Why we're so obsessed with nostalgia

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Culture Slant is a weekly column that explores broader cultural trends across marketing, media, commerce, technology, and more.

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What’s old is new again. 

Over the last several years, we’ve seen a major cultural trend in the resurgence of nostalgia. 

Nostalgia is defined as “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.”

And with the dismal economy, job market, and state of the world, who could blame us? 

For most of us Millennials, nostalgia (especially the early 2000s) conjures up feelings of childhood. A time before smartphones and social media, where you had to watch your favorite TV show live (with gasp commercials) and wait until 9 p.m. to call your friends so you wouldn’t go over your minutes. 

Even today, we find comfort in watching old movies and listening to classic music, as it reminds us of a simpler time. 

However, it’s not just Millennials who yearn for nostalgia; Gen Z is also embracing the nostalgia of the early 2000s that they never knew. While Millennials grew up with flip phones, digital cameras, and wired headphones, Gen Z is discovering these technologies for the first time, and subsequently creating trends around their use. 

And because Gen Z is the consumer cohort, brands are finding ways to capitalize on the nostalgia to appeal to them. 

From the re-release of limited-edition products (Diet Cherry Coke and McDonald’s Snack Wraps) to TV and movie reboots (Gossip Girl, And Just Like That), to reunion tours (Backstreet Boys Vegas residency), brands are capitalizing on nostalgia for financial gain. 

Why? Because nostalgia is familiar. It’s comfort and safety. And brands know it works. 

As the economy becomes more turbulent, brands are becoming more selective about the investments they make in the products they launch. They don’t want to take creative risks unless they know the ROI is there. 

It’s why we’ve seen Marvel scrap a slate of movies in the MCU and a heavy emphasis on movie sequels (like, do we really need another Ghostbusters or Jurassic Park movie?).

But brands do this because they recognize they have a built-in fan base, which is why it’s easier for them to get the green light. 

And while it’s fun, the constant return to nostalgia highlights a broader problem: We can’t see a future forward. 

The focus on nostalgia keeps us playing safe and not innovating because we’re always looking back at what has worked and not forward to what could work. 

In other words, it’s killed originality and creativity. 

We’re drawn to old music, TV, and movies because they were just better. Technology quality aside, the storylines were more creative and original. The irony is that most of the movies we consider “classics” today were box office failures when they were first released. 

It’s because brands and companies took more creative risks and followed their curiosity, even if they knew they wouldn’t pay off. The emphasis was on the art, not its commoditization. 

Moreover, technological innovation is moving at a slower pace than it was in the 2000s, leaving little room for disruption and innovation. 

While you could argue that AI is the next great technological innovation, the concept of artificial intelligence has been around for decades—the only difference is that now it’s mass-marketed and commercialized. Even AI in and of itself isn’t creating anything “new,” but rather just regurgitating and aggregating content that already exists. 

Leaning on nostalgia prevents us from creating anything new, instead allowing us to relive what we’ve already experienced. It keeps us stuck in a time warp, where we continually run in the same circles instead of moving forward. 

And the only way to break free of it is to create for the sake of creating again—and not worrying about how it will or won’t perform. 

Alexa Phillips is a writer, brand & content strategist, and multi-passionate creative. She is the founder of Bright Eyes Creative, a Seattle-based brand consultancy and media company that helps founder-led brands and creatives design content-driven brand experiences and media.