2010s Internet was an era of Internet culture that took place in the 2000s and early 2010s, mainly 2007 to 2014. It influenced several internet aesthetics as we know them today.
The aesthetic itself contains elements that are nostalgic to a great part of the people who grew up with them, such as internet memes, media, videos, characters, flash games and music. Several aesthetics like Scene, Frutiger Aero, Old Web, MLG, Old Meme, Internet Awesomesauce and many more were prominent during this phase. This also includes taking a liking to things that were popular during this time, such as My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (the fourth generation of the My Little Pony franchise) and Creepypasta. The aesthetic is the direct successor of the Old Web aesthetic, taking place after the corporate “takeover” of the internet, the rise of smartphones (and later duopolization of iOS and Android), and Flat Design replacing Skeumorphism and Frutiger Aero until the COVID-19 pandemic’s cultural shift.
Visuals[]
Visuals include but are not limited to bright colors, dancing characters, pixel art, low-quality images, and many more aspects that can largely vary.
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History[]
The internet culture of the 2010s and its respective aesthetic emerged from a combination of cultural shifts and technological advancements during the decade. While it is difficult to pinpoint an exact starting point, the late 2000s and early 2010s saw the emergence of meme culture. This aesthetic largely co-existed with the "golden age of social media" which is considered to span from 2002 to 2012, marked by the foundation of companies and services that still remain relevant today, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Snap, Instagram, Whatsapp, Hangouts, Poshmark, Slack, Zoom, Gmail, and Dropbox.[1]
Contrary to popular belief, memes didn't actually originate on the internet. "Meme" is short for "mimeme" and was coined by Richard Dawkins for his book The Selfish Gene, released in 1976. He originally used this word to refer to the idea of cultural or genetic phenomena spreading,[2] although he doesn't take the credit for it because similar ideas existed before his own.
No single site invented meme culture, but some of the earliest websites to popularize it were Something Awful, 2chan, 4chan, Reddit, Imgur, Facebook, iFunny, Know Your Meme, Imgflip, Flash animation sites, and so on. During the 90s and 2000s, forums and social networking sites were the most prevalent form of communication on the internet (often nicknamed the "wild west days of the internet") until they were gradually replaced by larger social media websites like YouTube (2006), Facebook (2004), and Instagram (2010), marking the transition between the "old web" and "modern web". However, the internet was not yet fully corporate-friendly by this time.[3] Users were typically anonymous and it was almost taboo to share personal information, and they were free to upload content that could easily be considered unacceptable nowadays, and they would do so for entertainment rather than obtaining any kind of personal profit.
Many media featured in this era and its aesthetic was created from 2007 to 2015. These include image macros, ragecomics, and "old memes", along with many other more specifc examples of memes. The trollface meme was drawn by Carlos Ramirez in 2008, spreading across websites such as Reddit, Imgur, and Facebook. Along with this, the "epic face" gained popularity in 2007. These emoticons were popularly used during the 2010s internet era, becoming synonymous with internet culture at the time.
Decline[]
Although there's no single reason why this aesthetic declined, it can be attributed to societal shifts during the mid 2010s onwards, the COVID-19 pandemic was it's final blow. One of the primary factors contributing to this was the increasing commercialization of websites, with platforms like YouTube imposing stricter guidelines on videos and making the website more advertiser-friendly.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s overall cultural shift also is a big reason why the aesthetic declined, as the pandemic led to increased screen time combined with the mass hysteria of the pandemic.
The rise of TikTok and other phone-sized short form content played a big role in its decline.
With most of these websites being based on the United States, they had to comply to copyright laws and COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), a law addressing targeted advertising children below the age of 13. This significantly changed YouTube, as it led to the creation of the ever-controversial YouTube Kids as well as the deactivation of comment sections in videos about cartoons due to their perceived childishness. Cartoons like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which gained a cult following in the 2010s, were the most affected by this, and hundreds of brony-related comment sections and videos were lost forever. However, this is a minor factor compared to the increased commercialization of the internet, the rise of short-form phone-sized video, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the platform's popularity grew, so did the competition among content creators to attract views and monetize their channels. For many YouTubers, uploading videos became a "job" and not a simple hobby as it used to be. Content from mainstream figures went from being entertaining, quirky or humorous to being professional and aimed at maximalizing profits through merchandise, sponsorships, and brand deals. Social media sites also began to incorporate algorithms, to determine what content individual users are more likely to interact with. This could be one of the reasons why the so-called "monoculture" has declined, or at least significantly diversified[4].
As of 2024, some 2010s internet slang (ROFL, LOL, l33t, etc) either died out and became associated with the past, some are still used today with some becoming “unslanged” into real language (Spam, Edit war, Lag, etc), and some only survives in specific communities (lol cow, green text, etc)
Timeline[]
The timeline for the 2010s Internet era is typically considered to be from 2007 to 2014, although the definition can largely vary by users' opinions and some might also include the entire 2010s decade (and the late 2000s could be considered the declining years of this phenomenon).
Here's a rough timeline of important moments for the 2010s Internet era and its predecessors:
- 1995 - Newgrounds is released. It would later play a vital role in the internet culture of the 2000s.
- 1996 - Adobe Flash is released, allowing users to develop applications or games and create animations.
- 1997 - AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) is launched.
- 1999 - Napster launchs. A peer-to-peer file-sharing service, it introduced the concept of internet piracy and revolutionized digital music distribution. This was one of the first times people on the internet could freely discover music, although it was harmful to the music industry.[5] Blogger and LiveJournal are launched as popular websites for blogging. MSN Messenger is launched.
- 2000 - Machinima launches, based around the concept of using real-time computer graphics for cinematic production.
- 2001 - Two Norwegian DJs, Thomas S. Nilsen and Steffen Ojala Søderholm respectively, coin the term "Nightcore" to refer to their school project.
- 2003 - MySpace launches, becoming one of the most popular social networking sites and allowing users to create custom profiles by using HTML code and connect with their friends. Christopher Poole (also known as "moot") launches 4chan as a response to the community of Something Awful looking down upon meme culture. 4chan would later become influential in the development of memes and internet culture among teenagers at the time. Red vs. Blue becomes a popular machinima series based on Halo.
- 2004 - Facebook (then known as "TheFacebook") launches. Originally intended as a platform for college and university students, it began to expand from Harvard to other universities accross the United States, eventually becoming a global phenomenon.
- 2005 - YouTube was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. In December, its slogan was "Broadcast yourself. Watch and share your videos worldwide!".
