Why Everyone Is Suddenly Obsessed With 2016

<p><strong>Matt Bernstein, Kat Tenbarge and I dig into what the 2016 nostalgia is really about. </strong></p><p>Why is everyone suddenly obsessed with 2016? Hyper-saturated Instagram photos are back. The Snapchat puppy filter is everywhere again. Nostalgic edits are flooding TikTok. From the &quot;King Kylie&quot; era to Harambe, it feels like we’re collectively regressing.</p><p><strong>Support my independent journalism:</strong></p><p><strong>🙏 Patreon:</strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz">⁠⁠<strong> </strong><u>https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz</u>⁠⁠</a>🗞️ <strong>Substack:</strong><a href="https://www.usermag.co">⁠⁠<strong> </strong><u>https://www.usermag.co</u>⁠⁠</a></p><p>But was 2016 really “the last good year”? I wanted to understand why this particular moment looms so large in our cultural memory, so I called up my friends Matt Bernstein and Kat Tenbarge to discuss.</p><p>Kat is an incredible journalist and the author of <em>Spitfire News</em>, and Matt is an iconic podcast host and content creator. We re-examined the defining moments of 2016, talk about the old days of YouTube, why boomers don't get the nostalgia, and why 2016 has become such a powerful focal point. </p><p>We unpack what this fixation on 2016 reveals about today's internet, culture, and politics nearly a decade later.</p><p><strong>Follow me:</strong></p><p>Instagram:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz"> <u>https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz</u></a></p><p>Instagram (alt):<a href="https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz3.0"> <u>https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz3.0</u></a></p><p>TikTok:<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorlorenz"> <u>https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorlorenz</u></a></p><p>X:<a href="https://x.com/taylorlorenz"> <u>https://x.com/taylorlorenz</u></a></p><p>Bluesky:<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/taylorlorenz.bsky.social"> <u>https://bsky.app/profile/taylorlorenz.bsky.social</u></a></p><p><strong>In this video, we cover:</strong></p><ul><li><p>The revival of 2016 aesthetics on TikTok.</p></li><li><p>Why people romanticize the pre-Trump/early-Trump era.</p></li><li><p>The impact of 2016 internet humor on today's culture.</p></li><li><p>The rise of the content creator industry. </p></li><li><p>Why it's all Gen Z and Millennials who are getting nostalgic while older generations don't seem to care. </p></li></ul>