Jan 19, 2026
3 min read
Measles was declared extinct in the United States (although that later changed).Beyoncé made "Lemonade" and liberal hopes were high for the first female president of the United States. Pokémon Go fans are encouraged to go to the polls.Do you remember 2016?
It was said that the illness was completed in America - although it was later changed - Beyoncé was made with "Luberal," and the first big expectations are very high. Is Pokémon going to Cash.Lin Credit Card in 2016?
Ten years later, celebrities and everyday people are sharing the memories of 2016, the time of the face and #ImWithHer, when some of the biggest sports of the country pitted Kim Kardashian against Taylor Swift.
It was also a terrible year.The Pulse restaurant massacre became the deadliest mass shooting in US history (until the following year).Prince and David Bowie died, among other lost treasures.Political divisions deepened and fell apart. The foundations were laid for a dystopian 2026. So how bad is it today?
Celebrities loved 2016
Many women who were very famous online in 2016 shared photos from their past, reminding their followers how much more famous they have become since then.Kylie Jenner, who was the queen of Tumblr and lipstick in 2016, marked the release of the lip kit that helped her become a billionaire.Supermodel Karlie Kloss remembers wearing necklaces and a Snapchat puppy filter—a real relic of the mid-2010s. Lena Dunham, Kloss's co-star in Taylor Swift's "squad," recalled filming the movie Girls.And among the “behind-the-scenes” shots of “Big Little Lies,” Reese Witherspoon snuck a photo from 2016 in which she appears with Swift.
And then the praise.Celebrities and strangers alike remembered 2016 as a carefree, happier time.Jeans were tighter, eyebrows more defined.Some have been inspired to re-examine or try this 2016 aesthetic as a suit in the present.
"I love this moment and all my memories since then, so I had to post it!" Mindy Kaling captioned her Instagram carousel of dynamic outfits from "The Mindy Project" era.Veteran tech YouTuber Ideagen commented on another creator's post: "2016 was amazing!"
"I don't think we've ever left 2016," added the Czech brand Free People's Instagram account (and gave their always-Coachella-themed offerings, so it might be true).
While this trend is innocent enough, it also involves some “historical revision,” said Jessica Maddox, an associate professor who teaches media and cultural studies at the University of Georgia.
Maddox shared photos from 2016 to remind old friends and new followers that he spent the year in a cast after nearly breaking his thumb in half.She said it was nice to share a short but important chapter of her life story with people who knew her after the arm injury.But he doesn't miss it.
"Nostalgia is always complicated, because we believe that by doing or consuming something we will feel the way we felt at that time, which never happened," he said.
Maybe 2016 was easier
The photos from 2016 certainly harken back to "simpler times," when social media felt more like an actual network or community, Maddox said.People were more likely to follow the same stories, participate in or mock the same trends ("mannequin challenges" or "millennial pink," anyone remember?), and talk about the same must-see TV shows.The makeup was heavier, the camera lenses grainier, the styling veered toward the maximalist (though at least two of those trends seem to be making a comeback).In 2016, Maddox said, "we were less online, but at the same time more together in online spaces."
"Our media diet is also very different: not constantly bombarded with bad news, whether it's political or constantly being contacted by the media," he said."I think that's part of the reason we look back and think it was easier or better, maybe because we weren't as connected, we weren't as online, doomscrolling. We weren't as involved as we are now."
“When we talk about the loss of 2016, I think that's what we miss the most: We definitely felt like there was more of a monoculture than there was back then in terms of where we hung out online,” Maddox said.
It's the precious mix of having a good time on the Internet and putting the phone down long enough to enjoy life in the real world that has inspired some to declare 2016 the "last good year."
"When people call it the 'last good year,' I think maybe what we're really saying is that it was the last time before there was a seismic shift in American politics," Maddox said.
Reframing the year as the last time things were good "finds comfort in the culture of 2016 as a kind of last-minute happiness before the politics of our time dominate the culture," said Dustin Kidd, professor of sociology and expert on popular culture at Temple University.
The US presidential election is not the only major political event of the year.The Brexit vote took the UK out of the European Union, destabilizing the continent's political system and polarizing the UK.The social change felt in 2016 "might have to do with the election of Donald Trump, but it's also about the change in the entire political landscape and how politics has become culture," Kidd said.
Maddox said the most talked about 2016 season going online was the polarized response to the trend.The internet has become more chaotic, cruel and angry in the years since then, and something as innocent as a photo from 2016 can inspire hate speech.
"Nothing happens online now that it doesn't become a problem for both parties," he explained."Nothing happens on the Internet now.""I think the amount of criticism I've seen about this trend is why it's happening to me."
