How will the 2020s be remembered?

[perks-a-beast]

It just dawned on me that this decade is halfway over. Curious to see how people think this decade will be perceived by future generations.

Maybe Im a pessimist, but I think it will be remembered as a time of serious cultural stagnation and social and political turmoil.

It seems like a pretty dark time (for most people), and my biggest fear is that with the way things are going, we may look back on these as the good old days. A scary thought.

Obviously there are 4.5 years left in which A LOT can happen. But where do you stand on this decade so far? Is there reason for optimism or are we screwed?

[Roy H.]

What do you mean by cultural stagnation? 

I'm not particularly optimistic right now, but I can't remember the last time that I was.

[perks-a-beast]

I just think there has been a huge lack of innovation in many areas of culture. Mainly movies and music. Most films that come out now a days are just recycled ideas from past decades. Maybe im just becoming old and jaded.

There have been major strides in technology obviously, but almost everything else seems to be stagnant or worse.

[Phantom255x]

Just like the first 5 years, I think this decade is gonna feel like a blur. Outside of continued technological advances I just think everything else like politics, culture, etc. have been stagnant or worse (not better though). COVID also played a part obviously early on. I'll be real though, I'm a nostalgic person as is but looking back I do miss the 2010s especially the mid-to-late portions of the decade. Life felt vibrant and it felt like a lot was going on even with culture, music, etc. Yeah the Trump presidency was a bit chaotic but overall we got through it.

[perks-a-beast]

Just like the first 5 years, I think this decade is gonna feel like a blur. Outside of continued technological advances I just think everything else like politics, culture, etc. have been stagnant or worse (not better though). COVID also played a part obviously early on. I'll be real though, I'm a nostalgic person as is but looking back I do miss the 2010s especially the mid-to-late portions of the decade. Life felt vibrant and it felt like a lot was going on even with culture, music, etc. Yeah the Trump presidency was a bit chaotic but overall we got through it.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. The closest year to 2025 I actually have nostalgia for is 2007. From 2008 on everything just feels a little flat and colorless (to me).

[Donoghus]

Just like the first 5 years, I think this decade is gonna feel like a blur. Outside of continued technological advances I just think everything else like politics, culture, etc. have been stagnant or worse (not better though). COVID also played a part obviously early on. I'll be real though, I'm a nostalgic person as is but looking back I do miss the 2010s especially the mid-to-late portions of the decade. Life felt vibrant and it felt like a lot was going on even with culture, music, etc. Yeah the Trump presidency was a bit chaotic but overall we got through it.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. The closest year to 2025 I actually have nostalgia for is 2007. From 2008 on everything just feels a little flat and colorless (to me).

I'm 44. I think my line of demarcation is 9/11.  Growing up in the 80s & 90s was awesome.  Obviously coinciding with progressing into adulthood but feel like things were never the same starting with 9/11. 

To answer the original question, I don't think the 2020s were be remembered fondly unless things take an unforeseen turn here in the next 4.5 years.

Covid, Trumpism, seemingly growing divide between the haves & have nots, rise of nationalism, growing influence of technological dependency by society, growth of AI, seeming stagnation of creativity in TV/movies/etc..    There's been good too but I see this decade so far as a mash of the 30s and 70s.

[tazzmaniac]

Just like the first 5 years, I think this decade is gonna feel like a blur. Outside of continued technological advances I just think everything else like politics, culture, etc. have been stagnant or worse (not better though). COVID also played a part obviously early on. I'll be real though, I'm a nostalgic person as is but looking back I do miss the 2010s especially the mid-to-late portions of the decade. Life felt vibrant and it felt like a lot was going on even with culture, music, etc. Yeah the Trump presidency was a bit chaotic but overall we got through it.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. The closest year to 2025 I actually have nostalgia for is 2007. From 2008 on everything just feels a little flat and colorless (to me).

I'm 44. I think my line of demarcation is 9/11.  Growing up in the 80s & 90s was awesome.  Obviously coinciding with progressing into adulthood but feel like things were never the same starting with 9/11. 

To answer the original question, I don't think the 2020s were be remembered fondly unless things take an unforeseen turn here in the next 4.5 years.

Covid, Trumpism, seemingly growing divide between the haves & have nots, rise of nationalism, growing influence of technological dependency by society, growth of AI, seeming stagnation of creativity in TV/movies/etc..    There's been good too but I see this decade so far as a mash of the 30s and 70s.

The 30s?  The Great Depression?  Are you kidding me? 

How did the Great Depression impact the American economy? The U.S. economy shrank by a third from the beginning of the Great Depression to the bottom four years later.

Real GDP fell 29% from 1929 to 1933.
The unemployment rate reached a peak of 25% in 1933.
Consumer prices fell 25%; wholesale prices plummeted 32%.
Some 7,000 banks, nearly a third of the banking system, failed between 1930 and 1933.

This decade is most definitely not like the 30s and really not that much like the 70s either. 

[Neurotic Guy]

Much of how this decade is viewed will depend upon your political and social views, and of course where America goes from here.  If the ascendancy of social liberalism in America were charted I think you  would have to see a flattening of the line and some downward trend as the decade marks a time where any mention of social injustice is met with cynicism and eye rolls. Theres also been a wave of dispassion when it comes to things like concern for transgender and the deportation of non-criminal undocumented people.  Some joy in seeing the concentration camp-esque Salvadoran prison with wishes that more illegals could be sent there and perhaps America could build like facilities. If you are a social conservative it?s likely you?re somewhat, or very much, pleased with the branding of wokism and the trending of America to reject values like diversity or equity or inclusion.

