Trying to live in the 2000s for a week

I think the title pretty much sums up what this experiment is about. Once this experiment begins, I'll try my best to simulate how life was like in the 2000s, and of course to live in this simulation.

my setup at the start of the challenge

WHY?

This is a question easier to ask than to rationally answer. I'll try my best. For a couple of years now I've been thinking of getting a dumbphone but I never made the jump. Since then I've been trying different methods to not get hooked, some of which succeded and some of which failed. I never stuck to any of them. The closest I've gotten is during the time I got grounded (LOL) and couldn't use my phone. I was forced to communicate through e-mail and other weird ways. WHO THE FUCK CARES NERD!!! LET'S GET TO THE MEAT AND POTATOES SHALL WE

HOW!?

Great question! I'll try to recreate the general vibe I feel when I hear the word "2000s", this means imitating the tech, the music, the hobbies and the general ways of life of the decade. This won't be by any means a 1:1 recreation of an adolescent's life during the decade - for several reasons - regarding excessive consumerism and the subsequent vane waste of money and goods. This is what I will change:

TECH

DISCLAIMER: I still go to school and therefore will need some new technologies. (I will be using my "normal" laptop to write a really important thesis) I will, however, try my best to incorporate these into a lifestyle that still fits the time period but I won't be too cautious about it. TL;DR if I need to use a new technology, I will.

muh puter

For this experiment I will be using Windows XP on my laptop and Windows 7 on my desktop PC. I already have an IBM ThinkPad X60 (from 2006) which will be my laptop of choice and, probably, my main computer during this experiment. As far as desktop computers are concerned, I'll be using the computer that I already have now: a 2nd gen i7 with 16 gigabytes of RAM running Windows 7. This will be the computer that I'll be connecting to the Internet for when I need to (especially for school). I'll try to limit my internet usage over all. If I need to research something that's not an emergency (for example events in the city etc.) I'll try and do so through my school computer, just to add some friction.

phone

I for sure won't be using my iPhone as my main phone as (although the iPhone was released in 2007) it doesn't fit the vibe that I want to achieve. Instead I'll be using a more modern Nokia dumbphone: the Nokia 3210. The reason for this being that in Switzerland the 2G networks have been shut down as well as the fact that I want more reliable than a 20 (+/-) year old phone. I'll be using the phone with a prepaid SIM card with a limited amount of SMSs and voice call minutes - 2000s style (maybe, idk i wasn't too conscious back then). The way I've set everything up is as follows: my peers have my normal phone number that's connected to my iPhone, however if they call me, my iPhone forwards the call to the new phone number on the Nokia phone. I'll also give out an e-mail address so people can text me more things without having to worry about SMS prices (on both sides. I've only got around 40 SMS available and then I'd have to pay up)

Music

I'm not sure what I'll be using for music on-the go! As far as listening to music at home is concerned I'm pretty much set. I'm not subscribed to any music streaming service (as of writing this) and I listen through music with my CD's and the music I rip from them (which then gets uploaded to my phone to listen to on the go). I won't be buying a new old stereo system from the noughts since that would be just blatant consumerism: even though my stereo system wasn't built in the 2000s, the functions are essentially the same. Needless to say I won't be using the bluetooth features on it and I won't be listening to the radio either as I'd run the risk of listening to music made after 2009 (FATAL!). I'm in luck since most of the music I listen to (20/25 albums) was made before the 2010s therefore I won't have to make any drastical adjustments to my music taste to suit this challenge.

Photography

Unfortunately all of my digital cameras are broken in some way, whether it's the screen that doesn't display anything or the lens that doesn't come out properly. I want to get a new one one way or another but I'm currently being gatekept of where to obtain one of these for free (recycling center). You know who you are.

Hobbies

Part of the reason I'm doing this experiment is to cultivate a real hobby and dedicate time to it. I've been getting into skateboarding lately so I wouldn't be surprised if I start doing that more often. I hope to read more books as well. I also have a PS3 but the Blu-Ray drive doesn't work properly so I can't play any games on it, but being honest I don't play many video games nowadays so it's not a huge loss.

November 19 2025. Challenge starts on the 20th.