The 2010’s were an incredibly innovative decade. From countless technological breakthroughs that drastically impacted the way the world functions to defining pop culture moments that created massive shifts in art and entertainment, the past 10 years have truly been a wild ride. To put into perspective just how game-changing this decade was, below is a recap of some things that didn’t exist in 2010 but now dominate our day-to-day lives.
- Instagram launched in October 2010 and completely revolutionized social media, quickly becoming the defining app of the last decade. Instagram did more than give us a new outlet to share personal photos with friends and family – it changed the world of marketing forever with the emergence of influencers. Today, social media influencers are essential to an effective brand marketing campaign and the key to engaging with target audiences. 10 years ago, your amount of followers was irrelevant, but today influencers can leverage their popularity to build insanely profitable businesses that exist solely on the app.
- Tinder: Tinder revolutionized online dating with its launch in 2012, and we’ve been relentlessly swiping right and left ever since.
- Game of Thrones: The show premiered in 2011, which means I went 21 full years without knowing Kit Harrington existed. I have no idea how I survived.
- iPads: The first iPad was released in 2010 and the rest is history.
- Uber: As a 90’s kid, I grew up being told never to get in cars with strangers. After Uber’s launch in 2011, it became perfectly acceptable to rely on strangers I summon through the internet to get me from point A to point B.
- Marvel Cinematic Universe: Technically the first Iron Man debuted in 2008, but the MCU wasn’t a living, breathing pop culture machine until the 2010s, where it proceeded to dominate the box office each and every year of the decade.
- Snapchat: Launched in 2011 and basically killed in 2019 now that everyone exclusively uses Instagram stories now. A defining 2010 invention nonetheless.
- Facetime: Obviously, the 2010s were largely defined by Apple releases, and Facetime is another noteworthy example of how the company revolutionized the way we communicate over the past decade.
