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Mourning doves coo. The setting sun fades. The evening is marked with laughter and scraped knees.
Nostalgia, described as a sentimental yearning for a past period, is something Gen-Zers know all too well. Daily, we confront the reality that the quintessential time of the early to late 2010s has departed. Unlike previous generations, we as a generation do not wave goodbye to the past; we cling to it. Nostalgic videos containing songs such as “Let Me Love You” by DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber and “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” by Mike Posner pervade social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. Such songs evoke fond memories that mirror childlike innocence and fun. Videos similar to those containing nostalgic music alternatively contain “slowcore” music, that is, music with somber lyrics and slower tempos. Both types of music successfully elicit feelings of nostalgia, with many saying that such videos leave them “not knowing how to feel”.
Browsing the comments of nostalgic videos on TikTok and Instagram is enough to get a sense of Gen-Z sentiment. Many comments recall fads such as fidget spinners, hoverboards, and slime, whereas others write about the mind-boggling reality that 2015 will be 10 years ago in 4 months. Regardless of the variety of online comments, a pivotal question arises: Why, exactly, is Gen-Z so nostalgic?
The 2020 COVID-19 epidemic marked a significant period of stress and isolation for Gen-Zers in particular. Interestingly, Gen-Zers claim that the years following COVID-19 “don’t feel real” and that they are mentally “stuck in the years before 2019”. These feelings, which are widely shared, reveal how nostalgic pictures, videos, and songs serve as an escapist gateway to simpler, carefree times. To many, it feels as though innocence vanished after the 2020 lockdowns, noting that our generation “woke up” in these past 4 years. The innocence and free-spirited nature of the early to late 2010s are undeniable, which adds to their desirability by Gen-Zers who lived through these years.
Many online warn of being fixated on the past, even though memories from the past may be pleasant. However, Gen-Z has defied the norm and has used nostalgia to unite the generation. We carry on with our lives, tending to educational priorities, extracurricular involvements, and social responsibilities, but still manage to find solace in our commonalities. We wore garish clothing, created frivolous Musical.ly videos, and lived life with an eagerness to live each day fully. Now, however, many Gen-Zers report feeling lonely and depressed, and wish for nothing more than the return of this coveted period of time.
The remarkability of Gen-Z childhood is that despite it being imperfect, our recollections omit the negativity that childhood may have contained. Rather, our nostalgia is characterized solely by fun, friendship, and community. Nowadays, children seldom have fun after school. Instead, they must complete arduous amounts of homework and tend to responsibilities. Social media has revolutionized how Gen-Alpha children have fun, changing priorities from neighborhood bike rides to premature obsessions with beauty standards. While longing for the return of such nostalgic times may be idealistic, the world we cherished in 2016 still exists, if only we are willing to see it. Responsibilities and shifted priorities persist, but truly nothing is stopping us from reclaiming even a sliver of our childhoods.
Mourning doves coo. The setting sun fades. The evening is marked with laughter and scraped knees. My ten-year-old self delighted in catching fireflies in Mason jars, examining their virescent glow, and releasing them into the night sky. These fireflies, mourning doves, and sunsets still flow through nature daily; we just have to appreciate them.