The pull of 2016 is plain — and instantly, everybody desires again in. From chokers and winged eyeliner to wired headphones and grainy iPhone photographs, the web has determined that the mid-2010s have been peak tradition. And because of TikTok, the nostalgia wave isn’t simply hitting millennials — Gen Z is absolutely on board, too.
Scroll for a couple of minutes and also you’ll see it all over the place: throwback Starbucks drinks in neon colours, skinny denims paired with skater skirts, and recreations of the “model problem.” A brand new hazy purple-blue TikTok filter impressed by the yr has solely fueled the obsession. In response to TikTok, searches for “2016” jumped by 452 % previously week, whereas greater than 1.6 million movies embracing the 2016 aesthetic have already been uploaded.
So why now? Merely put, individuals are craving a time that felt simpler. Earlier than AI. Earlier than influencer tradition felt inescapable. Earlier than a worldwide pandemic reshaped every day life. Again then, social media nonetheless felt enjoyable — not overwhelming.
In 2016, Instagram was a feed of pals, not faceless algorithms. Twitter was chaotic, certain, but it surely wasn’t but a nonstop doomscroll. You really noticed updates from folks you knew as a substitute of a barrage of bots and outrage. The time period “doomscrolling” hadn’t even entered the group chat but, and a spotlight spans nonetheless felt… intact.
Popular culture solely provides to the glow. The yr gave us Lemonade, “Nearer” by The Chainsmokers, and the sort of chart dominance from Drake, Beyoncé and Rihanna that feels uncommon right this moment. It was additionally the yr we returned to Gilmore Women for A Yr within the Life and first stepped into the Upside Down with Stranger Issues. Preparing meant a pointy cat-eye, a choker necklace and your Apple headphones — with an precise wire.
A few of these hits are even climbing the charts once more. Zara Larsson’s “Lush Life,” a staple of 2016 playlists, has surged again into the highlight, reaching No. 8 on the U.Ok. singles chart, re-entering the Billboard Scorching 100 at No. 70, and leaping 50 spots on Spotify’s U.S. chart to No. 46 — all due to TikTok nostalgia movies.
Past trend and music, customers are reminiscing about moments that made the yr really feel communal. 2016 was the summer season of Pokémon Go, when folks really went outdoors collectively to catch digital Pokémon. Others are recreating Musical.ly-style movies — the predecessor to TikTok — whereas some wax poetic about 2016 nightlife, cheaper costs and a music scene that felt electrical.
The fixation isn’t occurring in a vacuum. Nostalgia cycles are inclined to spike in periods of uncertainty — and the previous few years have delivered loads of that. In 2024, social media customers joked about “recession indicators,” calling again to 2008-era popular culture as financial nervousness grew. Whereas a few of these jokes have been lighthearted — like Girl Gaga returning to her late-2000s sound or Mamma Mia! heading again to Broadway — they coincided with actual concern. Final spring, shopper confidence hit a 13-year low, signaling widespread fears of a looming recession.
The concept 2016 was “the final good yr” has been floating across the web for years, particularly amongst Gen Z. One extensively shared meme labels the highest of a rollercoaster “Summer season 2016,” with the steep drop marked as “the remainder of our lives.” Even again in 2018, Reddit customers debated why that summer season felt so magical. By 2021, retailers have been already asking why folks couldn’t let it go. In a 2024 Gen Z thread, one person summed it up bluntly: 2016 felt like “the final time every thing felt regular.”
