What Life Was Like as a Teen in the Early 2000s
You Know You Were a Teenager in the 2000s If. . .
Image Source: Everett Collection
Remember last decade, how you used to quote Mean Girls word for word while talking to your best friend on your Nokia cell phone? You wore low-rise jeans with tiny t-shirts and Rocket Dog sandals and spent your afternoons requesting music videos on TRL and learning the dance moves to "I'm a Slave 4 U." We'll be honest; we still quote Mean Girls and try to copy Britney Spears routines, but we look back on those days with equal parts dreamy nostalgia and sheer horror. We're taking a trip down memory lane with all the best (and worst) things about coming of age in the aughts. So here we go: you know you were a teenager in the 2000s if . . .
— Additional reporting by Lauren Harano
1 You Shook It Like a Polaroid Picture
2 Took Off All Your Clothes
3 And Denied Things by Saying, "It Wasn't Me"
4 You Thought These Two Would Be Together Forever
Image Source: Getty / Jeffrey Mayer
5 Same With These Two
Image Source: Getty / Kevin Mazur
6 And These Two
Image Source: Getty / Jason Squires
7 Your Jeans Didn't Have Back Pockets
Image Source: modaxpressonline.com
8 Or Belt Loops
Image Source: oldnavy.gap.com
9 But They Were as Low as Humanly Possible
Image Source: Getty / Jean-Paul Aussenard
10 You Spent Hours Choosing a Song to Play as Your Outgoing Voicemail Message
Image Source: Dreamworks via Giphy
11 Crafting Your AIM Away Message With Emotional Song Lyrics (or Cryptic, Attention-Seeking Blurbs)
Image Source: AOL via Giphy
12 Downloading Music From Kazaa and Limewire and Burning It Onto a CD
13 And Organizing Your Top Friends on MySpace
Image Source: MySpace via Giphy
14 You Were Addicted to Texting and Playing Snake on Your Nokia Cell Phone
Image Source: Nokia via Giphy
15 And You Kitted It Out With a New Cover Every Month
Image Source: ebay.com
16 Then You Got It Taken Away For Running Up the Bill
Image Source: Paramount Pictures via Giphy
17 This Was Your First iPod
Image Source: Getty / SAMANTHA SIN
18 And You Had to Wait a Week to See That Selfie You Took
Image Source: Unsplash / bady
19 You Quoted Mean Girls Religiously
Image Source: Paramount Pictures via Giphy
20 Learned the Cheer Routines From Bring It On
Image Source: Universal Pictures via Giphy
21 Tried to Surf Like You Were in Blue Crush
Image Source: Everett Collection
22 And Wanted to Take a Road Trip With Your Girlfriends, à la Crossroads
Image Source: Everett Collection
23 You Remember This Miley Cyrus
Image Source: Getty / Jesse Grant
24 This Hilary Duff
Image Source: Getty / Gregg DeGuire
25 And This Rihanna
Image Source: Getty / Kevin Winter
26 You Thought This Was the Best Super Bowl Halftime Show Ever
Image Source: Getty / Jeff Kravitz
27 You Learned All the Dance Moves to "I'm a Slave 4 U"
28 No, Really. Every Move
Image Source: YouTube via Giphy
29 Even the Supersexy Ones!
Image Source: YouTube via Giphy
30 When You Got Home From School, You Made Yourself Some Easy Mac
Image Source: target.com
31 Requested Videos on TRL
Image Source: Getty / KMazur
32 Watched Celebrities Get Punk'd
Image Source: MTV via Giphy
33 And Flipped Through YM Magazine
Image Source: amazon.com
34 You Wore Tube Tops and Prairie Skirts
Image Source: Getty / KMazur
35 And Juicy Couture Sweatsuits
Image Source: Getty / KMazur
36 Then You Accessorized With a Tiffany Charm Bracelet
Image Source: tiffany.com
37 And Those Sunglasses That Were Barely Tinted Enough to Protect Your Eyes
Image Source: Getty / Gregg DeGuire
38 You Remember Samantha Mumba
39 Hoobastank
40 Willa Ford
41 And Dream
42 You Hung Out at the Virgin Megastore
Image Source: Getty / BORIS HORVAT
43 And the Vans Skatepark
Image Source: Getty / Anton Novoderezhkin
44 And Played Dance Dance Revolution in the Middle of the Mall
Image Source: Reddit via Giphy
45 You Didn't Leave the House Without Your MAC Lipglass
Image Source: maccosmetics.com
46 Or Your Rocket Dog Sandals
Image Source: amazon.com
47 Or Your Von Dutch Trucker Hat
Image Source: Getty / J. Merritt
48 Or Your Dooney & Bourke Logo Purse
Image Source: dooney.com
49 You Got Your Belly Button Pierced and Bought the Dangliest Ring You Could Find
Image Source: bodycandy.com
50 Then Showed It Off in Your Tiny Hollister T-Shirt
Image Source: hollisterco.com
51 Your Feet Stayed Warm in a Pair of Ugg Boots
Image Source: ugg.com
52 While Your Legs Cooled Off in a Denim Miniskirt
Image Source: Getty / Amy Graves
53 And If You Were Feeling Fancy, You'd Stick on a Crystal Tattoo
Image Source: Getty / KMazur
54 You Were Hooked on The O.C.
Image Source: Fox via Giphy
55 Wished You Lived in Laguna Beach
Image Source: MTV via Giphy
56 Thought About Who Your Phone-a-Friend Would Be
Image Source: ABC via Giphy
57 And Wondered If You'd Be the Weakest Link
Image Source: NBC via Giphy
58 You Remember When Kelly Clarkson Won American Idol
Image Source: Getty / Kevin Winter
59 And When Christina Aguilera Got "Dirrty"
Image Source: YouTube via Giphy
60 You Wondered If Beyoncé and JAY-Z Were Dating
Image Source: Getty / Kevin Mazur
61 You Listened to "Where the Party At" on Repeat Even Though You'd Never Actually Been to a Party
62 And You Listened to "In Da Club" on Repeat Even Though You'd Never Actually Been in a Club
63 You Remember When Jessica Simpson Thought Tuna Was Chicken
Image Source: Getty / Sandy Huffaker
64 And When Paris Hilton Thought Walmart Sold "Wall Stuff"
Image Source: Fox via Giphy
65 You Wore Your Hair Stick Straight
Image Source: Getty / J. Vespa
66 Or Maybe in One of Those Ponytails With the Two Strands Hanging Down in Front
Image Source: Getty / SGranitz
67 Or Maybe You Rocked Micro Braids
Image Source: Getty / Harry Langdon
68 Sometimes You Did a Few Front Twists
Image Source: Getty / SGranitz
69 Or Flipped the Ends Out
Image Source: Getty / Vince Bucci
70 Basically, You Were the Hottest Thing Ever
Image Source: Paramount Pictures via Giphy
71 And You Should Look Back on That Time With Pride
Image Source: Paramount Pictures via Giphy
Pin it!
Image Source: Everett Collection
