US EditionWhy People in 2026 Are Hung up on 2016
The trend revives 2016's playful online culture and fashion, with celebrities and users embracing lo-fi edits and iconic accessories, according to social media analysis.
- This past week, TikTok and Instagram users have sparked a nostalgia trend by recreating 2016 aesthetics and declaring the year has returned across feeds and hashtags.
- Driven by nostalgia for meme culture, users crave 2016's playful platform culture and peak moments like Vine and influencer-driven trends.
- People are reposting using Snapchat dog filter selfies and VSCO app edits, with users and celebrities like Jonathan Van Ness, Queer Eye star, sharing carousels and simple `2016` captions.
- Melissa McCarthy and other celebrities amplify nostalgia by sharing era-specific throwbacks, while most posts prompt personal reflection on change since 2016 and offer brief online escape.
- Despite the nostalgia, commentators warn it often elides 2016's crises, including the Pulse nightclub attack and the Flint water‑contamination crisis, which remain unresolved today.
24 Articles
24 Articles
Princess Eugenie takes part in viral social media trend featuring close friends
Princess Eugenie was spotted in a friend's social media post as they took part in the viral 2016 trend on Instagram.The princess has kept a low profile since her father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was stripped of his royal titles last year. The disgraced former royal was stripped of his royal titles due to his ongoing links with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.Eugenie was spotted in Natalie Pinkham’s social media post, where she was standi…
Celebrities Make '2026 is the New 2016' Trend Go Viral
Photo Credit: Kylie Jenner Instagram | Hailey Bieber Instagram It may have been more than two weeks since the advent of the new year, but netizens are still reminiscing about the events that occurred a decade ago, with the ‘2026 is the new 2016’ trend having taken over the internet lately. The public on the internet seems to have given in to the nostalgia of a simpler time, with many effectively celebrating January 1, 2026, as the ten-year anniv…
In 2016, the world seemed fine. That's why nostalgia in the social media is going viral. If we are honest with ourselves, we were just naive. A comment.
The year has just begun and the first trend of 2026 is already circulating on social networks. Suddenly, famous and anonymous do not stop sharing photos remembering 2016. A nostalgic year for millennials, who today are between 30 and 45 years old, and part of the Z generation—between 14 and 29 years old—because it is the time when they lived their adolescence and early years of youth. And the last moment of calm for this generation before living…
2016 is back in force on social networks. Many millennials, among others, publish photos of them at this time, not so far away. Why does this period fascinate us suddenly? Back to back and some lines of analysis.
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