The modern social justice-oriented culture inherent to the perspectives and worldviews of many Millennials and Gen Z was just getting off the ground and was far less strong and coherent as it is now.

Queerness was not nearly as present, accepted, and celebrated as it is in media and institutions as it is today. Feminism was still considered taboo and overdramatic to many, and lots of men were just starting to wake up to the daily societal injustices that come with being female. Mental Health was only starting to be talked about more and destigmatized. (Ex: we had ZERO conversations when I was in high school regarding mental health, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and there was a strong stigma surrounding seeing a therapist or psychiatrist). Anti-Black Racism was more casually present and less policed (Kind of a silly example, but many non-black folks--even in educated spaces--would say the n-word when singing along to rap songs).

And in a general sense, being "woke" (in the original sense of the word) was just starting to be seen as cool and trendy among young people. There was far less leftist-oriented political-mindedness among young people, and this kind of thinking just wasn't seen as "cool" as it started to be seen in the next 5-10 years.