![\"Lauren](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/6db722e7f18977d112833b22d41ff88a566506d1.png\")
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January 16, 2026 \u2014 11:40am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Where were you in 2016?<\/p>\n I\u2019ll go first. I\u2019d just started uni and I had thick curtain bangs \u00e0 la twee queen Zooey Deschanel. Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s Lemonade was getting some serious air time on my car radio, and Instagram still showed posts in order of when they were posted. I didn\u2019t know what a Labubu was and Rihanna was still making music. It was, put simply, a pretty good year.<\/p>\n Yes, part of this is just the buoyancy of youth, the feeling of having \u201cthe world at my feet\u201d, to quote my year 12 yearbook. But I\u2019m not alone in idealising 2016.<\/p>\n The latest social media trend invites users to share photos of themselves from a decade ago, with celebrities like Kylie Jenner<\/a>, Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber taking part.<\/p>\n On TikTok, searches for \u201c2016\u201d surged by 452 per cent<\/a> in the second week of the new year, while compilation videos of \u201cpeak Millennial culture\u201d \u2013 think moustache tattoos, typewriters and flower crowns, all pictured in sepia tones and set to the tune of indie-folk group The Middle East\u2019s Blood \u2013 are trending.<\/p>\n So, why 2016?<\/p>\n Obviously, 2026 marks a decade on.<\/p>\n But it was also a watershed year in many ways. Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the US election, the Brexit vote took place and the Paris Agreement came into force (the last of which, a decade later, we\u2019re on track to surpass<\/a>).<\/p>\n It was a time before AI slop ruled our social media feeds, before a global pandemic turned the world inwards and before Twitter became a vanity project for Elon Musk.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Gen Z \u2013 the youngest of whom were just four years old in 2016 \u2013 are embracing the culture of their Millennial elders, romanticising their youth as a simpler, more optimistic time.<\/p>\n Editor’s pick It makes sense. Millennials came of age in an era of overwhelming hope. Start-up culture was in full swing and it was still possible to survive on a barista wage in a city like Sydney. Fuelled by Obama-era optimism, many felt like real progress was being made when it came to social issues like LGBTQ and reproductive rights, racial justice and body positivity.<\/p>\n Many Gen Z today are understandably pessimistic about the future<\/a>, faced with a near-impenetrable housing market, growing political polarisation and a dying planet. Many, particularly young women, have given up on love<\/a> entirely.<\/p>\n Obviously, 2016 was far from perfect. The very nature of nostalgia means we see the past through rose-tinted glasses. Clearly, the forces that led to where we are today had been brewing for some time.<\/p>\n But in periods of deep economic and political uncertainty, it\u2019s understandable we find comfort in the warm glow of our memories. I, for one, will be riding out the end of the world by reviving the Mannequin Challenge<\/a>, watching Glee <\/a>and strumming my ukulele.<\/p>\n Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox<\/a> every Monday.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n From our partners![\"2016,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2e69e171bad308f1b3eb320631006f7178ddfefd.jpeg\")
2016, clockwise from top left: Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, then-couple Kendall Jenner and Harry Styles, Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift, and Bella Hadid. <\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ee7b02367ae0da2c0bdc535f3560de70f6364b43.jpeg\")
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