The era of checkered Vans, bomber jackets, Stranger Things, King Kylie, slither.io, the mannequin challenge, the iPhone 7, and Musical.ly will mark a decade this year. Nostalgia overcomes everyone at one point or another; a longing for past, happier times. With the arrival of a new year, old memories circa 2016 have resurfaced.
The idiom “rose-tinted glasses” is an informal term used in psychology to describe a positive outlook on past events, often associated with nostalgia. This outlook can generally be seen as a defense mechanism to protect one’s mental state from negativity. Millennials and Gen Z are finding themselves looking at past years with the same rose-tinted retrospect.
Up until the iPhone X, every new Apple release felt more revolutionary than the last. The year 2016 brought the iPhone 7 with waterproof capabilities and the removal of the headphone jack. The popularity of Musical.ly increased by tens of millions, forcing Vine to drop out of the competition in 2016. A year after its release, Musical.ly was crowned number one on the App Store. Musers found the 15-second lip-sync videos captivating, as opposed to Vine’s 6-second videos that lacked music and time. Musical.ly gave way to 2016 trends such as JuJu on That Beat, the mannequin challenge, and lip-sync videos to Desiigner’s “Panda,” Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” and Rihanna’s “Work.”
Current events—inflation, ICE raids, and the Stranger Things finale—have increased the feeling of nostalgia in young Americans. In a decade, the cumulative price has increased by 35%, exceeding normal rates. Various factors have contributed to this: the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine War, the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates, labor shortages, tariffs, and housing costs. The current ICE raids have instilled fear in POC Americans, and deportation has reached immeasurable rates. Fans of Stranger Things are unhappy with the season finale, arguing that the earlier seasons had better plots. The release of the documentary on January 12 gave fans a look into the writing process of ChatGPT and Reddit tabs. During filming, the ending hadn’t been written yet.
The year 2016 wasn’t without its faults: Trump vs. Clinton, Brexit, and the Harambe incident. The question is, was 2016 truly a better time, or are the rose-tinted glasses clouding our vision?
