According to Google “nostalgia” is defined as “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past”. As we get older, I wonder how (and why) many of us get consumed by this feeling. The earth completes a full orbit around the sun once again, and we welcome another year, 2026, and with that, there has been a statement lingering on the internet that 2026 is the “new 2016”. As a result of a world that seems to slip away from us, is this Gen Z’s way of yearning for a simpler time when it had more color? Or is this a way of looking at the world with more optimism and intention?
Everytime I see this aforementioned statement on TikTok or Instagram, it is often with a yellow filter and a 2016 Justin Bieber song. Or to a remix of Lush life by Zara Larsson. And the comments could be summarised by expressions such as, “yes manifesting” or “claim”.
This sentiment got me thinking of how the year 2016 was for me. I was 11 and I had just gotten a hand-me-down laptop from my brother. My biggest problem was who I would sit in class with the next day and the only mission for the day was to distract the teacher into relating life stories so we could avoid the actual learning. I binge watched the same K-dramas and listened to whatever my older brother (because older siblings had access to the cool things) listened to. So, it was songs like “Let Me Love You” by Justin Bieber or “On and On” by Cartoon & Jeja. I remember eating ice cream popsicles that left my tongue a bright red and having a terrible haircut that was shaped like an inverted bowl. On YouTube, I watched morning routines and prank videos, until my dad got a bill with too many digits and had to temporarily confiscate this privilege, to my despair. I got my first period in 2016, as well, and I felt superior to my other girlfriends who were still yet to get theirs. It is a year I reminisce about all the time. But, I don’t particularly wish to live it again, as I fear that wishing away the past only steals you from being present today. I think about it as a time of freedom and new discoveries that cannot be replicated the same way, but still could be integrated into my life, now that I am an adult, if I tried.
However, I don’t think my eleventh year on earth represents popular culture in 2016 very well. It was different yet similar for everybody. The average video with this sentiment consists of Snapchat filters, Vine, and going to the mall to stand in line to get the same thing as others. In my opinion, this statement is more of a longing for an era, a sense of community, united by the love for fidget spinners, for example, rather than it is the 2016 year itself.
Some of us even imagined flying cars in 2026, and it felt like a dystopian time that we could not quite grasp at the time. But, we are here now, and the world does feel dystopian, but not in the exciting way I imagined and yearning for a simpler time seems to be the only way to survive. Therefore, I think this nostalgia is rooted in our own dissatisfaction and the helplessness that we all feel today. With literal genocides happening in Palestine, Sudan, and Congo, and with anti-immigrant, and racist, hate crimes (ICE raids in the U.S.) occurring at a rate that we cannot keep up, we see these horrors being broadcasted on social media at a rate that I don’t think us humans were ever meant to consume. And, most times, you feel helpless that your actions have no reactions, and you have to go on with your normal day as if nothing is happening. I think that creates a void, albeit this is a matter of privilege that we cannot take for granted, in our days that makes us want to escape in a fantasy. We yearn for simpler times to reclaim an energy and a time, where we did not have to actively face a reality like today. But, the reality is, a lot of these issues still existed in 2016. We just didn’t feel responsible, being too young and all. And I do not think turning a blind eye to these issues or looking at them passively, is the way to hold the people who are causing them responsible. Maybe 2026 could have the same energy, whatever that means to you, as 2016, but with more awareness. Maybe, the world will be more colorful, with freedom and liberation. Maybe, Making “2026 the new 2016” will be about showing up with more optimism, not basking in the bliss of ignorance, enjoying the little things in life, finding your community, and being brave enough to feel deeply and care for things, even when you think it doesn’t concern you.
