“2026 is the new 2016” is an ongoing trend that kicked off as the new year began. 2016 felt brighter than any other year to many as it was filled with memes, iconic music releases, filters and carefree internet culture. The phrase reflects cultural nostalgia, as 2016 is famous for the rising popularity of apps like Snapchat, boosted in popularity by the iconic dog filter and Vine, known for having the funniest memes made from a diverse community.
During this time, the mobile game “Pokémon Go” was also popular, where players would go outside and walk around to catch Pokémon. People loved this as it allowed users to have fun collecting Pokémon while being outside rather than staying isolated indoors. There were challenges from social media that people participated in such as the infamous bottle flip challenge. People would drink and leave a quarter of their water left in order to try to make it land after flipping it. Another big challenge was the mannequin challenge, where people would freeze in place just like mannequins and the song “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd would play in the background.
2016 also had its own style, consisting of skinny jeans, chokers, off shoulder tops and caps. These trends were simple yet expressive, allowing individuals to express themselves, as fashion became a form of self-expression rather than pressure to follow outfit trends during this era. FHS sophomore Mia Arias explains what she wants back from 2016 : “[Probably the style of the teenagers], because back then, when I was younger, I always thought the teenagers were cool,” Arias said.
Trends, apps and nostalgia allow people to overlook the political division and crises that happened. The Syrian war displaced and killed multitudes of people, with many evacuating out of their homes to being killed through barrel bombs, sieges, torture and government forces. FHS sophomore Sophia Liu explains if 2026 being the new 2016 is a good idea. These political tensions of the time are parallel with the current political tensions today. “I think [the trend is] kind of weird because in reality the political atmosphere wasn’t amazing,” Liu said. Despite this, as more years pass by, people miss being surrounded by the great memories created during 2016 and yearn to experience the happiness they felt back then.
