By Brooke Brinker, Social Media Manager
Do you remember what life was like in 2016? The year of new fashion trends, viral social media apps, and the most memorable artistic movements. Now that it is 2026, 2016 being 10 years ago, many influencers, celebrities, and even the general public are posting on Instagram what they looked like and what they did in 2016.
The “remembering 2016” trend showed how many people miss the music, the tendencies and fashion. They love looking back on such a great year, filled with memories and hope that 2026 will be the same. The year 2016 gave such happy, iconic, care-free vibes that the public wants that for this new year.
In 2016, the music that you would hear on the radio every day was “One Dance” by Drake, “Work” by Rihanna, “Sorry” by Justin Bieber, “Closer” by Chainsmokers, and “Lemonade” by Beyoncé. Musical.ly, “TikTok’s” old version, was extremely popular in 2016. Everyone was making Musical.ly’s to these top hits!
Jessilyn Peppers, a junior, majoring in Digital Media Communications, said, “There’s something about 2016 music that instantly feels nostalgic; it brings back memories without even trying.”
Fashion in 2016 was such a big part of the year. Every girl wore a choker, and every guy wore skinny jeans. Everyone wore bomber jackets, Nike and Adidas merchandise, and of course, Vans. Although in 2016, the stores people shopped at most were Forever 21 and H&M, in 2026, Forever 21 is closing all its stores. It is crazy how much the fashion industry can change in ten years.
Back in 2016, Instagram was the most popular app that everyone was on. On every Instagram home page, you would see Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and the Hadid sisters.
On Snapchat, every middle schooler and teenager used the filters, especially the iconic dog filter. On YouTube, creators did challenges, vlogs, pranks, morning routines, hauls, comedy, etc. Some of the YouTube creators that were trending back in 2016 were Bethany Mota, Alisha Marie, David Dobrik, Liza Koshy, the Dolan Twins, Lilly Singh, Rosanna Pansino, and Shane Dawson. They were so diverse in their content-creation styles that there was a creator for everyone. Also, the YouTuber with the most subscribers was PewDiePie, with 49 million.
“I remember posting videos on Musical.ly and making them with my cousins just for fun. It felt way more carefree and less curated than social media is now. You can definitely tell the difference between 2016 content and today.” Peppers said.
Some of the most famous trends in 2016 were the “Bottle flip challenge”, where you flipped a water bottle and see if you can make it land, and the “Mannequin challenge,” which was where a lot of people would act like they were frozen in the moment, as the camera passed the room at everyone not movingto the song, “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd.
On the cinematographic field, season one of “Stranger Things” was released on Netflix. Stranger Things is the most popular show on Netflix, and the finale just came out in 2026. Also, manysuperhero movies were released, such as “Suicide Squad”, “Captain America: Civil War”, “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice”, and “Deadpool”. Beyond superhero movies, other iconic pieces were “La La Land”, “Hidden Figures”, “Zootopia”, “Moana”, etc. It was a year filled with action, laughter, and amazing cinema.
Reflecting on 2016, its pop culture, and the memories we all made, it is possible to see that manypeople feel nostalgic about it. 2016 was a fantastic year; people wore the same fashion, watchedthe same funny videos, and participated in the same silly trends. Everyone wants our world to be like that again. This is why it makes so much sense that people miss it and want to go back tothose times when we felt life was simpler.
So, let’s make the year 2026 the new 2016!
1 Comment
This is so nostolgic!