Since the beginning of 2026, echoes of heavily autotuned smash hits, the familiar pastel yet vibrant hue of YouTube thumbnails and call-backs to Starbucks’ innovative Unicorn Frappuccino have appeared – all popular trends synonymous with the year 2016. Yes, 2016, of all years, is back with a vengeance.
It’s everywhere: celebrities, TikTok users and even the Masters Alumni Instagram have posted galleries of photos from the era. The BBC reports that searches for “2016” went up by 452% this year.
“I’ve seen a lot of my friends posting pictures from 2016, but even more on my For-You Page, along with celebrities posting,” said Sophie Ricks ‘27, a junior who has seen and has participated in the trend.
The cheers and positive nostalgia may have emerged simply because 2026 marks a 10-year anniversary. But over 1.6 million TikTok posts about 2016 don’t suggest just a 10-year anniversary: it suggests a tidal wave of feeling.
“I don’t have vivid memories of 2016 due to my age, but I remember a lot of them being happy. Participating in the trend brought me back to memories that I haven’t thought about in years.” Ricks said.
Maureen Steinhorn, advancement team senior manager of annual giving and major gifts, was in college in 2016, studying abroad in Cape Town.
“Things reached Cape Town slower than in the United States. There was a big Chainsmokers song that year,” Steinhorn noted. “We all knew that song dropped, but we didn’t have Wifi at the house, so we went to [University of Capetown] campus and sat at a table and listened to it. It was a good memory.” The Chainsmoker’s Alex Pall is a Masters School graduate, by the way.
The overused peace signs in photos from 2016 didn’t align with how the actual year felt for some. 2016 had some bad occurrences. For one, there was heavy loss in the music industry. When I was seven, I vividly remember lying on the couch watching TV and hearing a gasp of surprise from my dad, saying, “David Bowie died!” I had no idea who David Bowie was at the time, but I could tell it was a major death that hurt my dad. I could feel his emotions again when I learned the news of Prince’s death, because this time, I knew a couple of his songs and admired him. George Michael died on Christmas that year.
Stella Ervi, a junior who performed at last year’s Great Gig, which was a performance of Prince’s Purple Rain album from start to finish, recalls Prince’s legacy.
“In 2026, after he’s been gone, his listeners and people on social media can still carry his message of empowerment,” Ervi said.
World events dimmed the supposed vibrancy in 2016. On June 12, 2016, there was a mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub that killed 49 individuals. The election of President Donald Trump left some Americans discouraged.
“Probably the worst moment was the election, because we went from this moment of so much freedom and love. I remember just feeling like I didn’t understand that could’ve been an option,” Steinhorn said.
So why is social media celebrating such a nuanced year?
2016 trending can be marked as a centralized yearning for the feelings brought up in that year, not necessarily about rewinding history. With so many difficult issues happening in early 2026, remembering and romanticizing 2016 in a light-hearted way pulls people from their unhappy present – even though 2016 might not have been as positive as it seems on social media.
“It [2016] was really the highlighting moment right before things started to feel, at least politically in this country, very divided,” Steinhorn said. “We definitely look back on it with rose colored glasses.”
Ricks spotlights an additional reason why it is trending, not necessarily based on current politics.
“I think a lot of people are feeling nostalgic for the easy-going vibes of 2016,” Ricks said.
Whether it’s mimicking the matte makeup look, taking photos in front of the iconic pink wall in Los Angeles, or just listening to a hit from 2016, this wave of nostalgia offers people a brief escape from the troubles of the present.
