I'm not surprised the market is down below 10K. I'm not worried either.
This is not a bad thing for the market to be down, especially if you have money to invest into it. People only cheer when the market is up. How do you buy low when the Dow is setting record high numbers? I know there are some out there who are going to be scared off by the low numbers. I say keep investing money into the market while it is low. When the market swings upward (and it will) then you will profit from it.
Is my 401k worth less today than in the past? Are my mutual funds worth less today than a year ago? Yes. But am I planning on cashing either one of them out in the near future? No. True, many portfolios have lost money IF they are cashed out today. Looking long-term I am confident my portfolios are going to be worth much, much more than if I hid my money under a mattress.
The biggest difference between the market today and the market 20 years ago is simple: it is the speed at which we receive information. In the 1980's the market swung high and low. Compared to today, the only difference was that you couldn't get updates as frequently and as easy as you can today. This affects emotions to a much greater degree and thus the behavior of the market. Sometimes it's better to not watch the market for days at a time.
