For many young Malaysians, especially Millennials, it must be surreal to realise that the cultural and societal products of the 2000s that were once considered cool and cutting-edge, seem quite prehistoric, even comical to many Gen Zs of today.

All the same, growing up during this period was quite the experience, and there are undoubtedly some things the young of today will never get to experience in their lifetime.

Here are just a handful of memories from the not-too-distant past. Do you happen to miss anything in particular from your childhood as a Millennial?

1. Pirated DVD sellers

Before streaming became commonplace, most people had few means of catching the latest films if they lacked access to cinemas.

This was where pirated DVD sellers stepped in and boy, did they hit the jackpot selling their illicit content at hard-to-resist prices.

Despite their trade being illegal, pirated DVD sellers openly traded their merchandise in crowded spaces like night markets and food courts.

Quite often they would set up roadside stalls, displaying row upon row of DVDs or they would walk about from table to table hawking their wares.

However, as streaming became more affordable (and youths learnt how to illegally download content from the internet), the role of the DVD seller became obsolete and they have since largely vanished.

2. Licensed DVD vendors

If you couldn’t get your movies from pirated DVD sellers, where were you to get it from?

Well, back then, there was a certain chain called “Speedy” that became the haunt of local cinephiles.

Here, you could get your hands on licensed products, with clear images and crisp sound, typically at a higher price than that of the pirated versions.

Most of the licensed films would also begin with a short anti-piracy message about “golden disks” and “purple disks”.

And of course, for kids too poor to buy anything, they would just watch the films playing on the display televisions in the storefront.

3. The Golden Age of television cartoons

Unlike today where most national channels are dominated by home shopping programmes, TV channels back then had a respectable line-up of quality shows.

Saturdays were obviously the best time for kids as there were always cartoons playing back-to-back on TV3 and NTV7. “I feel good” rings a bell, anyone?

Some people might even remember the schedules for classic cartoons back then, with Crayon Shin Chan famously playing at 7pm and Doraemon at 7.30pm.

The introduction of TV9 was also a boon to kids as its afternoon schedule was filled with cartoons dubbed in Malay. Not that SpongeBob speaking in Malay made him any less entertaining.

And if you came from a family that could afford an Astro subscription, most other kids would look upon your ability to binge on the Disney Channel and the Cartoon Network with extreme envy.

4. The infancy of the internet

While wi-fi is something Malaysians take for granted these days, for people back then, hooking up to the internet was a novel experience.

To be able to even access the internet, you would have to link your phone line to the computer, a process often necessitating a parent’s help.

Afterwards, you’d have to listen to a tune of bleeps, screeches and dings. The sound of the dial-up must be ingrained in every Millennials’ head by now.

Additionally, the internet back then was a whole different beast compared to that of today’s version, with YouTube starting only in 2005 and Friendster being all the rage.

Still, for kids surfing the Net for the first time, it was a whole new experience and even visiting Wikipedia was considered fun.

5. Handphones before the smartphone era

In the 2000s, if you were that one kid in class with a handphone, it was nothing short of a status symbol and proof of your family’s affluence.

The Nokia 3310 or the “brick phone”, was the phone of the early years of that era, and many a Millennial might remember happily playing “Snake” on their parent’s phone.

Surfing the internet on that was pretty much impossible, and calls and text messages were really the only useful things you could do with it.

As the decade wore on, phones with coloured screens became the new in-thing, with (expensive) access to the internet.

The iPhone, so commonplace today, was only announced in 2007 and for most local kids, owning one was but a pipedream.

Nowadays, it seems like everyone, from toddlers to grannies, have their own smartphone and those brick phones have since become museum artefacts.