I’m sure everyone has seen the new thing all over the internet. Everyone and anyone you know and follow is posting photo dumps from 2016. The consensus is that we’re making 2026 the new 2016. This got me thinking. What is it about 2016 that we so desperately crave right now?Â
There are a few things that stand out from 2016 that I think are worth mentioning.
The music
We may have gotten some of the most iconic music of our generation in 2016. Justin Bieber, Zara Larson, The Chainsmokers, Ariana Grande, Flume, and Selena Gomez were leading the charts. A lot of the music released at this time was fun and made you feel free when you heard it. Sad songs weren’t really leading the charts at this time. Things felt light.
The casual posting on social media
Social media was still fun in 2016. For the most part, there wasn’t the consistent trolling, and cancel culture was not as prevalent as it is now. Aesthetics mattered, but not in the same way they do now. No one’s feeds were uniform. You can post whenever you want. It didn’t matter if you had already posted a couple of days prior. Everyone was commenting on each other’s posts. It was expressive.
The fun photo filters
In addition to the casual posting, we used any and every filter possible. Specifically, more on Snapchat. You would never catch me posting or sending a Snapchat without either the dog filter or that blue-purple filter. It was necessary at the time. Everything felt dreamlike or silly.
The celebrity cultureÂ
Influencers definitely existed at this time, but not the way they do now. There were still very many celebrities. Especially models and pop singers. The best part was that this was the year when they were constantly posting, and everyone was eating it up. We began to feel this sense of closeness to them that we never had before. King Kylie, aka Kylie Jenner, was the blueprint. Taylor Swift had her ultra-famous girl group at this time, too. It was the year of the girl group.
The carefreenessÂ
Lately, things have felt very stiff. We don’t open ourselves up as much as before, out of fear of judgment. In 2016, I think we can all agree we felt freer to be ourselves. We didn’t really care about what people thought. Everyone minded their own business. Things just felt lighter.
The popularity of “iconic friendgroups”
As I mentioned before, 2016 held some of the most iconic friend groups of our time. It was all about the groups. Whether it be Taylor Swift’s girl squad, the musical.ly friend groups, Magcon, and so much more. Friend groups were IT at this time. They drew the most views online. Stranger Things also premiered and the kids were beloved by the world.Â
The communal trends of it all
2016 felt like we were all yearning for community. We felt a part of something greater. This was seen through all the media’s biggest trends: the mannequin challenge, the running man challenge, the bottle flip challenge, Pokémon Go, and more. The common denominator in all these social media trends? They were a group activity. Now the world feels so individualistic. We haven’t had group trends like this in years.
So the overall consensus on the big question of “is 2026 the new 2016?” is that let’s make it be. Let’s bring back that joy and carefree whimsy because boy, do we need it to get through the scary times we live in.