LogFAQs > #930963711

Most Important Website/App of the 2010s*: Google Maps
Runners Up: Tinder, Amazon (Prime), Netflix, Twitter, Uber

When I was originally conceiving this topic, I was trying to think of the things that we'll characterize this decade the most when we're older. The 90s was the dawn of the Internet. The 2000s saw the advent and global takeover of social media. And the 2010s, more than anything else, was transformed by smartphones + streaming technology. There is no singular invention or person who is responsible for this. But, like Jakyl mentioned before, the combination of smartphones and streaming has undoubtedly changed our collective lives more than anything else in the past 10 years. So with that being said, here are the websites and apps that have had the most profound changes on us.

Let's begin with the runners up briefly. Although there are other dating apps out there, the explosion in Tinder popularity has probably had the most tangible effect on the world out of all of these. By that I mean I am willing to bet that hundreds of thousands of people will be born because of this app. What's more, Tinder may have completely shifted the socio-biological paradigm of mankind itself! Ten years ago, asocial people had few options to find mates--and now, you can pretty much have sex at the swipe of a thumb. It's still to be seen how profound of an impact this really has on people who would have probably gone out and found someone otherwise (vs people who consistently strike out on online dating), so it only gets a runner up for now.

For the rest, you respectively have a service that is the pinnacle of instant gratification that companies are still struggling to keep up with; an app that completely transformed the entertainment industry more than anything since iTunes or Napster; an app that is responsible for your 45th president and a number of protests/revolutions; and an app that employs millions of people and turned the service industry pay structure on its head.

But when I think about how fundamentally different my life is from 2009 to now, there is one function that stands above the rest: Google Maps. Before Google Maps found a home on smart phones, the world was a completely different place. You had to interact with people for directions. You could discover new places and things that were "underground" and exclusive. You could get lost.

Google Maps is emblematic of everything good and bad about the 2010s. We have the ultimately convenience at our fingertips that also robs us of our autonomy. We have something that can get us anywhere, but also ruins all of the places/sights/events/sub-cultures that were once out of mainstream and special to those who could find it. It's the height of global inter-connectivity, for better or worse. I will remember the 2000s for when I first got my driver's license and driving around aimlessly with my friends, discovering new things and being free. I will remember the 2010s for those same friends dropping me their location pin and me pressing a button for a car to take me there.

*Besides GameFAQs.com
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"A more mature answer than I expected."~ Jakyl25
"Sephy's point is right."~ Inviso