{"id":708079,"date":"2026-01-17T12:14:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T09:14:13","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-01-17T12:14:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T09:14:13","slug":"what-the-2016-trend-is-forgetting-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-the-2016-trend-is-forgetting-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What the 2016 trend is forgetting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a22eb13b75bd\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a22eb13b75bd\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-the-2016-trend-is-forgetting-2\/#It_was_a_cultural_moment_that_the_rest_of_the_late-2010s_failed_to_live_up_to_But_the_recent_recaps_feel_oddly_selective\" >It was a cultural moment that the rest of the late-2010s failed to live up to. But the recent recaps feel oddly selective.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"deck\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"It_was_a_cultural_moment_that_the_rest_of_the_late-2010s_failed_to_live_up_to_But_the_recent_recaps_feel_oddly_selective\"><\/span>It was a cultural moment that the rest of the late-2010s failed to live up to. But the recent recaps feel oddly selective.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"content_blocks\">\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-276931\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left image\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1440,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_220,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg 220w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_300,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg 300w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg 400w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg 600w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_750,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg 750w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_840,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg 840w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_960,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg 960w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1260,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg 1260w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_1800,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg 1800w,https:\/\/thefader-res.cloudinary.com\/private_images\/w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:best\/GettyImages-621177132_jbnt07\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump.jpg 2400w,\" sizes=\"100vw\" alt=\"What the 2016 trend is forgetting\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"img_caption\"><\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"credit\"><\/p>\n<p>      Photo by Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-276921\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            We\u2019re two weeks into 2026 and a new trend has already emerged: 2016. My entire Instagram feed has been overrun with VSCO-filtered photo carousels, Snapchat memories, and archived Instagram posts from the bygone era. (Personally, I\u2019ve opted out of participating because 2016 wasn\u2019t necessarily the <i>best<\/i> year for me as an angsty teenager, but also, does anyone <i>really<\/i> need to see high school me with a puppy dog Snapchat filter?)\n          <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            The resurgence has seen astronomical numbers in a short time. On TikTok, \u201c2016\u201d searches are <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cwy1e605dvgo\">reportedly<\/a> up by 452 percent, and nearly 2 million videos have been made using the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/tag\/2016?lang=en\">#2016 hashtag<\/a>. According to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/trends.google.com\/explore?q=2016&amp;date=now%201-d&amp;geo=US\">Google Trends<\/a>, there has been a 4,050-percent spike in searches that coincidentally raise the same question I\u2019ve been asking since the start of the year: Why is everyone posting about 2016 right now?\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-276928\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Unequivocally, 2016 was a pivotal year. Pok\u00e9mon Go and the mannequin challenge were ubiquitous, monoculture trends. The year also saw career-defining releases from many artists turned visionaries: Rihanna\u2019s <i>ANTI<\/i>, Frank Ocean\u2019s <i>Blonde<\/i>, Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s <i>Lemonade<\/i>, Kanye West\u2019s <i>The Life of Pablo<\/i>, and Drake\u2019s <i>Views<\/i>. Rae Sremmurd and Fetty Wap dominated the charts. Vine was on the cusp of extinction, but <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cz69238p5p8o\">pre-fee<\/a> Snapchat was alive and well, and online personalities like Joanne the Scammer birthed modern-day memes.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            2016 had a distinct look, too. Before overly polished microtrends, the fashion world was united in its affinity for logo-emblazoned tees, distressed skinny jeans, plastic chokers, Gucci belts, bomber jackets, and flannels. The downfall of American <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">App<\/a>arel paved the way for streetwear giants like Hood By Air, Vetements, Supreme, and Off-White to take its place. Beauty-wise, you couldn\u2019t escape pastel hair, blocky brows, and Kylie Jenner\u2019s lip kits.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content_block paragraph triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-276929\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left pull_quote\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"pull_quote\"><p>Unequivocally, 2016 was a pivotal year.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-276924\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            While 2016 was a cultural touchstone that the rest of the late-2010s arguably failed to live up to, the recaps surfacing on my feed feel oddly selective. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/stefficao.substack.com\">Steffi Cao<\/a>, a Brooklyn-based culture writer, sees the posts about 2016, especially ones made by creators who likely weren\u2019t sentient teens at that time, as \u201cI was born in the wrong generation\u201d nostalgia bait.