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For Americans, and for the rest of the world to some extent, 9/11 was easily the most defining moment of the decade, and then some. I remember watching it unfold, and thinking that everything would change, on a scale that things had not changed since Pearl Harbor. The 90's were between the Cold War and the War on Terror; in retrospect, it was one of the most peaceful decades of a century.
Socially...well, every generation is going to claim to be more ambitious and "right" than the generations that follow. The 90's where when Generation X joined the workforce, and they brought their unique brand of cynicism with them. They were screwed and they knew they were screwed--they weren't nearly as large at the Boomers before them or Gen Y after them, so they didn't have the numbers to sway social change, EXCEPT in the tech field, where their tech savvy brought the tech boom of the 90's.
As generational categories are arbitrary, I'd say Gen Y started to come of age around the middle of the 00's. Gen Y played a very large role in the election of Obama; college campuses everywhere were celebrating on election night. Unlike Gen X, Gen Y has the numbers to swing policy through the voting booths. Gen Y also seems to be a bit more narcissistic than their predecessors, perhaps comfortable in their position of clout. But the economic situation in the last years of the decade may end up tempering the perceived frivolity of the generation.
Of course, none of this is the opinion of a sociologist, just bouncing ideas around.
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AZIZ! LIGHT!
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