Nostalgia: Generation Z’s greatest coping mechanism, consumerism’s greatest weapon

It is possible that Generation Z has become the most nostalgic generation to date, perpetually calling on fond memories of the past to cope with the turbulence of the present. From the cost-of-living and climate crises to the toll of Covid, nostalgia is our new best friend when it comes to finding solace. While offering comfort to its sentimental users, the feeling of nostalgia reveals the terrorizing realisation of the inimitability of the past; a double-edged sword which stabs the heartstrings with both ends simultaneously. It is certain that the nostalgia that surrounds our generation grips more tightly to us than any other before. Evidently, the worries of the present push us further into looking to the past to drown out the violence and hate of current news.

Nostalgia is also weaponised within media, and we are often asked to mourn a past that we have never even experienced

Even within pop culture and current fashion trends, such as the solidification of the Y2K aesthetic, we find ways to evoke the conditions of the past. The importance of apps like Depop and Vinted within casual fashion causerie, not only promotes this nostalgia for fashions of the past but shows our desire to remove ourselves from the 21st century. With the importance of demoting fast fashion retailers, we can find comfort in the fact that we are doing something small to combat the future ecological crisis, which causes us to seek comfort from the stability of the past in the first place. Similarly with music, especially 2000s and 2010s pop hits, we bring back the feeling of untroubled innocence which these songs were the soundtrack of.

However, nostalgia is also weaponised within media, and we are often asked to mourn a past that we have never even experienced to push us to consume. Modern period dramas such as Bridgerton, coin the aesthetics of a past norm and leave us longing for the chance to live its fictional reality. This is something that has been monetised through the development of various related experiences. Stranger Things, which influenced a resurgence of interest in 1980s pop culture and costume due to its season three release, asks us to be nostalgic for a decade of which we have no memory. Often forcing us to feel nostalgic for nostalgia itself, reminiscing on the time that surrounded the release of the shows and the related trends that came with it. In countless examples, the feeling of nostalgia is used to trick one into emotionally connecting with a product.

Developments within modern society have caused us to depend on the usage and influence of social media, which profits from the addictive nature of sentimentality and pushing trends which revolve around the romanticism of the past. Generation Z often claim that due to these advancements in technology, their life lacks authenticity. One only has to imagine the sea of iPhones that plague concert crowds. It is easy to feel nostalgic towards a time when the digital world was less of a factor in everyday life, as a form of escapism from that same world in the present.

It is almost inconceivable that memories are physically irrevocable, making them easily manipulated. It is easy to get caught up in reminiscing on the joys of the past, and it seems that the restrictions of Covid caused us to habitually long for time bygone. Something that especially affects our generation, whose teenage years were reduced to Teams calls. However, it is easy to romanticise or alter something you can never experience again. It is important at times to let bygones be bygones in order to grow, and at others to allow oneself to be reminded of the joy of the pink Nintendo DS.

It is obvious that the impact of Covid has created an age dysmorphia among our generation

Conclusively, Generation Z’s connection with nostalgia stems from the inability to accept the current state of society compared to the romanticised version of the past. The comfort provided by the feeling of childhood and the things which provided happiness at that time, such as fashion, music and pop culture, connect us to that sense of happiness and freedom that resonates with the carefree nature of youth. It is obvious that the impact of Covid has created an age dysmorphia among our generation, leaving many feeling as though it is too soon to grow up, calling on the memories of the past for comfort. Consumer culture often prays on this, creating addictive short content that stimulates and fries our nerve endings. The algorithm leaves you wanting more 15-second compilations of a stranger’s adolescence to ‘Forever Young’ by Alphaville. ‘Forever Young’ or ‘Forever Ignorant’?  Amid fear, nostalgia acts as a coping mechanism, aiding our escape.