Are we really obsessed with 2016?
Why this trend isn’t about the past.
You’ve probably heard, seen, or joined the internet trend of sharing pictures of yourself in 2016. Some people say we’re once again indulging in our never-ending nostalgia bubblegum while facing difficult times and a (very) uncertain future.
But I think there’s something underlyingly more interesting here.
This is not about memory.
Our pictures from 2016 are a fracture of how we positioned ourselves towards life. How we were with ourselves, not much about how we were being seen. And from this positioning, we experienced some creative consequences that are very different from those we experience now.
In 2016, we just existed. We were not thinking, “Is this on brand?” or “Will I cringe in 10 years?”. That has a huge impact on how we think and, therefore, on how we use our creativity.
We had less posing, and we were not constantly “trying to say something”. Basically, we were more in the moment. We were looking at life. I remember I was deeply exploring photography at the time, and I could come up with so many ideas for photoshoots and bring them to life. The second part is the most important.
Fast forward to 2026, and what can we see? Too much awareness. To the point that we’re constantly watching ourselves (checking back to see if people liked your selfie also counts) and editing ourselves (angles, places, objects, etc.). It seems like being yourself isn’t as natural as it used to be. And we’ve seen the consequences of this in how our creativity is being used nowadays.
I want to highlight that you don’t need less awareness; the problem is the amount of pauses we create between wanting something and actually doing it.
I have seen and spoken with so many people frustrated by the misuse or underuse of their creative potential. Artists, writers, photographers, singers, designers… apparently, everyone is frustrated that they need to be a content machine to succeed, even when they have no ideas. Or, if they do, they feel unprepared to execute because they’re too tired to even start (after 30 moodboards on how the new thing will look).
As I’ve mentioned here before, this inner, innate force we have must be used, or it will be used to destroy you. You have no choice.
Yes, we’ve also opened up a world with the internet being so second-nature to us. Getting inspired globally, connecting and collaborating with people we would never think of if we were not in this e-world as we are now. We have so much access to inspiration and information that it’s suffocating. “What if I open Pinterest once more just to get a few more inspo images?” In 2016, we pushed forward without overthinking every step. It’s definitely not what we’re seeing in 2026, just the desire for it, at least for now.
It’s important to say that, over 10 years, we didn’t lose our creative essence, but the environment around us changed. Our creativity is still there, asking to be expressed, but the conditions must be recreated to make it bloom again, like the so-desired 2016 atmosphere.
We don’t need to go back to 2016. That would sound (and be) fake. The question is: what did you allow yourself back then that you don’t allow yourself now?
Maybe it was doing things without documenting them. Maybe it was just making things for the sake of it. Only you have the answers.
This 2016 obsession is just another way of saying: where did you start getting in your own way?
Thank you for reading,
Yoli