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            Unlike the \u201990s and early 2000s, the mid-2010s mark the first era when older Gen Zers were conscious participants. However, some 2016 time capsules don\u2019t accurately nail the exact happenings of that year \u2014 i.e., \u201cNeon colors were more 2014 than 2016,\u201d Cao says. But she also doesn\u2019t expect present-day posts to be the most accurate. \u201cSome people were young and were busy learning letters and numbers,\u201d she says. \u201cThey will never know the sweet joy of hearing \u2018Mo Bamba\u2019 in a disgusting frat house.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-276925\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Perhaps the biggest blind spot of the 2016 trend is the political storm that kicked off once Donald Trump was officially elected president in November 2016. The summer of 2016 was the last semblance of normalcy \u201cbefore everything changed,\u201d says <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_new\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/being_on_line\/\">Ruby Thelot<\/a>, a New York University professor of design and media theory. Thelot vividly remembers a vibe shift after the election. \u201cThe day that Trump was elected, on top of personal issues, was like my world collapsed,\u201d he recalls. Since then, Thelot says, the tone of American politics and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> cohesion has permanently changed. \u201cIt\u2019s as if we entered an era of incessant negative events one after the other \u2014 the 2016 election and then, the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 \u2014 and we have been under duress ever since.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            Even as 2016 signaled a plunge into back-to-back crises and civil unrest, people are still insistent on romanticizing it. To Cao, there has always been a sense of \u201cera nostalgia\u201d on the Internet, but she believes 2016 nostalgia has a lot to do with who is online today. \u201cRight now, Zillennials are a key demographic of posters and consumers on social media, and they aren\u2019t immune to the allure of a better time in their formative childhood years, especially as it marked as the last burst of optimism before larger themes of fascism, disease, and economic uncertainty came crashing down over their adult lives,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m personally always saying the last time I felt truly good about the world was when \u2018Closer\u2019 was on the radio.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-276926\" class=\"content_block breaker triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left pull_quote\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"pull_quote\"><p>\u201cIt\u2019s as if we entered an era of incessant negative events one after the other \u2014 the 2016 election and then, the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 \u2014 and we have been under duress ever since.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-276930\" class=\"content_block paragraph embed triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"media_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"\">\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What Would You Say To Donald Trump?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Dn7QIpCrhFE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<style>\n<\/style>\n<div id=\"content_block-276927\" class=\"content_block paragraph text triple_gutter_right triple_gutter_left center_align\">\n<div class=\"content_inner_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"paragraph_wrapper center_align\">\n<p>\n            Thelot agrees that the impetus behind the 2016 nostalgia is less of an organic revival and more of a commercial one. \u201cWhen we think about a specific epoch \u2014 say, the Renaissance \u2014 [the label] describes a unified yet complex moment in time,\u201d he says. But similar to indie sleaze, \u201cpeople are trying to hodge-podge it and give it a name.\u201d The commodification of 2016 \u201conly serves as selling that time period in retrospect,\u201d he adds, \u201cbut not the validity of what <i>actually<\/i> took place back then.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            And, honestly, who can blame them? 2016 contained the last drops of collective culture before the long-term effects of social media and influencer culture kicked in \u2014 before the 2020s rode in, characterized by the distinct lack of culture. So far, the 2020s are drenched in self-awareness and nihilism. Online perception is king, and people are more performative than ever, yet also somehow driven by authenticity, Cao says. Reference and search-optimized phrasing are crucial to digital culture and boosting one\u2019s own visibility online.\n          <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cWe see this desire to name everything to make it easier for people to reference back to it,\u201d Cao adds. \u201cTech, in my opinion, is at the heart of what shapes our culture right now.\u201d\n          <\/p>\n<div class=\"\" style=\"padding-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 20px; text-align: left;\">\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            In between all the AI slop and rage bait taking over my feed, I won\u2019t lie, it\u2019s been nice to see posts of my friends reminiscing about their past selves in deep-fried, rose-tinted filters, captioned with how they were unaware of what the future would hold \u2014 pictures that were originally created and shared at a time when posting yourself online meant something entirely different. At the same time I can\u2019t help but feel the temporality of this band-aid, and wonder if there\u2019s a better use of our time seeking that same optimism in the real world right now, instead.\n          <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n    <span><br \/>\n      By <span class=\"credit_name\">India Roby<\/span><br \/>\n  <\/span><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thefader.com\/2026\/01\/16\/2016-trend-nostalgia-missing-trump\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was a cultural moment that the rest of the late-2010s failed to live up to. But the recent recaps feel oddly selective. Photo by Justin Sullivan\/Getty Images We\u2019re two weeks into 2026 and a new trend has already emerged: 2016. My entire Instagram feed has been overrun with VSCO-filtered photo carousels, Snapchat memories, and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-708079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708079\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}