Op-Ed: 2026 is the new 2016?

Twas’ was the year of Pokémon Go, Snapchat filters (especially the dog filter – still a fan a decade later), Drake, and Stranger Things. But beyond chokers and trends, 2016 was a time when the future still felt open. Today, we live with a constant sense of dread; we carry stress on our shoulders instead of animal hats on our heads (IYKYK). 

2016 was the peak area of social media just before being on social media turned into doom scrolling. Back then, you could simply log off of Snapchat and YouTube because you wanted to not because you had to. 

It’s the year that we saw everything from clown sightings to the first election of President Donald Trump. Vital trends that blew up on the internet such as the Mannequin Challenge and Chewbacca Mom reminded us how rare and pure unfiltered happiness could be. 

The year 2016 sits in our memory as the last moment before everything sped up – before irony turned into cynicism, before humor became defense, and before being “online” stopped feeling fun and started feeling unavoidable. It wasn’t perfect, but it was lighter. And maybe that’s why we keep wanting to go back. 

Yet while some view 2016 as a year that changed the world for the worse, others remember it through rose-colored glasses. This nostalgia is evident even on Google: when typing “Why is 2016” into the search bar, the auto-fill suggestions include “Why is 2016 the best year,” “Why is 2016 so popular,” and “Why is 2016 so nostalgic.”

This collective longing raises a deeper question: what are we actually missing? Is it truly the year itself – or the way we felt in living it? Do we as a society have the rose colored glasses on as a society? For many, 2016 represents the final chapter of a pre-pandemic, pre-AI-dominated, pre-constant-crisis world. Social media rewarded creativity more than outrage, and the idea of “going viral” still felt exciting rather than exhausting. 

A major part of the nostalgia roots from the contrast to today's world. The years that followed – political polarization, a global pandemic, climate crisis anxiety, economic and job uncertainty and the overall quality of life. Looking back, 2016 has become a symbolic dividing line between “before” and “after." 

Ultimately, the year 2016 was less about the tumblr filters and strawberry acai refreshers, but rather about the desire for a time when the world felt a little more certain, simpler, and hopeful. We aren’t just reminiscing about the Pokemon Go or Snapchat doggy filters – were nostalgic for the last moment we remembered feeling truly at peace.