Overview
- TikTok says searches for “2016” jumped 452% in the first week of 2026, with more than 56 million videos using a 2016‑style hazy filter.
- High‑profile posts from Kylie Jenner, Karlie Kloss, Mindy Kaling, Lena Dunham, Reese Witherspoon, Selena Gomez and Charlie Puth have propelled the trend.
- Scholars describe 2016 as a perceived “last good year,” linking the nostalgia to the U.S. election and the Brexit vote that pushed politics deeper into everyday culture.
- Researchers caution that the reappraisal can shade into revisionism and note that today’s harsher online climate turns even innocuous throwbacks into flashpoints.
- Fans cite shared touchstones like Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Moonlight, Fleabag and Stranger Things, while some personal accounts emphasize 2016’s costs, including a columnist who says Brexit fractured her family.