In recent months, people over several social media platforms have been attempting to bring back the lighthearted, relaxed nature of social media in 2016. Everything from the mannequin challenge to oversaturated, highly edited Instagram photos has been reintroduced as the new year begins. People have been using the phrase “2026 is the new 2016,” with the hashtag #2016 having nearly 1.7 million views on TikTok, as people reminisce on a time before COVID-19.
Through reminiscing on photos and videos taken in 2016 and reposting them now, to recreating trends that were popular at the time, there has been an instant internet uprising taking us back to 10 years ago. People are nostalgic about a simpler time on social media, one where pop music ruled, and Instagram was more cat videos than news posts. People could go onto social media searching for a place to unwind, yet now, sometimes being online can end up being stressful. The online landscape has adjusted in the past decade, as people are focusing less on posting personal moments online and more on being private and enclosed. In 2016, celebrities seemed more like real people that fans could have connections with, and influencers to the massive scale as they are now was practically unheard of.
Recently, trends have been resurfacing that haven’t even been thought of anytime in the past decade. Skinny jeans are back on the runway and being worn casually, and the ever-forgotten ballet flat has returned within the fashion community and has walked its way into casual streetwear. There have also been changes, bringing back trends with a new, 2026 spin on them. A connection I make is from the ever-popular bomber jackets from 2016, and puffer jackets that have been practically staples in many closets as of recent. People online claim that 2026 will be the end of the clean girl era, where girls wear simple clothes and light makeup, and I think that means a reintroduction of “indie sleaze” and personality that used to be advertised on the internet.
The internet space, as of recent months, has been unpleasant for many users. From dark jokes about the political climate to mindless AI-generated memes, there is less innocence found in memes nowadays compared to those made in 2016, which were purely created for enjoyment and entertainment, and not typically for malicious purposes. In 2016, TikTok didn’t even exist; all videos were posted short-form through Vine. Vine was purely for creating and posting less than 10-second funny videos, and now that’s been replaced by TikTok, where videos can be up to 10 minutes.
Trends naturally cycle back and forth, so it’s interesting to see people honing in on 2016 specifically. People yearn for a time when it was simpler and easier to be online, and I agree. The internet space recently has felt hostile, and I’m excited for people to begin to make videos purely for pleasure and not for status.
