Why Do Some People Think We Are 'Stuck' In The Year 2014? Theories About 'The Long 2014' Explained

Older internet users still see echos of decades-old culture war talking points today, whether it's the substitution of words like woke in the place of the SJW or cyclical discussions about representation and equity in video games, ten years after GamerGate was underway.

Other users see the effects of the year 2014 in more tangible ways; the year marked the start of fifth-generation warfare, hinging on social engineering and the spread of misinformation. That, paired with smartphones finally saturating US markets, has led many to believe that we are still seeing the effects of The Long 2014.

Here's a recap of the phrase "The Long 2014" spread online, and why people seem to be convinced that we are living in an era shaped by key events that took place a decade ago.

Where Did The Phrase 'The Long 2014' Originate?

The idea of "long" decades or even centuries is a direct reference to the historiographical concept of "the long 19th century," which describes the years between 1789 (the French Revolution) and 1914 (the start of World War I) as one historical period with specific features.

Some discussions about the lasting impact of the year 2014 can be traced as far back as the late 2010s, as seen in a post by X users @shackle_ton where they responded to an instance of gamers harassing people by lamenting about how we are "Stuck in an eternal 2014."

Sometime in June 2019, another Twitter user posted, "I think with this robert the bruce nonsense we're finally reaching the end of the long 2014." But as indicated by continued conversations, this comment was rather shortsighted.

Some discussions about the lasting impact of 2014 can be traced as far back as 2014 itself with a December 25th, 2014, post showing X^[1] / Twitter user @sargoth joking about being "poised to lead us all into an eternal 2014." On October 31st, 2017, X^[2] user @shackle_ton quoted a since-deleted tweet about gamers harassing people saying, "Stuck in an eternal 2014."

What Do People Think We Are In The Long 2014'?

Discussions about "The Long 2014" continued into the 2020s, predominantly on X / Twitter, where users discussed how culture war topics that were propagated in 2014 somehow had continued relevancy in 2020. X user @EXJoyces noted an instance where people still complained about "SJWs," while X user @Y2K_mindset made a post in 2022 saying that they wanted to do their "PhD in 2014 studies."

More internet users noted the increasing relevancy of 2014 culture in the early 2020s, with X user @LegoRacers2 posting a joke about the catchphrase in November 2023, even as X user @duns_sc0tus joked about reactionaries being stuck drawing badly aged webcomics.

For the full history of The Long 2014, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.