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A recent trend has taken off, claiming that 2026 is the new 2016, waxing nostalgic about how good we had it.The general vibe is that 2016 was the last good year of the decade, but there’s hope for 2026.

But what exactly is it about 2016 and not any other prosperous year from the past? People are grasping at hope for the new year while simultaneously obsessing over the past, reaching for a 2016 renaissance. Reveling in this theory, an Instagram post joked, “they let Fetty Wap out of jail it really is about to be 2016 again.” History is repeating itself through coincidence, but it’s more intentional than people think.

People love that 2026 is the new 2016 for these 4 reasons:

1. The aesthetic

Erik Mclean | Unsplash

Timeless, trendy pieces from that year, like fashion, websites, and popular bands, were first being marketed and promoted by online personalities and celebrities that seeped into popular culture. Everyone was wearing stripes and ripped jeans. It felt accessible to all classes and bridged economic and social gaps toward a shared experience and status.

But what makes 2016 stand out from any other year in history? According to Clay Routledge, an existential psychologist, it likely has something to do with the age of the people yearning to go back. He told NBC that millennials and older Gen Z are having a hard time dealing with the “technological transformations” brought on by artificial intelligence, and it’s left them feeling a little worried. 

Routledge said, “People tend to be nostalgic when they’re anxious about the future, or they’re not sure what direction in life to take.” He added, “It’s not a surprise to me that you have this particular age group that would have been teenagers or very young adults in 2016 looking to that time for inspiration as they’re going through these transitions and dealing with these anxieties they have about the present and the future.”

Aligning this year with a collective lens, highlights of 2016 are peeking through the cultural light. Kaitlyn Findlay wrote fondly, “The Victoria’s Secret fashion show? It’s Back. A brunette Ariana Grande? She’s Back. Kylie Jenner’s King Kylie era? Stronger than ever.” 

I witnessed an ancient relic in real life at LAX airport at the end of 2025: a Kylie Cosmetics vending machine. I won’t lie when I say my eyes glazed as I recounted the simpler times living in that era. Sighing, maybe this is a sign for a brighter future?

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2. It was a simpler time on social media

IKEA | Canva

When you think of social media in 2016. The world had Snapchat on their phone for entertainment. Most, if not all, photos posted on that app had to have at least one of the following: “the dog Snapchat filter, the flower crown, and the Snapchat gray line,” according to BBC News. It was fun, light, and silly in the rudimentary form of all these words.

We used social media as a moderated way to share with friends. We held community in the apps and our personal accounts with one filter or sentence. Story after story was filled with familiar faces rather than interrupted by ads.

IBCo Magazine noted that 2016 was “the ‘pre-algorithm’ internet with less curated and less brand-dominated feeds. In retrospect, 2016 feels like a simpler, more relaxed time before the constant downward spiral of global crisis headlines and AI slop.” 2016 had a balance we lost. In 2016, we lived with social media rather than living and defining our lives by it.

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3. The music

Ovidiu Hrubaru | Shutterstock

Hearing popular songs from 2016 releases endorphins for millennials and older Gen Zers. This was a time when dances unified us, and Beyoncé released Lemonade.

Whenever my friends and I go out dancing, hearing 2016 songs brings a smile to our faces, connecting our minds, bodies, and souls. Our feet spring, and our voices raise into a collective harmony. Never took a pill in Ibiza in 2016, as I was 14 at the time, yet I remember every lyric to that Mike Posner song. 

I saw “Fast and the Furious 7” once, but the only song I know how to play on the piano is “See You Again (feat. Charlie Puth)” by Wiz Khalifa. Not a fan of Drake by any means, but I can belt out any song off “Views.” This was the last album we got (and probably will ever get) from Frank Ocean that keeps me listening to and adding songs to playlists from “blond” every year since.

It wasn’t the song’s content that was most memorable for most of these, but the energy and culture around them that cultivated a universal feeling nobody can forget.

4. We were more unified as a society

People romanticize 2016 as the life they thrived in before. Nostalgia is what ties them to the time just before things seemed to get hard.

2016 was a significant year for the social and political world. TikToker and brand strategist Joel Marlinarson shared, “At times where there’s so much division, we can all relate to existing in 2016.” It was a time of close relations. Morally and culturally, we shared hope that drove us together.

In 2026, people want this common goal to shape the year ahead. Routledge added, “There are some elements of the past that could be useful for planning a better future.”

We desire a similar fluid and united experience we once had. We aren’t expecting the same year to happen; rather, we know we hold the potential to achieve greater for our world. We all just need a break from the ads, AI, and news.

Findlay concluded, “2016 represented a moment of collective optimism, maximalism, and creative chaos — before the internet got too hyper-serious and algorithmic. In a world that’s been nothing but heavy, people are craving familiarity, escapism, fun and aesthetics that don’t take themselves too seriously.”

We need community to chase the clouds away.

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Emi Magaña is a writer from Los Angeles with a bachelor’s in English. She covers entertainment, news, and the real human experience.