- 2006 - YouTube began to attract approximately 30,000 viewers daily. By March 2006, there were already over 25 millions of videos uploaded to the platform. Google failed to promote their own platform called "Google Video", so Google acquired YouTube on October 9 for 1.65 billion dollars. ROBLOX, then known as DynaBlocks, was released on 1 September. The Nintendo Wii was released on November 19. 4chan invents the concept of "Lolcats". YouTube user SuperYoshi uploads "I'D SAY HE'S HOT ON OUR TAIL", marking the creation of YouTube Poop videos. Nico Nico Douga launches in Japan. Blingee.com launches as a platform to create and share sparkly GIFs.
- 2007 - The iPhone is released by Apple, changing mobile technology forever. Skype launches as a prominent app for communication. Know Your Meme is founded with the intention to document as many internet memes as possible. The term "Lolcow" is coined on Urban Dictionary, a word used to mock internet users characterized by "eccentric" behaviors, showing the negative side of social media fame. 4chan popularized "rickrolling" during April Fools' Day, a meme involving sending the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley to unsuspecting internet users. Tumblr is launched, becoming a major hub for microblogging and the development of internet aesthetics.
- 2008 - The trollface meme is drawn by Carlos Ramirez on MS Paint. The asdfmovie premieres for the first time in August. The Twilight movie is released, becoming the 12th highest-grossing film of the year and causing mixed reactions online. MikuMikuDance (MMD) is released and used for anime-style 3D animations. Users of the 4chan forum protest against the Church of Scientology. Google releases the open-source Android operating system.
- 2010 - Instagram launches, focusing on photo sharing. Facebook has over half a billion users, becoming one of the world's largest social networks. Justin Bieber releases his song "Baby", which went viral internationally and received mixed reactions online. Forum sites begin to gradually decline in favor of social media[6], although they were never fully gone.
- 2011 - Minecraft is released, becoming one of the top-selling video games of all time. The My Little Pony fandom (bronies) begins to emerge on 4chan. Nyan cat becomes a viral meme and video internationally.
- 2012 - Pinterest is launched as an image-based social media. The song "Gangnam Style" by South Korean singer PSY becomes a global phenomenon.
- 2013 - The short-form video platform Vine launches. Meme culture is now a more solified phenomenon, and new memes are constantly created on platforms like Reddit, Tumblr, 4chan, YouTube, and so on. Notable examples of memes introduced during this year include Doge, the Harlem Shake, the "Florida man", Nico Nico Nii, Gwiyomi, or "What Does the Fox Say?". PewDiePie becomes the most followed YouTuber in the world.
- 2014 - The "Ice Bucket Challenge" goes viral, raising awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The mobile gaming industry flourishes with titles like Flappy Bird, Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga. Prank videos get popularized on YouTube. The "Gamergate" controversy begins, consisting of internet trolls from 4chan and 8chan harassing women in the gaming industry.
- 2015 - Deep-fried memes are invented on Tumblr, later getting popularized on Reddit. Snapchat becomes a prominent app for chatting among younger demographics. Streaming services like Netflix, Spotify and Hulu began to gain popularity, causing video rental shops and physical media to decline. The refugee crisis in Europe caused hate speech content to rise on social media, and many websites were criticized for failing to take down hateful posts.
- 2016 - The presidential elections in the United States raised awareness about the potential for misinformation and fake news on social media.[7] Trolls from 4chan's politically incorrect board (/pol/) promoted alt-right memes during the campaign.[8]
- 2017 - Vine is discontinued and bought by Twitter Inc., and subsequently shuts down into a permanent "read-only" mode. The "Elsagate" controversy reaches its peak, concerning parents globally due to the prevalence of inappropiate content disguised as "kid's content" on YouTube. The "Fyre Festival", a "luxury" festival promoted by social media influencers, is exposed for fraud. The "#MeToo" campaign against sexual abuse goes viral on social media.
- 2018 - YouTube implements stricter policies for child safety, leading to the removal of numerous children's content and their respective comment sections. TikTok is merged with Musical.ly and becomes prominent in the short-form video industry. Swedish YouTuber PewDiePie has an online feud against Indian record label T-Series due to competence over who has the most subscribers.
- 2019 - The Area 51 raid goes viral globally, showing how social media can influence large-scale events. A lot of the content uploaded to MySpace from 2003 to 2015 was lost on a botched server migration with no backup. Over 50 million songs and 12 years' worth of content were permanently lost.
- 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic caused the internet userbase to unexpectedly grow, with an approximate growth of 10.2% of the userbase during the first year of lockdown, one of the largest percentage in decades. By this time, more websites began incorporating new algorithms, making recommendations more individual for each user. This further diversified userbases and communities. The cultural change resulting from the pandemic brought an end to the aesthetic.
Related Topics[]
Old Meme[]
Main article: Old Meme
Old Meme, also known as the Rage Era or Classic Era, is a term used to retroespectively refer to an aesthetic used in early meme culture approximately from 2005 to 2013. It primarily consists of image macros, rage comics, pictures of persons and animals, colorful spirals as backgrounds, and other drawings and meme formats popularized on the internet. Some of the most famous examples include the trollface, longcat, LOLcats, or "All Your Base Are Belong to Us".
YouTube Poop[]
YouTube Poop, commonly abbreviated as YTP, is a video genre commonly found on social media websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion, and Newgrounds, which consists of humorous mashups, edits and parodies of pre-existing media (called sources by the YTP community). The defining feature is often nicknamed a "poopism" and the original media is edited to become humorous, absurd, loud, annoying, shocking, offensive or even horrorific.
Commonly sourced media in these videos include Hotel Mario, Zelda CD-i, I.M. Meen, Super Mario cartoons, Michael Rosen, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Team Fortress 2, although it can vary from year to year. It led to the creation of derivative genres like MLG, YTPMV, and more distantly, OtoMAD. The first YouTube Poop video is considered to be "I'D SAY HE'S HOT ON OUR TAIL", uploaded by SuperYoshi in 2006.
Major League Gaming[]
Main article: Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming, better known as MLG, was an aesthetic popularly used in memes approximately from 2013 to 2017. The term originated from the Esports organization of the same name and it used to be a way to refer to professional video game players, although later it shifted to be used to depict someone being very "awesome" or "epic", specifically in a video game.
In the 2010s, it was shortened to MLG and began to be associated with a genre of internet memes that were based around video games. It usually is an video-based aesthetic, and the videos feature compilations of various Esports memes and flashing rainbows, along with other recurrent motifs like air horns, Call of Duty gameplays, Caillou, pixelated sunglasses, doge, John Cena, Snoop Dogg, extremely bass boosted audios (often called "earrape"), Doritos and Mountain Dew, and so on.
