Megan Navarro
Apparently, people are wanting it to be 2016 again.
For the last week, every time I have scrolled on social media, people have turned to what life was a decade ago. They are reliving the “glory days” and reminiscing on what was seemingly a more simple time.
It was when social media was very much alive — before the birth of TikTok — where it was still acceptable to post those grainy photos with your friends and you would ask for someone’s Snapchat and not their phone number when you met someone new. Skinny jeans were still in style, though the mom jeans were starting to surface, and the infamous side part was all the rage, so much so that if your hair was even slightly in the middle, you would get some strange looks.
You were always posing for the camera in weekend photoshoots with your friends and a world of bright colors and different patterns — including the same black and white striped T-shirt that every girl had.
The year also brought several cultural moments, including the death of legends, such as Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, Carrie Fisher, Prince, George Michael, Muhammad Ali, Debbie Reynolds, Arnold Palmer, Harper Lee and David Bowie. Then, you’ve got the rise of Pokémon Go, “Stranger Things,” social media challenges and more.
I am not exactly sure how I feel about the craze of looking back to 2016. I mean, I did post a photo of myself from my high school senior photoshoot — still so crazy to me that it was 10 years ago — and I, for one, am known to be a little nostalgic.
But what gets me is that I don’t remember this trend happening in 2025 with its 10-year throwback, or in previous years. So, why now? Why 2016, specifically?
Whatever the reason is and whoever decided to start this, I think it just boils down to the fact that people are living in a moment right now of nostalgia. They are wanting to go back to when life felt a little simpler and maybe even brighter.
There have been a lot of headlines in the news recently that have been negative. Seeing the increasingly high crime and arrest numbers, rising death toll, police officers not making it home to their families, missing children and more is gut-wrenching. It’s not for the faint of heart, so I can see the need for a throwback in that regard.
If 2016 is the new 2026 and things can be a little brighter, I am all for it. But, let’s not get too far into the past to where we forget where or when we are at this moment in time.
Navarro is the executive editor for the Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch. She can be reached by emailing [email protected].
