Gen Z is obsessing over 2016 songs, fashion and more. Why???

At the beginning of this year it seemed that way all reminisced about 2016. Spotify saw one in January alone Increase of 790 percent in 2016-themed playlists. People declared that the mood of 2026 would match the feel-good mood of 2016.

The only problem is that the experience of living through 2016 was very different than what Generation Z in particular remembers.

Daysia Tolentino is the journalist behind the newsletter Yap yearwhere she was chronicle Online affinity for the 2010s for almost a year. Generation Z tends to mix all vintages together, which adds to the fun cultural parts and ignore the international and political revolt That marked 2016. Tolentino says the nostalgia of 2016 may actually be a sign that young people are ready to break out of these cycles of nostalgia and reach for something new.

Tolentino joined in Explained today Host Astead Herndon on how we remember 2016 and what our nostalgia for that time might reveal.

There's a lot more in the full podcast, so listen Explained today wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, PandoraAnd Spotify.

Where did this 2016 trend start?

It has increased since last year, especially on TikTok. People are slowly bringing back the trends of 2016 whether that's the case Mannequin Challenge with the Black Beatles song, or Pink wall aestheticand those really warm, fuzzy Instagram filters. As we began the new year 2026, there were many TikToks saying that 2026 would be like 2016.

That made me curious. What does that even mean? I don't think people even know what that means. Then, a few weeks ago, Instagram saw a lot of people, especially top influencers, posting themselves at their peak in 2016, which inspired everyone to post their own 2016 photos.

In your newsletter you tried to define what that is Mood board 2016 Is. Can you explain that to me? What do we mean when we think about the mood for 2016?

When I look at 2016, I see that the makeup gurus on YouTube are skyrocketing at this point and the makeup at the time is extremely maximalist. It's very glamorous, full beat, very matte, very colorful, currently there are some neon wigs. You have this King Kylie of everything.

2016 was a pivotal moment in internet culture. I think that's when we entered the influencer era full force. Before that, we had YouTubers, but we didn't have as much of that monetization infrastructure to essentially turn everything online into an ad. People posted what they wanted to post.

It was the year that social media companies started switching your news feed to an engagement-based algorithm rather than a friends-only chronological feed. In 2016, you see this shift towards influencer culture and this more curated, easily consumable image and vibe for everything, and that seeps into the culture of Instagram so that people then start posting as if they were influencers themselves.

Even if you're a teenager like me back then, I can see on my own Instagram that my own posts mimic influencers, becoming more sophisticated and aesthetic. I think people missed that a lot, although I think people romanticize 2016 and forget a lot about what that year was actually like.

What do you think this says about 2026?

Throughout the 2020s, people on TikTok, particularly young people, have romanticized the 2010s. I think people generally associate the 2010s with a sense of optimism, especially after 2012. Young people grew up in such a turbulent time with the pandemic, the economy, politics and the world in general. Sometimes it feels really hopeless, so people look back on this time that literally looked so sunny and positive and wonderful and low stakes. I think it's really easy for people to really fixate on that time period, even if that's not reality, right?

Why do you think people only pick the good things about 2016?

It was one of the last years we would devote ourselves to a monoculture together, and we had shared pieces of culture to remember. We all remembered that “Closer” was on the radio 24 hours a day back then. I think a lot of people have romanticized 2016 because it's the last time they'll remember the reunification in any way. It feels like the last moment of normality before this decade of turmoil.

As much as there was so much change and disruption in 2016, be it Donald Trump, be it Brexit or even the rise of Bernie Sanders, so many people were so excited about it. I think there was a feeling of unrest that could be mistaken for general optimism. Then that hope for something different that began in 2016 came to fruition, perhaps not in the way people wanted. But I think a lot of people can remember that feeling and the shared culture that we all had that no one can really share these days.

I'm 32. I can't imagine that 10 years ago I thought my best years were behind me and not ahead of me. Am I just old, or does some of this feel like a generation that grew up on remakes and sequels is looking back instead of forward?

Yes, this is something I often worry about. I'm 27; I shouldn't say, “17 was the best years of my life.” It's too obsessed with looking back because you can't imagine a better future. This is always really worrying. That's always an indication that hope is lost,

But I think this year it seems like the energy of people online is about creating something new, creating friction, and moving beyond the constant need for escape that the internet has given us over the last decade. I have seen this nostalgia grow alongside this nostalgia that has become so widespread and widely discussed.

I think people are ready for new things. I think people are ready to move on from the constant escapism that the internet and social media bring, including the constant nostalgia.