For the past few years, people on TikTok have been chasing nostalgia, trying to bring back the joy they had as kids and avoid the troubles they have now. At the beginning of the year, the tag #2016 surged. In case you needed a refresher, 2016 was the year of skinny jeans, Pokémon Go, bottle flipping, the Mannequin Challenge, Slime, and Slither IO. Along with the people who were children, 6-10 years old, during that time, I never got to experience it to the fullest, so I would like it if we brought 2016 back. Still, many people criticize the trend, arguing that society needs to leave 2016 in the past and focus on the future: “Going back to 2016 is not going to change anything,” some would say. I do see their point, but people, including me, are going to continue to try to bring back 2016 throughout the years until success. Now, they have more hope for this year, since it has been a decade, wanting to feel the nostalgia and the vibe of the year once again, but now as teenagers or adults. The attempts before failed due to people forgetting all about the trend and just not feeling the vibe anymore, but the hope of bringing it back still stays. I think 2016 should be brought back; there is no harm in it, and it does make people, including me, happy.
The trend of bringing 2016 back is mostly based on Nostalgia, with everyone who was a pre-teen to a teen during that time wanting to focus on that theme instead of the trends during that time. The whole vibe of 2016 is mostly summer-based; no one focuses on the other seasons when thinking about 2016. This makes me want 2016 more, having to wait for the warm weather. The songs of the time also sound summery, and that’s what I like about 2016. Though some things during the time were iffy.
The 2016 style is a bit questionable in my eyes, and I cannot imagine anyone wearing most of the trends nowadays. On multiple TikTok comments, some refuse to bring back the style, mainly focusing on the summer theme and 2016 vibe rather than the clothes; others want to bring everything back, such as the skinny jeans. Skinny Jeans, in particular, are questionable because only a few people can style them correctly, but some of the clothing and accessories from then are still acceptable today, with modifications to make them look good and fit into today’s fashion. The shirts can blend in with today’s fashion pretty well, minus the length of some of the shirts. The shirts were made of a soft, thin material and vibrant colors, contrasting with the usual polyester and the cheap designs on them that we have today. What I think should come back is the flowy shirts and the sunglasses worn with most outfits. The 2016 theme is more summer feeling than anything, and I do agree with the people keeping it in a summer vibe, but I also think that if people are going to try to bring back 2016, they should do all of it, not leaving anything out.
2016 produced some of the best hype, summer songs, and from then on, people started putting the songs in the genre of “Nostalgia,” popular songs being “Lean On” by Major Lazor and “Lush Life” by Zara Larsson, which have recently made a comeback. People are having more hope for 2016 coming back now after a decade; the songs have carried throughout the years, giving people a sense of hope for bringing 2016 back. Moreover, 2016 icon Bruno Mars is going on tour during the summer with a new album called “The Romantic,” releasing “I Just Might” as a sneak peek. From listening to it, it felt like a very summer song, giving the 2016 vibe as well. The beat, his singing sounding the same as it did back in 2016. I’m excited for the rest of the album.
In 2016, I was 6 to 7 years old, and hearing that people were going to try to bring back 2016 made me happy because, as I said before, I didn’t get to live that year to its fullest as a teen. Bringing back all of the trends brings back so much nostalgia. To this day, I bottle flip when I have a half-empty bottle. If you were able to land it on the bottom, you were a “pro,” but if you could land it on the cap, you would be the G.O.A.T (“Greatest Of All Time”). Slime hasn’t really gone away either; it did disappear for a while, but people started to remember after the fidget toy phase. A lot of people brought the mannequin challenge back throughout the years; the trend never died. There are still a lot of participants in these trends, though they are not “trending” anymore; people still find fun in doing them. Trends now seem so niche and confusing that they feel like an AI bot generates them.
I think that we should bring the 2016 style, trends, and songs back. Though it won’t be just like 2016 was. For me, it gives me a sense of joy when I think about the time. Most of society objects to it and instead wants to “move forward” into the future instead of going back into the past, but I disagree that we are going back into the past; it’s just bringing back trends and joy with it, and where is the harm in that? Not everyone has to participate in bringing back 2016, but the few who are should not be held back.
