Snapchat’s dog filter. A group selfie with Instagram’s Rio de Janeiro filter. “Tumblrcore.” Candid photos.
These are just a few examples that come to mind when you think of the year 2016, if you were between the ages of 10-20 at that time anyways. The phrase “2026 is the new 2016” is going viral on various social media platforms, with people posting to old trends and songs that peaked during that time. We have seen it before – every couple of years people decide on a decade or specific year to revive its trends and it’s happened again.
It may seem harmless at first glance. A fun, enjoyable trend that Gen Z partakes in for the time being while we wait for another passing trend to get hooked on.
Since the beginning of this 2016 nostalgia, users are reminiscing online of a time when life felt more like a never-ending summer with aesthetic filters and EDM. Not only are people embracing the year for its visually appealing aesthetic, but also for its “before everything changed” outlook. A time of pre-pandemic and algorithm driven online platforms. People crave a time when social media wasn’t superficial.
Social media has always been a way for the public to escape the real world – to create new online identities and immerse oneself in the plethora of online trends. But with the rise of artificial intelligence and rapidly changing trends happening daily, the ability to properly enjoy trends has declined. Not only are viral moments online lasting shorter than ever before, but they can become an unhealthy form of escapism.
Therefore, this trend poses a bigger question. Is this hopeful look back of 2016 only a scapegoat to avoid facing our current world? We live in a world where there is constant upheaval in society, breaking news every day, and events circling the internet that can make others want to turn away from consuming media completely. Not only are some disliking the current state of the internet, but the state of the world as well. For some, facing the current state of the world is tough, so instead, reviving past trends becomes a coping mechanism.
But the truth is, a look back at the past with rose tinted lenses can quickly become nostalgia rooted in avoidance. While a good reminiscence of the past can be wholesome, it’s important not to glamorize certain eras too much.
Some negative remarks about the trend focused on how people were looking back on 2016 as a sunshine and rainbows year – instead of redirecting attention to the more political and culturally significant highlights of the year. President Donald Trump winning his first election. The Zika virus outbreak. News is happening around us at all times, every year. Times were never really simpler, just different. Instead of trying to run away from what is happening around us, we should be able to take on the present keeping in mind that the past will always be there, but maybe not the future.
