""POV: Its summer in 2000... and life felt different," one such post is captioned. A young woman looks into the camera: "Long days at the water park, no phones, just fun that never seemed to end." Next, a teenager holds a marshmallow over a campfire. "No group chats, no DMs, just stories around the fire until morning," he says. Idyllic. Of course, none of those people or scenes are real."
"The popularity of this nostalgia-bait reflects a wider mood. More than 60% of Americans report feeling nostalgic right now, per CivicScience data. And for many, nostalgia is actually a sort of coping mechanism: According to a May survey from Human Flourishing Lab, 63% of people reportedly turn to nostalgia when stressed or overwhelmed by modern life, and a similar share lean on it when feeling anxious about the future. In 2025, plenty of people are feeling both."
AI-generated clips and images recreating '80s and '90s scenes are trending on social media and eliciting strong nostalgic responses. Viewers express longing for perceived simpler times and treat nostalgic content as emotional solace during stress and anxiety. Surveys indicate over 60% of Americans report feeling nostalgic, and roughly 63% use nostalgia when overwhelmed by modern life. AI creations mimic familiar voices and scenes, drive large engagement, and reinforce a cultural mood of yearning for the past amid rapid technological and social change.
Read at Fast Company
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