For the past few weeks, social media has been flooded with grainy photos, Tumblr-inspired looks, saturated filters, and memories from a not‑so‑distant era : 2016. Celebrities and influencers have started posting old pictures from that year, sparking a new wave of nostalgia that’s hitting an entire generation.
To join the trend, many people have been digging through their archives :
- iPhone 6 selfies
- “bomber jacket + choker” outfits
- nights out with friends
- concert photos
- heavy VSCO filters and exaggerated grain
This throwback isn’t just a unremarkable trend, it brings back a whole vibe, an energy, a carefree feeling that many associate with that time. It’s as if 2016 is everyone’s favorite year. Personally, I was too young to fully experience it the way some people did, but I still remember it vividly.
2016 was the year of amazing music releases, fashion trends we all tried to copy, the rise of early influencers ( the true beginning of the influencer era ), the first big online communities, that sense that everything was new, fun, and a little chaotic, Snapchat filters, EOS lip balms, the SWAG phase, the Instax era, and so many other things that make that year so iconic.
Even without having lived the “full 2016 experience,” we all absorbed the vibe in one way or another.
The question is: why is 2016 coming back now ? Several reasons explain this revival. First, the post‑pandemic nostalgia that hasn’t really left us since 2020. Second, the return of Y2K and Tumblr aesthetics, which are way more fun than today’s trends that avoid bold colors. And finally, the most obvious reason: internet culture is cyclical, every 7 to 10 years, an era comes back into fashion.
2016 was a year when pop culture was exploding, social media still felt spontaneous, and everything seemed possible, so it’s no surprise that people love this period so much. Of course, it wasn’t perfect, especially regarding how certain groups were treated ( dark‑skinned Black women, women in certain industries, etc.), but just like with the rococo trend, it’s the aesthetic and the memories we have decided to keep about it that draws us in.
