Overview
- A haze-style effect named for that year is dominating TikTok, with the platform reporting a 452% jump in searches for “2016” in early January.
- Coverage cites conflicting scale: some reports say more than 55 million videos used the filter, while others note millions of posts embracing the aesthetic, all attributed to TikTok data.
- Psychologist Tracy King says social media in that period felt more personal and safe, before 2017’s engagement-driven algorithms and the 2019 short‑video boom reshaped online behavior.
- Writers link the appeal to life-stage nostalgia among millennials and older Gen Z, plus a pre‑AI content environment and lower costs that made daily life feel more accessible.
- Commentators caution the sentiment can be rose‑tinted, pointing to the year’s political upheavals, including Brexit and Donald Trump’s election, and a string of high‑profile celebrity deaths.