to memorize: parents, partner, work... The question is, do you now know any phone number from your current phonebook?

Photo: Guille Álvarez / Unsplash

Computers were becoming commonplace in homes and among its essential accessories was the ball mouse which, in addition to being a mouse, was an exceptional dust collector.

Photo: Rohan / Unsplash

Not all homes had Internet and, therefore, the way to follow the news was through Teletext, the most advanced and colorful news search engine of the era.

If you wanted to look up a phone number, there were no search engines, but there was a huge book called 'Yellow Pages' that gave you all the answers or the phone number of the place to call to find them. A household necessity.

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