Picture this: it’s 2020. The pandemic forced you to look at life behind a screen. It’s like Stockholm syndrome, you’re stuck on the internet practically at all times, it’s the only constant. You find more comfort in your phone than ever before through all the media that you’ve been exposed to. News feeds are dreadful, days become lonely, and you’re not able to see your loved ones… time feels stagnant.
Five years later, before your eyes, normalcy…returns. Kind of. Now it’s 2025, and everything is alright. Right? So why are you revisiting the music you discovered when you were stuck doomscrolling TikTok? Why is that whipped coffee you tried making suddenly so tantalizing—a need, not a want? Do you find yourself yearning for that time, despite how terrible it was?
Pandemic nostalgia is a very real phenomenon; lending itself to the theory of collective nostalgia. As we get older, we have a tendency to yearn for a time when we had fewer responsibilities. Reflecting on those times can be a needed comfort—a marker of our growth, a reminder of where we started. The pandemic, despite how awful it was, provided a space for self-discovery and a focus on well-being. I know for me, freshly thirteen, reaching the very cusp of teenage angst, I discovered my interests, and learned a bit more about myself. There was a silver-lining in that terrible time, and I still fixate on it, as people do.
Transparently, I have this tendency to dwell on memories I can’t relive – hangouts with old friends I may not talk to anymore, when math at school was still just numbers, when I could still go on family trips alongside my older sister before her schooling became much more demanding. It’s bittersweet. I look at those memories fondly, yet I am hit with discomfort in how things won’t be the same. Comparison is the thief of joy. Even though I remind myself of that fact, I am still faced with an inexorable sadness when I think about the past I’m now missing out on now.
Getting Into the Dangers…
In regards to personal nostalgia: for many, it is an uninvited yet welcome guest. An excess of it — like virtually anything else — can pose challenges to our well-being. If we’re too caught up turning to the past as a comfort, we risk missing out on the present. Dwelling to such an extent can lead to perpetuation of unhappiness for your day-to-day life! It’s cliche, you may hear this in regards to the future far too often, but it stands true.
Additionally, and you may not have realized this, but companies are actively taking advantage of that feeling. That experience of interacting so intimately with your memories, as seen above, is universal. While it is usually a very personal feeling, collective nostalgia is very real. You may remember those posts curated by millennials on the internet (I used to see them everywhere!) where they are susceptible to that overwhelming yearning for the past, culminating into their shared social identity. Millennials, like the rest of the digital world, also have easier access to online shopping. This is relevant, as products that cater directly to the preserved cultural canon can encourage consumption. With our human desire to fit in, we are prone to discovering belonging in the commodification of our experiences. Like millennials, Gen Z is also susceptible to buying into a market that encourages their nostalgic experiences.
Entertainment such as films, music, and video games all qualify as products. Have you noticed the recent trend of live action movies? Sequels? Multimedia conglomerates like Disney attempt to tap into this market to evoke this comfort in this collective familiarity. Being an entertainment powerhouse, they receive the most exposure and maintain a large audience, and to retain it, they feel the need to appeal to the masses. Their prime consumers—the newer generations—are also prone to being more nostalgic for simpler times. It’s dangerous: a total threat to originality! There’s a growing lack of focus on original and contemporary stories (which is why I raise to you: the work from Indie artists).
That being said, I am not entirely vindicated of my own biases. I may look at new entertainment or children’s toys, for instance, and scoff at how silly it all seems: how the things I enjoyed as a kid were inherently better. I may not be the target audience, but my obsession with the past leads me to look down on new things. That discomfort needs to be addressed.
Is Nostalgia inherently bad?
The short answer: no! Nostalgia itself is not necessarily a bad thing. As mentioned, your reconnection with the past is important. Not only is it a reminder of how far you’ve come, but at times, it can be a necessity in coping: finding comfort in your day-to-day life. I’m not saying you shouldn’t rewatch your favourite sitcom, or revisit that old makeup trend! I just encourage being more cognizant of the detriments of this experience.