Overview
- The movement began on Instagram and has spread to TikTok, though it remains most visible on Instagram.
- Participants post 2016-era photos and aesthetics to contrast a looser, chronologically driven past with today’s optimized feeds.
- Celebrities including Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham, Karlie Kloss, Shakira, Dua Lipa, Kendall Jenner, Reese Witherspoon and John Legend have amplified the trend.
- Reported figures cite #2016 with roughly two million posts on TikTok and more than 38 million on Instagram, reflecting broad participation.
- Commentators link the appeal to Instagram’s 2016 shift toward algorithmic ranking, 2016’s cultural inflection points and pandemic-shaped time distortion and digital fatigue.