21st century

The 21st century is the current century of the Christian Era or Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It began on January 1, 2001 and will end December 31, 2100.The 21st century began with the United States as the sole superpower in the absence of the Soviet Union, with several other states, such as China and the European Union, becoming potential superpowers.

The debate over what should be done about global warming, fossil fuel pollution and alternative energy raged in the new century after most of the 20th century was marked by industrial expansion. As the Cold War was over and Islamic fundamentalist-related terrorism on the rise, the United States and its allies turned their attention to the Middle East.

Digital technology, in its early stages of mainstream use in the 1980s and 1990s, became widely accepted by most of the world, though concerns about stress and antisociality from the overuse of mobile phones, the Internet and related technologies remains controversial. [3]

In 2008, 3.3 billion people globally, or nearly half the world's population used cell phones, [4] and in 2005, over a billion people worldwide used the Internet. [5]