OtoMAD[]
Main article: OtoMAD
OtoMAD (音MAD) is a Japanese meme genre closely related to YTPMV (YouTube Poop Musical Videos). The audio, the visuals and the source materials sampled are extensively remixed until they become their own unique thing. The term itself is composed of two words: "oto" (音), meaning "sound", and "MAD", which stands for "music anime douga" or simply "madness". As implied, the most defining feature of this genre is the presence of music such as J-core, plunderphonics or video game OSTs, as these videos are heavily edited but always synchronized to the beat.
The most commonly sampled pre-existing media in OtoMAD includes Japanese advertisements (most notably McDonald's), memes that were popular in Japan during the 2000s-2010s, video games, Gachimuchi wrestlers, anime, etc. Many consider it to be a form of transformative art due to the focus on taking pre-existing content and extensively editing it.[9] It developed into a really dedicated editing community, and thanks to the internet, Western YouTubers have also made their own OtoMAD videos.
Internet Awesomesauce[]
Main article: Internet Awesomesauce
Internet Awesomesauce was an aesthetic used in many memes and other media inspired by meme culture approximately from 2008 to 2016. It blends a quinky sense of humor with cuteness and aggresivity, incorporating elements that could be briefly described as "epic" or "awesome", such as cats, unicorns, dogs, dinosaurs, galaxies, rainbows, junk food, and lasers. This term was retroespectively coined by Alex Edwards from the CARI (Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute) in 2021.[10]
ASCII Art[]
ASCII Art is a form of graphic design and online expression that uses the 95 printable characters defined by the ASCII standard to create images and art. Sometimes, this term also broadly applies to any online art created with text and symbols, including "Kaomoji" or emoticons. This can be achieved through any text editor, typically with a lot of patience if done manually.
Though its origins date back to the early days of printers and computers in the 60s, predating 2010s Internet by many decades, ASCII art remained a relevant and recognizable element of internet culture during that decade. The creations of Ken Knowlton around 1966 are considered to be the earliest examples of ASCII Art. The initial reason why this art genre was invented was due to the technological limitations of the time, as early printers often lacked graphics ability.
Flash Animations[]
Flash Animations were a very popular form of animation during the 2010s Internet era, created with Adobe Flash (formerly known as MacromediaFlash or FutureSplash) as its namesake. They ranged from simple cartoons to games users could interact with, which were often included in online gaming websites. Their primary element were vector-based graphics, and flash animations were often quirky. Notable examples include "Badger Badger Badger" or Salad Fingers. They were relatively easy to create, and anyone with basic knowledge of Adobe Flash could create and share their own work. Websites like Newgrounds became large communities where animators could show off their own animations and get feedback.
Adobe Flash was officially discontinued on December 31, 2020 due to its potential security flaws, maintenance problems and a general effort to leave behind the past. Major web browsers stopped supporting the Flash player around the same time, ending its widespread use on the internet. However, despite this, its legacy lives on through various websites that have archived these animations as well as the Flash player. Some notable archival and revival projects include Flashpoint, Ruffle, Flash Museum, and Newgrounds as a whole.
Machimina[]
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Golden Age of Mobile Games[]
The early 2010s are recognized as a period of significant growth in mobile gaming, often nicknamed the "Golden Age of Mobile Games". During this time, numerous well-known mobile titles were released, including Flappy Bird, Angry Birds, the Candy Crush series, Crossy Road, Pou, Talking Tom and Friends, Fruit Ninja, Subway Surfers, Cut the Rope, Draw Something, Temple Run, Plants VS Zombies, Jetpack Joyride, Clash of Clans, Geometry Dash, and so much more. These games were free or relatively cheap, and they introduced millions of people to gaming and were widely played by children and teenagers at the time.
The release of the iPhone in 2007 and Android in 2008 marked a period for technological advancements since the beginnings of mobile gaming in 1997. The new possibilities were seemingly endless at the time and many companies got creative with their games. For example, Angry Birds was developed by Finnish company Rovio and achieved over 1 billion downloads within two years of its release, demonstrating how quickly a game could be a success in this decade. Flappy Bird, with its very simple gameplay, briefly became a global phenomenon, and topped the app store charts in over 100 countries. However, its creator Dong Nguyen discontinued the game in 2014 because he believed its content was too addictive, when he intended Flappy Bird to be a simple but fun game used to spend time. The Candy Crush Saga also garnered immense popularity, originally developed as a game for Facebook and quickly becoming one of the most popular mobile games of all time.
Fandom Culture[]
Although the term "fandom" has been in use since at least the 1900s, it was not something really mainstream or well-known among the general population until the 2010s. Fandom Culture would be most accurately described as a relatively niche number of people who self-identified as being part of a community of fans back then.[11] However, the internet changed this and broadened the definition. Niche forums dedicated to specific topics and social media sites like Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram allowed fans of certain media to connect with each other, create and share content related to their common interests, and create a shared sense of community and belonging. The internet also facilitated consuming media or finding information on niche topics, encouraging the growth of new fanbases. Examples of fandom-related activities include the creation of fanfiction, fanart, fan videos, songs, memes, inside jokes, cosplay, figurines, "shipping", and engaging in dedicated discussions about related topics.
Curiously, some of these fandoms also developed their own names to refer to themselves, similar to subcultures. Many of the people who were part of fandoms at the time would consider themselves geeks or nerds as well. Some of the most notable fandoms during the 2010s Internet era included Bronies or Pegasisters (My Little Pony), Weebs (anime and manga), Beliebers (Justin Bieber), Swifties (Taylor Swift), Twihards (Twilight), Whovians (Doctor Who), SPN Family (Supernatural), Browncoats (Firefly), Tributes (The Hunger Games), Ringers (Lord of the Rings), Potterheads (Harry Potter), Trekkies (Star Trek), Star Wars fans,[12] and Furries. Over time, more fandoms for different pieces of media kept emerging.
Bronies[]
Bronies and Pegasisters were a notable fandom and subculture of adult fans surrounding the My Little Pony series, most notably Friendship is Magic (2010-2019). This show was directed by Lauren Faust, known for her work in other iconic cartoons like The Powerpuff Girls or Kids Next Door. She believed young girls deserved quality entertainment with conflicts and complex storylines, rather than mindless entertainment with flat and overemphasized cuteness.
