Do the words “Juju on that beat” evoke a warm, fuzzy feeling in your gut? How about the words “King Kylie”? OR how about a messy Instagram feed oversaturated with pics of random shit (think, Starbucks coffee cups and palm trees) with the Nashville filter, Snapchat dog filter selfies and random Tumblr quotes? Well, you’re not alone.
A bunch of celebs and even us regular folks are yearning for the golden era that was 2016, and to scratch that itch, social media has been taken over with all the familiar hallmarks from that banger of a year. Punters have clocked that the iconic era that was 2016 was an entire decade ago as of 2026 and so, for nostalgia purposes, social media has been flooded with throwback pics from that year.
Let’s take a stroll down memory line via the celebs who were quick to jump on the 2016 trend. Here’s some of the celebs who’ve jumped on the 2016 trend.
Karlie Kloss
Charlie Puth
Emily Ratajkowski
Hailey Bieber
Miss Double Bay
Claire Holt
But why 2016?
Alongside the nostalgia, many people are demanding that others live like it’s 2016 in 2026, or at least bring the vibes of 2016 into this new year. The thought of your cringe posts from that time might make you shudder, but fret not: there’s a method to the madness. And no, it’s not just to re-live the fever dream that was the mannequin challenge.
BBC reports that TikTok searches for “2016” surged by 452 per cent in the first week of January, but why 2016, exactly? You might put it down to the simple fact that the year is exactly a decade ago; offering a nice round number that is far enough away to be tinted in those nostalgic rose-coloured glasses.
For digital natives, 10 years is a significant chunk of their life, so it’s understandable that folks are feeling inclined to look back on the growth, change and self-discovery that’s happened (or not) in the decade that was. The distance from then to now also reminds us of just how much has happened in the world since 2016.
The year knew nothing of the term “COVID” and was blissfully unaware of AI. It likely never predicted a second Donald Trump presidency, and the algorithms didn’t push the most terrifying news stories forward. Whether or not 2016 was actually a simpler time than today (I’d say it was), we’re predisposed to see it as such because we’re bombarded by more recent world-altering events.
Beyond that, 2016 is often thought of as the golden age of social media. Feeds were filled with the aforementioned Snapchat filters (remember Snapchat?), Facebook was used for things other than Marketplace (remember Facebook?) and Instagram was home to quirky hashtags like #picoftheday and #like4like, not the meticulously curated, picture-perfect carousels we see today.
Gone are the days where trends like Pokémon Go, bottle-flipping and dabbing allowed us to be childish and authentic, because these days, everyone’s an influencer. The growing aggressiveness of the algorithm and its surveillance makes us less inclined to playfully run amock online. But in 2016, we were all jesters.
The ironic thing about the 2016 craze is that it brings us right back to the very trend-friendly times that we’re pining for. Sure, a bunch of world-altering events have happened since, but who are we to deny our nostalgic-loving hearts. So pop on those rose-coloured glasses, trawl through your archives and brace yourself for a tightened sphincter.
Because for all of its cringe, 2016 was truly a time to be alive.
Lead images: Instagram
The post Celebs Join In On The Cringe-Fest That Is Resharing Your Posts From 2016 appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
