“Summer 2016 was fun”: Gen Z’s nostalgia for 2016 brings a flood of memories from “the last good year and the first bad year”

People are officially nostalgic for 2016, but why? Let’s dig in.

Why is Gen Z obsessed with 2016?

“We’re seeing a huge shift in nostalgic content, reminiscing on the Kim/Kylie era, the once-viral Mannequin Challenge, Drake’s ‘One Dance’ Coachella, the iPhone success, [and] hoverboards,” he says.

Joel also shouts out the massively popular TikTok filter called “2016,” which offers a nostalgic tint and blur to modern videos.

“And it’s not a coincidence [that] the 2016 TikTok filter has over 200 million posts, the year is being repackaged as an aesthetic,” he continued. “Many are yearning for the time before the algorithm became what it is today, a reminder of the internet before overly curated photo dumps. “

@coldestjoel Why Gen Z is obsessed with 2016, and nostalgia marketing is having a moment 📲 🌴#marketing #genz #culture #2016 #nostalgia ♬ original sound – Joel Marlinarson

He goes on to add that from a “marketing perspective,” nostalgia is “one of the most reliable trends you can predict.”

Marlinarson then gives the example of Lancome, which recently tapped into nostalgia by getting Kelly Rowland to recreate some of the best looks of her heyday.

“It allows us to romanticize the past with rose-tinted glasses,” he adds. “It’s not just about pretending to relive your Starbucks run nine years ago for Gen Z. 2016 meant being carefree with less performative social content and not being so chronically online.”

In the comments, some disgruntled millennials suggested that the thing Gen Z is actually nostalgic about is millennial culture. “Gen Z is obsessed with millennials once again,” one complains.

While a second commenter proclaimed that 2016 was the “best era of [the] internet.”

A third took a more levelled approach, writing: “We gotta realize that summer 2016 was fun because we were kids at the time [with]no responsibility.”

Another comments on the nostalgia, saying, “Too fast to make it nostalgic, but it *was* 10 years ago, though.” A similar commenter shared, “makes me feel SOOO old.”

Redditors weigh in

Over on Reddit, users had their own theories as to where this obsession comes from. “2016 is talked about so much among Gen Z because it was a memorable time where they really found themselves,” one Redditor wrote.

“It was the last good year and the first bad year. The meme culture and Pokémon Go summer were iconic, but other things like Harambe’s death and the political climate led to the downfall.”

By contrast, a second Redditor posted that: “Millennials in 2014 weren’t obsessing over 2006 like Gen Z obsessing is with 2016 in 2024. So what’s the deal? The movies, games, and memes were all good, but there are plenty of other years that come close or are even better than 2016 in all of those categories. In fact, I’d say 2018 is superior to 2016 in almost every way, but that is only my opinion. Please help me understand.”

This led to one Gen-Zer explaining their attachment to 2016. “2016 was such a good year for me, first year I was able to legally vote too,” they began.

“I was a new adult and loving the new freedom that came with it. Not a lot has changed, but at the same time, so much has changed. I was having the time of my life that year. Things definitely felt like they shifted after that election, though, and then a few years later, Covid happened. “