While the series was originally targeted at young girls, it became an internet meme and gained a cult following among older men, presumably because they related to the topics and memorable characters from the show.[13] The fandom is considered to have emerged in 4chan, where it was discussed in the Cartoons board (/co/), and eventually, the My Little Pony trend became so inescapable that they were forced off the website and posting about the show was forbidden in the forum, but alternative Brony-focused websites and forums were created. Bronies definitely became one of the most dedicated fandoms of all time, creating videos, fanart, fanfictions, music, fan conventions, cosplay, parodies, and so on. However, this was not without critics; many people believed bronies were weird or "degenerate" due to the prevalence of adult content and animated gore within the fandom (similar to the criticism of furries). Infamous videos like SMILE or Cupcakes in particular caused the actual target demographic of the show, children, to get exposed to disturbing content at a young age.[14]
The Brony fandom began to decline in the late 2010s, possibly due a combination of various factors. First off, they had a fairly negative reputation on the internet, and YouTube began to adhere strictly to the COPPA law of the United States. Consequently, many My Little Pony videos were deleted from the platform due to copyright issues, and most of the remaining videos were marked as videos "for kids", resulting in the comment sections being deactivated, with old comments getting deleted forever and resulting in the shared sense of community slowly disappearing. Other reasons could be the closure of brony sites and forums, the constant emergence of new fandoms, and people losing interest for the series when it finalized in 2019.
Creepypasta and “Creepypasta Kids”[]
Main article: EXEcore, Digital Horror and CreepyVill
Creepypastas are a type of urban legend shared online in a variety of formats, most notably as short-form horrorific stories. The term is derived from combining "creepy" with "copypasta", emphasizing the prevalence of these stories being shared over text. These stories often center around paranormal beings, the life of a killer, or haunted television shows and videogames, and many other forms of horror. Notable examples include Slenderman, Jeff the Killer, Eyeless Jack, Sonic.exe, Pinkamena, Ben Drowned, Ted the Caver, etc. The exact origins of Creepypasta, by its definition of scary urban legends shared on the internet, are difficult to pinpoint. The earliest examples of creepypastas are most likely urban legend chain emails during the 1990s, although the first creepypasta is often considered to be Ted the Caver by Ted Hegemann, published on Angelfire in 2001. However, 4chan played the most important role in their emergence, particularly in the paranormal board (/x/). Nowadays, creepypastas are written by known authors rather than anonymous users.
In 2010s, there were a lot of young people (mainly young teenagers and pre-teens) that had a lifestyle based in creepypastas and horror media in general. These people were constantly called “Creepypasta Kids”
Swag[]
Main article: Swag
Swag began to emerge as a distinct aesthetic from a slang word within the Hip-Hop subculture, popularized by the millennial demographic during the latter half of the 2000s. It was most notably popularized and inspired by the song You're a Jerk by New Boyz and streetwear fashion. It was also correlated with Tumblr in 2014, when users would post images of different aesthetics on their personal blogs. These niche fashion trends described as "aesthetics" could range from better-known ones like Pastel Goth and Nu-Goth to the quintenessial "Swag" style.
Anime Music Videos[]
Anime Music Videos, abbreviated as AMVs, are fan-made music videos that use clips from one or various anime series, edited together to match the rhythm and lyrics of a song. Sometimes, they may also include footage from video games or Western animation. These videos often use creative editing techniques, visual storytelling, and emotional impact, and common musical choices include but are not limited to Pop, Eurodance, Trance, Bubblegum Dance, and Nightcore. During the late-2000s and early-2010s, many anime conventions hosted AMV contests, in which the participants would showcase their own videos.
Tribute Videos[]
Tribute Videos were a type of slideshow video consisting of compilations of images, particularly referencing a specific fictional character or series, set to a track or song. The featured characters were usually from Western cartoons, and less prominently, Japanese anime. In contrast to Anime Music Videos, they were usually uploaded to YouTube by young children learning how to edit videos.
2000s Virtual Singer[]
Main article: 2000s Virtual Singer
2000s Virtual Singer was an aesthetic used by ringtone marketing companies approximately from 2005 to the early 2010s, characterized by really recognizable singing mascots targeted at children. Many of these characters had a strong personality for marketing purposes and their respective songs became popular internet memes, such as Crazy Frog (which became virtually inescapable at the time[15]), Gummibär, Schnuffel Bunny, Psycho Teddy, Holly Dolly, Anna Blue, and so much more. The most significant company behind this phenomenon was Jamster! or Jamba, but they were heavily criticized due to their dishonest advertisements and fraudulent behavior. This aesthetic began to decline in the mid 2010s when setting a custom ringtone without spending money became more widely avaiable and selling ringtones was no longer innovative.
Mock Nostalgia[]
Mock Nostalgia is a niche genre of memes that distorts and satirizes various types of videos from the 2010s Internet era, such as gameplays (mainly ROBLOX), slideshows, and political videos. It's characterized by its intentionally crude aesthetic; this includes low resolution images and videos, lagging footage, exaggerated loud sound effects, and very often, lots and lots of screaming or 'microphone eating'. The subject matter is typically absurd, non-sensical, and cringe-inducing. The grammar in video titles tends to be intentionally incorrect, and exclamations are overused.
Micheal P is considered to be the creator of this genre, because he uploaded an infamous video titled "roblox inaproprite plase 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.wmv" in 2016, which shows a ROBLOX gameplay whilst he screams and exaggeratedly claims the game is inappropiate. This has inspired other YouTubers to make their own content with the same type of humor, including cooper2723, doober43, cark, Shrick and fingerwaffle1451. They are often collectively called Y2Ktubers, as their videos are meant to imply the authors are "trapped" in the late 2000s.[16][17]
Animation memes[]
Animation memes are short animated videos with background songs. These videos can show characters dancing/singing, backstories (character’s past), tell stories, etc.
They were popular in the late 2010s and early 2020s, most popular animation meme creators were: Wolfychu, Kitty Channel Afnan, Sashley, Chui ガム, etc.
Animation memes can have OCs (original characters) and characters from cartoons, games, shows, etc. Most popular fandoms in this community are: Undertale, FNAF, Piggy, etc.
Slang[]
The 2010s Internet era also saw the emergence of unique words and abbreviations associated with internet culture and used to communicate with each other through forums, social media and online games.[18] Many of these expressions and words are still used online, while some may no longer appear frequently.
Some of these words include:
- Emoticons - Including :), :(, :/, :V, :-), xD, 0_0, >_<, <3, ;-;, and so much more.[19]
- LOL - "Laugh out loud", used to express amusement. It has many equivalents in other languages, like "MDR" in French or "RS" in Portuguese.[20]
- OMG - "Oh my god", used to express surprise or excitement.
- LMFAO - "Laugh my fucking ass off", used to express a lot of amusement.
- WTF - "What the fuck."
- IDK - "I don't know."
- BRB - "Be right back."
- TBH - "To be honest."
- BTW - "By the way."
- CYA - "See you."
- ICYMI - "In case you missed it."
- FTFY - "Fixed that for you", used to correct someone.
- AFK - "Away From Keyboard", mainly used in online video games.
- IRL - "In real life."
- FTW - "For The Win", used to express support for someone or something.
- TFW - "That Feeling When" or "That Face When."
- ASAP - "As soon as possible."
