TV: mainstream streaming services didn't exist and you were forced to watch whatever was on cable, unless you were one of the early movie pirates.

Internet: dialup, shitty DSL, poorly designed web 1.0 sites. Need I say more?

Life: yes, you were young and not cynical yet. That's why it seemed better. As a fully grown adult in the early 2000s, things were not that different. I had the Iraq invasion, Bush, and the "war on terrorism" to be angry about.

You got me on the climate thing though.