Goodbye 2000's, 10's, Whatever... Bring On the Teens?

Days before 2010 made its arrival, an interesting question began to nag me... Am I the only one who recognizes that a brand new decade is about to begin? When I casually brought up this sobering fact to those around me, the popular responses were a half-hearted 'really?' or borderline disinterested 'oh yeah'. To be honest, the less than enthusiastic reactions were anything but surprising to me and actually served to further prove a theory I came up with earlier in the now departed Y2K's... The first decade of the 2000's suffered from a lack of identity unlike the heavily stereotyped 90's, 80's, 70's, 60's, etc. that came before it.

Following the inauguration of Y2K, I sat back, watched and listened for the adoption of some universally accepted term that would define the first decade of the 21st century. The baby was never named. Maybe that explains why I have a harder time these days determining whether an event, blockbuster movie or music artist's CD release happened in 2003 or 2005. It could be my age. But I would rather place a bet on the fact that the new age of mass media and info overload has enabled each year to roll into the next enveloped in a consciousness similar to that of an impulsive and easily distracted toddler. Let's face it... The untitled decade just passed could have been called the Fast Foodies. New technology developed so quickly that the term 'high speed' could be the greatest understatement of all time. It was all about 'out with the old and in with the new RIGHT NOW' in terms of any technological advances. Reality television reigned supreme, especially the programs that offered glitz and hype over educational value. And don't even get me started on the bulk of popular music. But rather than namecalling the nameless decade a 'wasted decade', why don't we be fair and say that what we lacked in the arts we made up for in technological brilliance.

So as we start again, my question remains the same as almost a decade ago... Will the next 10 distinctly stand apart from those just laid to rest? Do we need to wait until the '20's for a stronger sense of chronological identity? Does it matter? I leave you with some words of caution... Should we decide that we are now entering the Teens, remember how trying those adolescent years can be. Of course, they can also be a time of great inspiration and new awareness.