- IIRC - "If I remember correctly."
- FYI - "For your information."
- JK - "Just kidding!"
- NVM - "Nevermind."
- SMH - "Shaking my head."
- LMK - "Let me know."
- HMU - "Hit me up."
- ROFL - "Rolling on the floor laughing."
- FWIW - "For what it's worth."
- YOLO - "You live only live once!"
- RIP - "Rest in Peace."
- NSFW - "Not safe for work."
- NSFL - "Not safe for life."
- IMO - "In my opinion."
- GTG - "Got to go."
- OMW - "On my way."
- FB - "Facebook."
- DM - "Direct message."
- XOXO - "Hugs and kisses", used to express affection.
- PLS, PLZ or Plox - "Please."
- b4 - "Before."
- inb4 - "in before."
- gr8 - "Great."
- sk8r - "Skater."
- sry - "Sorry."
- ty - "Thank you."
- ppl - "People."
- qt - "Cutie."
- TL;DR - "Too long; didn't read."
- GG - "Good game."
- THX - "Thanks."
- w8 - "wait."
- Wut, Wat, or LOL WUT - "What."
- Amirite - "Am I right?"
- Oh noes - "Oh no!"
- Kthxbye - "Ok thanks, goodbye."
- Srsly - "Seriously."
- Rekt - "Wrecked."
- Rawr - "Roar!"
- Sup - "What's up?"
- Teh - "The."
- Winnar - "Winner."
- CAPS LOCK - USED TO EXPRESS ANGER.
- Epic - Broadly used to describe something that's very awesome.
- Pwned - "Owned", used to imply someone has been controlled or compromised.
- Troll - Pranking someone on the internet.
- Alt-F4 - Trolling someone into closing their tab.
- Trololol - Used to express amusement after trolling someone. It is often associated with a song by Russian singer Eduard Khil.
- N00b or Newbie - A new user, particularly in a video game.
- Spam - Unsolicited and constant commercial messages.
- Ship - The act of thinking two fictional characters should be in a relationship, used in fandom culture.
- Bae - An adjective of endearement, can be interpreted as either "baby" or "before anyone else".
- Swag - Something that's fashionable in style and appareance.
- Feels - Used to express empathy towards another internet user.
- Goals - Used to express admiration or desire for something.
- I can't even - Used when you're not able to cope with a really amusing situation.
- Hater - Someone who expresses negativity or criticism, especially towards a content creator or musician.
- Lit - Something fun or exciting.
- Facepalm - The gesture of placing your hand over your face when someone does something dumb.
- Epic fail - A notable, obvious, and usually public failure.
- Ragequit - Leaving a match in an online game due to frustation or anger.
- Nerd rage - When a gamer gets extremely angry and starts yelling after losing a match.
- Derp - Used to describe a person associated with silly behavior.
- Rickrolling - Sending Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up song to an unsuspecting user.
- Image macro - A type of meme consisting of text layered on the top and bottom of an image.
- Copypasta - A long text shared around by users on the internet.
- Creepypasta - Horror stories and urban legends shared on the internet.
- This is Bob - A popular ASCII copypasta protesting Google+ integration in YouTube.
- Triggered - A strong emotional reaction.
- Lolcat - A type of image macro featuring cats.
- Lolspeak - The writing system used in Lolcat memes, mainly consisting of grammatically incorrect phrases. One notable example is "I Can Has Cheezburger?"
- DoggoLingo - A writing system used in many memes surrounding animals like Doge. The expressions are typically "much", "such", "so" and "very." Common words include "hooman", "such doge", "boi", "pupper", "chonker", "mlem", "heckin", "fren", etc.
- 1337 - Leet speak, a writing system based on using ASCII, numbers and symbols that resemble the letters of the alphabet. It is often associated with Hacker culture.
- Hijack - Used in forums to describe topic-switching.
- THIS IS SPARTAAAA! - A reference to the movie 300.
- All your base are belong to us - A mistranslated phrase from the opening cutscene of the Japanese video game Zero Wing.
- Hax or H4x0r - A hacker.
- Lag - Can either refer to a slow program or slow internet connection.
- Gator - Short for alligator.
- Oof - An onomatopeia implying dying, originating from ROBLOX.
- Flame war - Users sending aggresive texts against each other on a forum.
- Edit war - Users disagreeing about a topic on a wiki article and fighting for their view.
- No wai - "No way!"
- ORLY - "Oh really?"
- No homo - A phrase used by users to suggest they didn't have "homosexual intentions." during homoerotic moments.
- Lulz - A misspelling of LOL, expressing schadenfreude.
- Greentext - A text format created on 4chan, consisting of adding ">" before a phrase so the text turns green. It eventually evolved into "greentexting", a type of short story shared on the website.
- Lurker - Someone who frequently reads a forum or website but doesn't contribute to the conversations.
- Lurk moar - Used to pejoratively encourage new users in forums to learn the conventions of the website before posting.
- Lolcow - Used to describe eccentric public figures, to the point where they could be "milked" for laughs.
- An hero - Slang for taking your own life.
Music[]
Genres[]
These are music genres often associated with 2010s Internet:
- Dubstep - A genre of electronic dance music (EDM) that emerged in South London during the late-1990s and early-2000s. Dubstep songs are characterized by their rhythmic patterns, often featuring syncopated drum beats, prominent sub-bass frequencies, and a dark, atmospheric sound. It got popularized in the early-2010s when many tracks were featured in memes, gameplays and tutorials. However, it was also criticized for being too "repetitive", particularly when Skrillex's music went viral and the rise of Brostep.
- Nightcore - The term "Nightcore" was coined by two Norwegian DJs (Thomas S. Nilsen and Steffen Ojala Søderholm) in 2001 to describe their school project and musical duo, and they released pitched-up versions of Eurodance and Trance songs. As a style closely intertwined with Happy Hardcore, the main characteristics is speeding up and hightening the pitch of the sampled song. However, some nightcore creators might also have a more creative approach and make more complex remixes out of them. Nightcore grew in popularity thanks to YouTube, where many users posted nightcore music videos typically accompained by pictures of anime characters (see Technoneko2000 and Anime New Moon).
- Hands Up - A musical style originating from Germany during the late-1990s that combines influences from eurodance, trance and techno. This genre stopped being played in German radio stations around the late-2000s, but it continued to be really popular among internet users. It is also heavily intertwined with Nightcore and workouts, as the songs are usually very catchy and have strong melodies. In Eastern Europe, it's often called "Dancecore". Notable artists include Rob Mayth, Cascada, Groove Coverage, Special D, Klubbingman, Basshunter, ItaloBrothers, Manian, and DJ Splash.
