The Internet Can’t Let Go of 2016 — Here’s Why Everyone’s Obsessed Again

The pull of 2016 is undeniable — and suddenly, everyone wants back in. From chokers and winged eyeliner to wired headphones and grainy iPhone photos, the internet has decided that the mid-2010s were peak culture. And thanks to TikTok, the nostalgia wave isn’t just hitting millennials — Gen Z is fully on board, too.

Scroll for a few minutes and you’ll see it everywhere: throwback Starbucks drinks in neon colors, skinny jeans paired with skater skirts, and recreations of the “mannequin challenge.” A new hazy purple-blue TikTok filter inspired by the year has only fueled the obsession. According to TikTok, searches for “2016” jumped by 452 percent in the past week, while more than 1.6 million videos embracing the 2016 aesthetic have already been uploaded.

So why now? Simply put, people are craving a time that felt easier. Before AI. Before influencer culture felt inescapable. Before a global pandemic reshaped daily life. Back then, social media still felt fun — not overwhelming.

In 2016, Instagram was a feed of friends, not faceless algorithms. Twitter was chaotic, sure, but it wasn’t yet a nonstop doomscroll. You actually saw updates from people you knew instead of a barrage of bots and outrage. The term “doomscrolling” hadn’t even entered the group chat yet, and attention spans still felt… intact.