

To escape the discomfort of this reality, they search for meaning in nostalgic comforts that mesh their love for the past with their desires for the future.įor example, Gen Z’s love for the past has birthed Instagram accounts like the most literal intersection of past and future. While the social causes they care about directly impact their coming years, their futures are also more uncertain than any generation before them.

Known as the most woke and progressive generation yet, they care deeply about representation, equality, sustainability, and mental health - and they want the companies and brands they support to care. Zoomers are a unique demographic caught in the intersection of looking back (way, way back) and looking forward. Looking to the past to build a better future They remember learning the dance to Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” watching iCarly, and saying #YOLO to everything.
#Genrational strife define tv
They have entire communities on social media platforms like TikTok dedicated to creating and connecting over nostalgic content, from revisiting old toys, computer games, TV shows, and aspects of popular culture that they have a distinct connection to. Zoomers ace the test when it comes to creating inclusive digital spaces. As loneliness, stress and anxiety have gone up, nostalgia has come to counteract them. These struggles have only been exacerbated with the pandemic forcing us all to stay indoors, disconnected from friends and community. In the last year, 48% of Gen Z reported feeling constantly stressed. Their connection to the past is built into their generations' social DNA. With a timeline defined by tragedies, it’s no wonder Zoomers want to look back and connect over a childhood toy, a Motorola Razr flip phone, or a Beanie Baby collection. We’ve unknowingly steered them to look to the past to define their own generation as they’ve grown up. Gen Z’s childhood, on the other hand, is defined by terms like pre-9/11, pre-financial crash, and now pre-pandemic. Generations older than Gen Z are often described by future-facing qualities - Boomers are post-World War II, while Millennials are post-Great Recession. Nostalgia is the ultimate daydream that Zoomers don’t want to wake up from. During tough times, we turn to devouring sentimental television favorites like Friends or The Office, seek comfort in old flames reignited (hi, Bennifer), or indulge in the irony of Y2K trends. Reminiscing on the “good old days” or the simplicity of eras gone by is a way to escape, express, and create. If you’ve ever felt like you should’ve been born in another time, you’re not unlike most of Gen Z.