- Bubblegum Dance - A subgenre of Eurodance music originating from Denmark during the 1990s, with a distinctive childish aesthetic that sets it apart from the rest of Eurodance. The songs are primarily characterized by their non-sensical or cheesy lyrics, catchy melodies, high-pitched feminine voices and back-up vocals sung by a masculine voice. Prominent bands and artists include Aqua, Smile.DK, Toy-Box, Bambee, Caramell, Me & Me, Miss Papaya, Rollergirl, Tiggy, Yamboo, and Vengaboys. On the internet, this genre is often associated with the Japanese rhythm game industry and bootleg toys from China, and songs such as "Caramelldansen" have gained meme status.
- Eurobeat - A common term given to two closely-related musical genres; one being a British variant of Italian dance-pop and the other one being a combination of Italo Disco and Hi-NRG. The genre is often associated with meme culture, anime and video games.
- Musical Parodies - The practice of taking a pre-existing song and changing the lyrics while still closely resembling the original content. This is typically done for entertainment purposes. The lyrics are usually comedic and humorous, and in some cases, they are offensive or use elements of social commentary. These would become extremely popular on YouTube during 2010s Internet, presumably because they aligned with the "random" humor of the community.
- Rap Battles - In the 2010s, the definition of a "rap battle" broadened from Hip-Hop freestyle battles between MCs to a type of musical parody involving fictional characters or depictions of public and historical figures fighting against each other in elaborate rap battles. This video format got popularized in YouTube due to the amusing lyrics and juxtapositions seen in the songs. The most notable example is Epic Rap Battles of History.
- Vaporwave - A subgenre of Hypnagogic Pop that originated in the early 2010s, based around a satirical portrayal of capitalism or consumerism during the 90s and a nostalgic and surrealistic aesthetic.
- Scene music - Music was a defining feature of the Scene subculture during the 2000s and early 2010s, encompassing genres like metalcore, crunkcore, deathcore, electronic music, screamo, emotional hardcore, and pop-punk.
- Crunkcore - A microgenre developed by members of the Scene subculture during the mid-2000s, characterized by screamed vocals, electronic beats and distorted melodies. The most notorious bands are BrokeNCYDE, Blood on the Dance Floor, Millionaires and Dot Dot Curve. It was heavily criticized at the time, primarily because the quality production of the songs was very low and the lyrics were often objectifying and sexualizing towards women.
- Tecktonik - A dance style from Paris that got popularized in France and other European countries during the late-2000s. The music accompanying this movement was a very peculiar type of electro, which got popularized thanks to social media and French forums like Skyrock. The dancers often wore a distinctive fashion style, with subtle inspiration from the Emo subculture.
- Brony Music - Music associated with the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fandom, encompassing original songs, remixes, covers, and plunderphonics sampling the show.[21]
- Stock Music or Elevator Music - Typically used as background music in 2010s YouTube videos, presumably to reduce boredom in the audience. The most notable example is Kevin MacLeod, who composed several iconic royalty-free tracks which are still widely used on social media. Some songs from the Wii console have also been used in this fashion, such as the Mii and Shop Channel theme songs.
- Dariacore or Hyperflip - A niche microgenre of electronic music characterized by overusing samples from 2010s Internet culture (including YouTube Poop and SoundClown) and merging them with elements of Digicore, Hyperpop, Future Bass, Mashcore and Nightcore. This style originated from the album of the same name released in 2021 by Jane Remover (also known as Leroy), named after the Daria show, which gained a cult following. It takes these samples out of their original context and twists them until they become their own unique thing. Common characteristics of Dariacore songs include inspiration from video games, mood changes, mood flips, genre flips and random samples.
VOCALOID[]
VOCALOID is a singing voice synthesizer software developed by Yamaha Corporation, first releasing in 2004. It samples the voices of real persons (voice providers), which are turned into voicebanks, often accompained by moe anthropomorphic personas. The first VOCALOID voicebanks were Leon and Lola, respectively. Between 2004 and 2009, Crypton Future Media released some of its most iconic characters: Meiko, Kaito, Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin & Len and Megurine Luka (in chronological order). VOCALOID was really successful during the 2010s Internet era as it represented a major technological advancement, and users could create their own songs using these voices. The songs were often uploaded to NicoNicoDouga, one of the largest video-sharing platforms in Japan. Some of these songs became globally popular and even inspired memes like Nyan Cat, which is based on the song "Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!" by daniwell-P. VOOCALOID had and still has a really strong fan culture on the internet, both in Japan and the West, as users would also create their own characters, a practice called "Fanloid". A software inspired by Hatsune Miku was also released, called "MikuMikuDance" (MMD), which could be used to create 3D anime-style animations. UTAU is the free counterpart of VOCALOID, created by Ameya in 2008 and spawning well-known voicebanks such as Kasane Teto, originally intended to be an April Fools' joke from 2channel, a former anonymous Japanese text board.
Songs[]
- 8-Bit World by Your Favorite Martian
- Alone by Alan Walker
- A Cause Des Garçons by Yelle
- Angel of Darkness by Alex C. & Yasmin K (Nightcore)
- Angel with a Shotgun by The Cab (Nightcore)
- Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace
- Alphabet Boy by Melanie Martinez
- Baby by Justin Bieber & Ludacris
- Bad Apple by Nomico
- Balla la Di by BB (featuring Linda O)
- Beep Beep I'm A Sheep by LilDeuceDeuce
- Better Off Alone by Alice Deejay
- Bring Me To Life by Evanescence
- Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen
- Caramelldansen by Caramell
- Casin by glue70
- Cha Cha Slide by Mr. C
- Chicken Song by J.Geco
- Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday
- Club Villain by Your Favorite Martian
- Dam Dadi Do by Fantasy Project (Nightcore)
- Daisuke by Y&Co.
- Deja Vu by avex trax
- Discord by The Living Tombstone & Eurobeat Brony
- Doin' Your Mom by FAttY SPiNS/Ray William Johnson
- DotA by Basshunter
- Do the Mario! by Super Mario Brothers Super Show!
