The Ultimate 2010s Decade Quiz

The 2010s: A Decade of Global Prosperity, Political Turmoil, and Technological Advancements

• The 2010s marked a period of stable economic recovery from the financial crisis of the late 2000s, with low inflation and interest rates, and a growth in the gross world product.
• The decade saw revolutions, civil wars, and uprisings in several countries, notably the Arab Spring, resulting in socio-economic crises in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Syria, and Yemen.
• The music industry saw a cultural dominance in dance-pop, electronic dance music, hipster culture, and electropop, with diversity in the mainstream success of K-pop, Latin music, and trap.
• The rise of streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Disney+ led to a decline in cable providers' subscriber numbers.
• The video game industry was dominated by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, while indie games became more popular, with Minecraft becoming the best-selling game of all time.
• China and the U.S. coalesced into a "containment" effort and a trade war, while Russia attempted to assert itself in international affairs, annexing Crimea in 2014.
• The internet grew from covering 28.9% to 54% of the world population, with advancements in wireless networking devices, mobile telephony, and cloud computing.
• Global warming became increasingly noticeable, with the CO2 concentration rising from 390 to 410 PPM over the decade, and combating pollution and climate change continued to be major concerns.
• Populism in politics saw a widespread surge throughout the decade, with many politicians and various political movements expressing populist sentiments and utilising populist rhetoric.
• The decade saw the decline of traditional political parties in Europe, with pasokification described as the loss of vote share experienced by traditional centre-left or social democratic parties.
• Countries which democratised fully or partially during the decade included Angola, Armenia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, and Malaysia, while democratic backsliding occurred in countries such as Hungary, Venezuela, and Turkey.
• The decade also saw the deaths of several sitting world leaders, including Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Fidel Castro of Cuba, and George H.W. Bush of the United States.
• The 2010s was a decade of global prosperity, political turmoil, and technological advancements that shaped the world as we know it today.Key Events and Trends of the 2010s

World Leaders:

• Many prominent world leaders died in office during the decade, including Chávez of Venezuela, Gaddafi of Libya, Kim Jong-il of North Korea, Mandela of South Africa, Thatcher of the UK, and Castro of Cuba.
• The decade saw coups against ruling governments in various regions of the world.

Economics:

• The global economy was strong, with steady growth, low unemployment, and increasing consumer confidence recovering from the great recession.
• A sovereign-debt crisis in Europe began in early 2010, which led to a Eurozone debt crisis.
• The American Dow Jones Industrial Average had its longest stretch of gains since the late 1990s tech boom.
• Economic issues sparked unrest in many lower-income countries, leading to political instability and civil wars.
• The trend towards a cashless society continued, with non-cash transactions and digital currency seeing an increase in favorability.
• The retail industry shifted towards online shopping and e-commerce, leading to the decline of brick-and-mortar retail and indoor shopping malls.

Science and Technology:

• The decade saw significant scientific developments, including the deaths of Neil Armstrong and Stephen Hawking.
• The late 2000s saw the rise of two prominent mobile operating systems, Android and iOS.
• Robotics, particularly drones, experienced wide use and application.
• Autonomous and electric car technology and sales showed considerable growth.
• The decade saw the rise in cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin.
• Cybersecurity incidents, such as hacking, leaks, or theft of sensitive information, gained increased attention.

Health and Society:

• Social changes included increases in life expectancy and falling birth rates leading to larger proportions of the population being elderly.
• Many parts of the world moved towards greater acceptance of LGBT people, often including the legalization of same-sex marriage.
• The internet took an ever greater role in entertainment, communication, politics, and commerce.
• The decade sparked many smaller fashion movements, including hipster fashion, athleisure, and a revival of austerity-era and other nostalgic alternative fashion trends.
• Internet users grew from covering 28.9% to 54% of the world population.

Popular Culture:

• Superhero films became box office leaders, especially with the start of The Infinity Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

• Avatar and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 were among the highest-grossing films of the decade.

• Motion capture grew in terms of its realism and reach.

• The decade saw the rise of Baidu, Twitter, and Instagram, while Yahoo significantly declined in popularity.

• Wikipedia almost septupled its monthly visits.

• Funko Pops were a collectible fad during the 2010s.Pop Culture in the 2010s

• The superhero movie genre dominated the box office, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe becoming the highest-grossing film franchise of all time.

• Other prominent franchises included Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and The Fast and the Furious.

• Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Illumination, and Sony Picture Animation dominated the animated films market.

• The decade also saw the release of many critically acclaimed films of many genres such as The Social Network, Moonlight, and Parasite.

• The 2010s decade is often said to be a part of the Golden Age of Television, thanks to the widespread quality of multiple shows, as well as advancements in technology leading to streaming, cable television, and online outlets bringing this quality and quantity of programming.

• Popular sitcoms included The Big Bang Theory, Two Broke Girls, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

• Dramas like Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones became some of the most popular American television series of all time.

• YouTube became popular, especially among younger people, as memes shifted the meaning of entertainment.

• Initially, channels like Fred Figglehorn (FRED), The Annoying Orange, and PewDiePie attracted millions of views.

• Other YouTubers that constantly received views within the millions or went viral during the decade included the likes of bill wurtz, Swoozie, and REACT.

• Anime broadened its appeal worldwide, with shows such as Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, and Sailor Moon Crystal.

• Newer adult animation grew rapidly throughout the decade with shows such as Rick and Morty, BoJack Horseman, and Superjail!.

• Reality television grew an increased following during the decade, with programs such as The Celebrity Apprentice and Pawn Stars.

• The decade saw the release of many popular and critically acclaimed films of many genres.Overview of the 2010s: Music, Video Games, and Literature

Music:

• Pop, hip-hop, and R&B surpassed rock as the biggest US music genres in 2018.
• Electronic dance music (EDM) achieved mass commercial success in the middle of the decade but fell somewhat into decline by the end.
• Country music saw a resurgence throughout the 2010s in the United States.
• Independent music (or "indie music") gained a large international cult following.
• Music artists like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj increased the global commercial appeal of pop music in the 2010s.
• Billboard named Drake the top artist of the decade in the US.
• Popular musical groups of the decade included One Direction, BTS, Imagine Dragons, Mumford & Sons, Arcade Fire, and Migos.

Video games:

• Minecraft became the best-selling game of all time in 2019.
• Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One were released in 2013, and in the United States the PlayStation 4 became the highest-selling console of the decade.
• Handheld gaming console revenue was overtaken by mobile gaming revenue in 2011.
• Battle royale and multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBA) rapidly gained worldwide popularity.
• Esports became tremendously big, incurring a large increase in both viewership and prize money.
• YouTube and Twitch became a platform for "Let's Players" to upload videos of themselves playing certain games.
• Movies based on video game franchises became popular, grossing more and being talked about in the media and among fans more than ever before.

Literature:

• The best-selling book of the decade was Fifty Shades of Grey.
• The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series also became one of the best-selling book series of all time throughout the 2010s.