When you think of 2016, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
That dog filter on Snapchat taking over your camera roll? Chokers and skinny jeans being the only thing in your closet? The mannequin challenge, bottle flipping, Vine, the harshest bronzer and eyebrows you’ll ever see, people only going outside for Pokémon Go; the possibilities are truly endless. As the new year came around, various social media platforms have been titling 2026 as the new 2016, trying to bring back the good vibes 2016 initially brought.
This wave of nostalgia has had people and even celebrities recalling the trends, aesthetics and fashion of 2016. But why is this? Why now? Years before now there wasn’t nearly as much hype about 2015 or 2014. What makes 2016 such a prominent throwback?
The most popular things that are trying to be brought back into 2016 are the aesthetics rather than the year itself. I think what made 2016 so great was the vibrant colors along with the colorful filters you’d associate with summer. I think this could also be shown by the internet seeming to be primarily focused on the summery side of 2016.
You may have also noticed the spike in music charts regarding the songs most popular in 2016 or even just songs capturing that year’s essence, such as Zara Larsson making a major comeback with her song “Lush Life”, now consistently making it on to the Billboard’s Top 100, along with her new hit “Midnight Sun” as well as “3 Strikes” by Terror Jr. and many other hits associated with the Summer of 2016.
The internet’s focus on the more summer vibes of 2016 reveals something essential about this trend: the reason 2016 is going viral is because people miss the nostalgic, fun-loving times of the 2010’s, especially at a time where the world feels so torn.
With the world taking such a dark turn, people need a place like 2016 to romanticize life with. The year 2016 stands as a symbol for a time of peace and fun that people are simply trying to bring back as the world gets more grim.
“Many people have been using the trend to remember and reflect on how their lives have changed…It’s reminded many of how carefree things felt 10 years ago,” journalist Naomi de Souza said in a British Broadcasting Corporation article.
Souza states that people are using this nostalgia as a way to cope, using this atmosphere to sort of balance out the horrible events such as the topic of war popping up, ICE shootings or the spark in economic anxiety in 2025 to the present. People seem to be latching on to the past to alter their view of the present.
Many people may point this out to be something we shouldn’t be encouraging when I personally see this as a harmless coping mechanism, or rather a safe space where people can take a moment to take the harsh reality of the present world off their shoulders and bring themselves back to a time where all was simple.