- Dreamscape by 009 Sound System
- Dumb Ways To Die Theme Song by Dumb Ways To Die
- Despacito by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee
- Energy Drink by Virtual Riot
- Epileptic Techno by Your Favorite Martian
- FABULOUS! by Roomie
- Faded by Alan Walker
- Five Nights at Freddy's 1 Song by The Living Tomstone
- Flying High by DJ Splash
- Friday by Rebecca Black
- Gangnam Style by PSY
- GAL男宣言 by POLICEMAN
- Gas Gas Gas by Manuel
- Go! Go! Go! by 89ers (Nightcore)
- Go Hard (La.La.La) by Kreayshawn
- Good Time by Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen
- Hello by OMFG
- His Name Is PewdiePie by Roomie
- Hunger Games by Bajan Canadian
- Ievan Polkka (Arrangment by Otomania) by Loituma
- Idols by Virtual Riot
- I Keep Holding On (My Hope Will Never Die) by Dr
- I Like To Move It from Madagascar
- I Kissed a Girl by Katy Perry
- In the End by Linkin Park
- It's Been So Long by The Living Tombstone
- Kill Everyone by Skrillex
- Minero by elrubiusOMG
- Mine Turtle by TomSka
- Moog City by C418
- Monster by Skillet
- Monster (Nightcore) by Meg & Dia
- My Life Is A Party by ItaloBrothers
- Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley
- Notice Me Senpai by iHasCupquake
- Numb by Linkin Park
- La Di Da (Renegade MasterZ Remix) by Baracuda
- Less Than Three by Disko Warp
- Little Kandi Raver by S3RL
- Love Like Woe by The Ready Set
- Let It Go by Idina Menzel
- Paralyzer by Finger Eleven
- Party in the CIA by "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus
- Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO
- Pika Girl by S3RL
- Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing On Rainbows by Fluffle Puff
- Pit of Vipers by Simon Curtis
- Po Pi Po by Lamaze-P
- Psycho Teddy (German Version) by Psycho Teddy
- Rainbow Factory by WoodenToaster
- Rainbow Tylenol by Kitsune^2
- Raining Tacos by Parry Gripp
- Rap de Fernanfloo by Bambiel
- Ravers in the UK by Manian
- Ready To Die by AndrewWK
- RED ZONE by Tatsh & NAOKI
- Replay by Iyaz
- Rockefeller Street by Getter Jaani (Nightcore)
- Running in the 90s by Max Coveri
- Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites by Skrillex
- Scatman (ski-ba-bop-ba-dop-bop) by Scatman John
- smooooch・∀・ by kors k
- Slender Man Song by Zip Zipper
- Social Mediasochist by Common Shiner
- Supersonic by She
- Teto Territory by oxi
- The Duck Song by Bryant Oden
- The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) by Ylvis
- The Gummy Bear Song by Gummibär
- The HampsterDance Song by Hampton the Hampster
- The Muffin Song by TomSka
- TiK ToK by Ke$ha
- Triple Baka by Lamaze-P
- Tag, You’re It by Melanie Martinez
- Under My Skin (Jens O Remix) by Paffendorf
- Unity by TheFatRat
- Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) by Silentó
- We Are The Partystylerz by Partystylerz
- Welcome to Kitty City by Cyriak
- Welcome To The Club by Manian
- Whatcha Say by Jason Derulo
- When Can I See You Again? by Owl City
- Wolf In Sheep's Clothing by Set It Off ft. William Beckett of The Academy Is...
- You Get Me by Tom and Angela
- You're a Jerk! by New Boyz
- Я о́чень рад, ведь я, наконе́ц, возвраща́юсь домо́й by Eduard Khil
Musical Artists[]
- Alan Walker
- Basshunter
- Blackpink (2016-2019 songs)
- Bruno Mars
- Caramell
- Caramella Girls
- Cascada
- Cyriak
- Disko Warp
- DJ Splash
- Epic Rap Battles of History
- Evanescence
- Hatsune Miku (2007-2016 songs)
- ItaloBrothers
- Iyaz
- Katy Perry
- Ken Ashcorp
- Kevin MacLeod
- The Key of Awesome (music parodies, along with Bart Baker and others)
- Ke$ha
- LMFAO
- Linkin Park
- Manian
- Melanie Martinez (Crybaby era)
- OMFG
- One Direction
- Owl City
- Parry Gripp
- Partystylerz
- Pink Guy
- Pitbull
- Ryan Higa
- S3RL
- Skrillex
- Steve Aoki
- Tdstr
- The Living Tombstone
- The Lonely Island
- TheFatRat
- Three Days Grace
- "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Your Favorite Martian
Playlists[]
- Best of Kevin MacLeod by Lucas V
- Brony Music by Digital Melody
- Bubblegum Dance by erinys
- Dubstep 2012-2014 by Jorge Martin Fernandez
- Hands Up by Julien Domsch
- Minecraft Parodies by Meezooss
- pov: internet childhood (2000's - early 2010's) by innitinc !!
- old internet nostalgia! by Domster
- Old School Nightcores by Lucas Ströher
- Old YouTube Music (2005-2012) by JDL
- PEAK DARIACORE by Juno
- Rap Battles by scar_face_ph
- Tecktonik by 11130620505
- Welcome to the 2010s internet!! X3 by ❤
- YouTube Poop Original Soundtrack by ...
- 2010-2016 internet nostalgia by zim
- 2010s internet / youtube culture by rompak
- 4chan's Favorites by krixolsen
Media[]
Webfiction[]
- Animator vs. Animation (2006-Present)
- asdfmovie (2008-Present)
- Battle for Dream Island (2010-Present)
- Blockhead (2005-2009)
- Bravest Warriors (2012-2018)
- Cyanide & Happiness (2005-Present)
- Dick Figures (2010-2014)
- Don't Hug Me I'm Scared (2011-2016)
- Eddsworld (2004-Present)
- Epic Rap Battles of History (2010-Present)
- Five Nights at Freddy's High School/FNAFHS (2016-2018)
- GoAnimate / Vyond (2007)
- Happy Tree Friends (1999-2023)
- Homestar Runner (2000-Present)
- Homestuck (2009-2016)
- hotdiggedydemon (2007-Present)
- Jerkcity / Bonequest (1998-Present)
- Jerry (2007-2011)
- Madness Combat (2002-Present)
- Making Fiends (2003-2015)
- Meet The Team (2007-2012)
- MikuMikuDance / MMD (2008-2011)
- Monster High webseries (2010-2018)
- Polandball (2009-Present)
- Pure Pwnage (2004-2008, 2010)
- Red vs. Blue (2003-2020)
- Salad Fingers (2004-present)
- Super Mario Bros. Z (2006-2009, 2016-Present)
- Supermarioglitchy4 (2011-Present)
- Tankmen (2006)
- The Angry Video Game Nerd (2004-Present)
- The Lazer Collection (2007-2015)
- The Gmod Idiot Box (2008-2015)
- xkcd (2005)
- Y'All So Stupid (2007-2008)
Television[]
- Adventure Time (2010–2018)
- Azumanga Daioh (2002)
- Bob's Burgers (2011-present)
- Doctor Who (1963-1989; 2005-present)
- Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (2004-2009)
