page_title: 2000s (decade)
section_title: Communications
hierarchical_section_title: 2000s (decade) / Science and technology / Technology / Communications
caption_attribution_description: Texting on a qwerty keypad phone
context_page_description: The 2000s was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1, 2000, and ended on December 31, 2009.
  The early part of the decade saw the long-time predicted breakthrough of economic giant China, which had double-digit growth during nearly the whole decade. To a lesser extent, India also benefited from an economic boom, which saw the two most populous countries becoming an increasingly dominant economic force. The rapid catching-up of emerging economies with developed countries sparked some protectionist tensions during the period and was partly responsible for an increase in energy and food prices at the end of the decade. The economic developments in the latter third of the decade were dominated by a worldwide economic downturn, which started with the crisis in housing and credit in the United States in late 2007 and led to the bankruptcy of major banks and other financial institutions. The outbreak of this global financial crisis sparked a global recession, beginning in the United States and affecting most of the industrialized world.
context_section_description: The popularity of mobile phones and text messaging surged in the 2000s in the Western world. The advent of text messaging made possible new forms of interaction that were not possible before, leading to positive implications such as having the ability to receive information on the move. Nevertheless, it also led to negative social implications such as "cyberbullying" and the rise of traffic collisions caused by drivers who were distracted as they were texting while driving.
  Mobile internet, first launched in Japan with the i-mode in 1999, became increasingly popular with people in developed countries throughout the decade, thanks to improving cell phone capabilities and advances in mobile telecommunications technology, such as 3G.
  E-mail continued to be popular throughout the decade. It began to replace "snail mail" (also known, more neutrally, as paper mail, postal mail, land mail, or simply mail or post) as the primary way of sending letters and other messages to people in faraway locations, though it has been available since 1971.
  Social networking sites arose as a new way for people to stay in touch no matter where they are, as long as they have an internet connection. The first social networking sites were Friendster, Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006, respectively. Myspace was the most popular social networking website until June 2009 when Facebook overtook Myspace in the number of American users.
  Smartphones, which combine mobile phones with the features of personal digital assistants and portable media players, first emerged in the 1990s but did not become very popular until late in the 2000s. Smartphones are rich in features and often have high resolution touchscreens and web browsers. The first modern smartphone was the iPhone. It was released on June 29, 2007, in the United States, and in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland and Austria in November 2007. It was the first smartphone to not include a physical keyboard, solely utilizing a touch screen and a home button.
  Due to the major success of broadband Internet connections, Voice over IP begins to gain popularity as a replacement for traditional telephone lines.
caption: The popularity of mobile phones and text messaging surged in the 2000s in the Western world.
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