Where we go from here will provide the answer for both sides - were the 2020?s just a blip on the screen - time for some temporary reconsideration of social trends followed by a return, perhaps with lessons learned to a place where compassion, empathy and acceptance are no longer triggers for anti-woke sneers?  Or maybe the 2020?s mark the decade of revolution where America turned back permanently to values aligned more with earlier times in America, perhaps retaining some of the social sensibilities gained through the process of ending blatant discrimination of women, people of color, homosexuals.  Some will see the 2020?s as a great and pivotal decade in American history where things turned for the better while others will mark this decade as a turning point for the worse.

[Donoghus]

Just like the first 5 years, I think this decade is gonna feel like a blur. Outside of continued technological advances I just think everything else like politics, culture, etc. have been stagnant or worse (not better though). COVID also played a part obviously early on. I'll be real though, I'm a nostalgic person as is but looking back I do miss the 2010s especially the mid-to-late portions of the decade. Life felt vibrant and it felt like a lot was going on even with culture, music, etc. Yeah the Trump presidency was a bit chaotic but overall we got through it.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. The closest year to 2025 I actually have nostalgia for is 2007. From 2008 on everything just feels a little flat and colorless (to me).

I'm 44. I think my line of demarcation is 9/11.  Growing up in the 80s & 90s was awesome.  Obviously coinciding with progressing into adulthood but feel like things were never the same starting with 9/11. 

To answer the original question, I don't think the 2020s were be remembered fondly unless things take an unforeseen turn here in the next 4.5 years.

Covid, Trumpism, seemingly growing divide between the haves & have nots, rise of nationalism, growing influence of technological dependency by society, growth of AI, seeming stagnation of creativity in TV/movies/etc..    There's been good too but I see this decade so far as a mash of the 30s and 70s.

The 30s?  The Great Depression?  Are you kidding me? 

How did the Great Depression impact the American economy? The U.S. economy shrank by a third from the beginning of the Great Depression to the bottom four years later.

Real GDP fell 29% from 1929 to 1933.
The unemployment rate reached a peak of 25% in 1933.
Consumer prices fell 25%; wholesale prices plummeted 32%.
Some 7,000 banks, nearly a third of the banking system, failed between 1930 and 1933.

This decade is most definitely not like the 30s and really not that much like the 70s either.

The funny thing about the 1930s is that there were actually a whole slew of things that occurred besides the Great Depression.  Namely, the rise of nationalism and right wing movements.   Additionally, anti-Semitism and anti-immigration sentiment also fevered.  Seems familiar.

[Roy H.]

Much of how this decade is viewed will depend upon your political and social views, and of course where America goes from here.  If the ascendancy of social liberalism in America were charted I think you  would have to see a flattening of the line and some downward trend as the decade marks a time where any mention of social injustice is met with cynicism and eye rolls. Theres also been a wave of dispassion when it comes to things like concern for transgender and the deportation of non-criminal undocumented people.  Some joy in seeing the concentration camp-esque Salvadoran prison with wishes that more illegals could be sent there and perhaps America could build like facilities. If you are a social conservative it?s likely you?re somewhat, or very much, pleased with the branding of wokism and the trending of America to reject values like diversity or equity or inclusion.

Where we go from here will provide the answer for both sides - were the 2020?s just a blip on the screen - time for some temporary reconsideration of social trends followed by a return, perhaps with lessons learned to a place where compassion, empathy and acceptance are no longer triggers for anti-woke sneers?  Or maybe the 2020?s mark the decade of revolution where America turned back permanently to values aligned more with earlier times in America, perhaps retaining some of the social sensibilities gained through the process of ending blatant discrimination of women, people of color, homosexuals.  Some will see the 2020?s as a great and pivotal decade in American history where things turned for the better while others will mark this decade as a turning point for the worse.

It's interesting to think of it in terms of what the Trump era has done regarding conservatism.

From a law nerd with a conservative legal worldview, I see a very good Supreme Court.  I'm sad to see two towering legal intellects gone from the court in Scalia and Ginsberg, but I like the makeup of the current court.  I do wish there was a real thought leader from the left on the Court; I thought that Breyer and Ginsberg (and Stevens before them) were brilliant, whereas Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson are just very, very smart. 

I'm extremely pleased to see affirmative action overturned in college admissions.  Next comes affirmative action in employment, hopefully.  And, sending abortion policy back to the States was a good legal decision. 

And, I'm happy to see a president finally addressing the border, standing up to far-left extremism, etc.

But, even though many of my policy goals are currently "winning", I'm not overjoyed by it.  It's mostly because people are all frothed up seemingly 24/7, ready to engage in a political fight at any moment.  People (of both sides) actively hate and mock others, including at the presidential and congressional level.  Politicians and judges are getting arrested, and people don't look at those charges through right vs. wrong, but rather right vs. left.  It's sad.

But, I find things I do like.  Family, little league, taking pride in my work, reading, the Celtics, people who have thoughtful discussions in good faith, and nature.  So long as those things still exist, I can be content, even if I don't like where we're headed.

[BringToughnessBack]

It is easy to get swept up in the pessimism, especially when the loudest headlines are often the darkest. But I truly believe this decade will be remembered as the inflection point for humanity- the time when everything began to change, not fall apart.

We are witnessing the rise of true artificial intelligence. Not just another tool, but a foundational shift in how humans interact with knowledge, solve problems, and build the future. Add quantum computing into the mix, and we are suddenly talking about unlocking medical breakthroughs, cracking long-standing scientific mysteries, and possibly even slowing or reversing aging, all within our lifetime.

Yes, the world feels chaotic. But that is often the case during moments of massive transformation. Underneath the noise, we are laying the groundwork for a leap in human progress, in how we live, heal, create, and connect.

Future generations may look back and say: This was the decade when the lights started to flicker on. When the tools got smart enough, and humanity began to evolve in a new direction.

The turbulence is real. But what comes next might just be extraordinary.