- Gravity Falls (2012-2016)
- Hetalia (2009-2015)
- Miraculous Ladybug (2015-present)
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019)
- LazyTown (2004-2014)
- Lucky☆Star (2008-2013)
- Phineas & Ferb (2007-2015)
- Pingu (1990-2006)
- Powerpuff Girls Z (2006-2007)
- Regular Show (2010-2017)
- South Park (1997-Present)
- SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-present)
- Steven Universe (2013-2020)
- Supernatural (2005-2020)
- The Amazing World of Gumball (2011-2019)
- The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack (2008-2010)
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006-2009)
- The Powerpuff Girls (1998-2005)
- The Suicide Shop (2012)
- The Super Mario Brothers Super Show! (1989)
- Yotsuba&! (2003-Present)
Video Games[]
- Abobo's Big Adventure (2012)
- Angry Birds (2009)
- Animal Jam (2010)
- Avakin Life (2013)
- Baldi Basics (2018)
- Bendy and the Ink Machine (2017)
- Bin Weevils (2007)
- Blockland (2007)
- Candy Crush Saga (2012)
- Can Your Pet? (2010)
- Club Penguin (2005)
- DanceDanceRevolution series (1998-Present)
- Danganronpa series (2010-2017)
- Doki Doki Literature Club (2017)
- Fantage (2008)
- Fantastic (2012)
- Five Nights at Freddy's (2014)
- Flappy Bird (2013)
- GMod Tower (2009)
- Gaia Online (2003)
- Garry's Mod (2006)
- Geometry Dash (2013)
- GirlsGoGames (Website launched in 2007)
- Goat Simulator (2014)
- Granny (2017)
- Habbo Hotel (2000)
- Happy Wheels (2010)
- Henry Stickmin series (2008-2020)
- Hotel Mario (1994)
- I.M. Meen (1995)
- IMVU (2004)
- Just Dance series (mainly 2010-2016)
- LittleBigPlanet (2008)
- Littlest Pet Shop Online (2009)
- M.U.G.E.N. (1999)
- Mario Kart Wii (2008)
- Mario Kart 8 for Wii U (2014-2017)
- Meme Run (2014)
- Meme Run 2 (2020)
- Minecraft (2011-Present)
- Minecraft pre-release versions (2009)
- Moshi Monsters (2008)
- MovieStarPlanet (2009)
- Mundo Gaturro (2010-Present)
- My Singing Monsters (2012)
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009)
- Off (2008)
- Plants vs Zombies (2009)
- Pokémon (1996-Present)
- Pokémon GO! (2016)
- Poptropica (2007)
- Portal 2 (2011)
- ROBLOX (2006)
- Rhythm Heaven Fever (2011)
- Run (2011-2014)
- Skylanders series (2011-2016)
- Slender: The Eight Pages (2012)
- Slendytubbies (2012)
- SmallWorlds (2008)
- Star Stable (2011)
- Subway Surfers (2012)
- Super Meat Boy (2010)
- Super Paper Mario (2007)
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008)
- Super Smash Flash 2 (2007)
- Surgeon Simulator 2013 (2013)
- Talking Angela (2012)
- Talking Tom (2013)
- Team Fortress 2 (2007)
- Techno Kitten Adventure (2010)
- Temple Run (2011)
- The Binding of Isaac (2011)
- The Fancy Pants Adventures (2006-2024)
- The Sims 3 (2009)
- Touhou Project series (1997-Present)
- Transformice (2010)
- Trollface Quest (2010-Present)
- Undertale (2015)
- Webkinz (2005)
- Wizard101 (2008)
- Octodad Series (2010-2014)
- osu! (2007)
- ourWorld (2008)
- Where's My Water? (2011)
- World of Warcraft (2004)
- Zelda CD-i series (1993-1996)
Operating systems[]
- Windows 7 (Comprising the “early” part of the aesthetic”)
- Windows XP (Composing the beginning of the aesthetics and it’s cusp with the Old Web aesthetic)
- Windows 10 until the 20XX builds (comprising the “late” part of the aesthetics”)
- Windows 8.z
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Resources[]
External resources can help you get a better understanding of this aesthetic.
- Internet Archive - A library of millions of archived content, including websites.
- 2010s in Internet culture - A Wikipedia category that includes 2010s internet phenomena.
- I Can Has Cheezburger? - A website based around lolcats.
- Flash Museum - A website that has archived many Flash animations and games.
- Newgrounds - A website where users share Flash animations, films, artwork, and audio.
- Know Your Meme - A database documenting as much internet memes as possible.
- Museum of Endangered Sounds - A website that has archived many old technology sounds.
- Web Design Museum - A website documenting graphic design on the web and its evolution.
- The Old Net - An Old Web nostalgia website.
- Demotivators (Despair Inc.) - A collection of demotivational posters.
- Desmotivaciones - A Spanish-language website about demotivational posters.
- Internet Historian - A YouTuber who documents internet phenomena.
- Club Penguin Legacy - A Club Penguin revival website.
- New Club Penguin - A Club Penguin revival website.
References[]
- ↑ "The Next Social Era is Here: Why Now Is the Time for Social Products Again" | nfx.com
- ↑ "From Kilroy to Pepe: A Brief History of Memes" | www.pbs.org
- ↑ "The Definitive History of Internet Culture" | futureparty.com
- ↑ "Can monoculture survive the algorithm?" | www.vox.com
- ↑ "The Piracy Sites That Nearly Destroyed The Music Industry: What Happened To Napster" | forbes.com
- ↑ "6 Reasons Social Media Killed Online Forums" | makeuseof.com
- ↑ "How Fake News Affected the 2016 Presidential Election" | faculty.lsu.edu
- ↑ "‘We actually elected a meme as president’: How 4chan celebrated Trump’s victory" | washingtonpost.com
- ↑ "音MAD (otoMAD) — art or madness?" | Medium.com
- ↑ Internet Awesomesauce | cari.institute
- ↑ "Fandom went mainstream in the 2010s — for better and worse" | www.vox.com
- ↑ "Top 10 Movie and Television Fandoms" | watchmojo.com
- ↑ "Nunca Habrá Otro FANDOM Como el BRONY" by Derker Blue | youtube.com | Source Language: Spanish
- ↑ "Bronies TRAUMATIZED a Generation" by Raymundo 2112 | youtube.com
- ↑ "Mobile ringtone tops the UK singles chart" | en.wikinews.org
- ↑ "The Mysterious Youtuber Trapped in 2008" by Ian Decent | youtube.com
- ↑ "cooper2723 - The Youtuber Stuck in 2007" by Ian Decent | youtube.com
- ↑ "Internet Slang" | ruf.rice.edu
- ↑ "List of emoticons" | en.wikipedia.org
- ↑ "How do You LOL in Other Languages?" | kwintessential.co.uk
- ↑ "RYM Ultimate Box Set > Brony Music" by TheScientist | rateyourmusic.com