"Rare aesthetic: romanticizing childhood memories you thought were unique, only to realize they're universal. A new TikTok trend has users posting nostalgia-laced memories of mundane but oddly specific childhood moments, ironically tagged as "rare aesthetic." The clips are often set to the track "Gorof (Elixir) (feat. Sahra Dawho)" by Somali disco legends Dur-Dur Band. One example: "Rare aesthetic: going to swimming lessons and being jealous of your mum sitting in the cafe," a TikTok user posted, alongside stock images of a swimming pool."
"Other memories have gone similarly viral. Nearly 900,000 users engaged with a TikTok post about waking up at dawn to travel to the airport. "There was always this certain smell that I can't describe in the air on those mornings," one person commented. "And it's always so cold," said another. "And for some reason you always feel nauseous," added another. Turns out, we all felt this."
A new TikTok trend prompts users to share nostalgia-laced, oddly specific childhood moments labeled as "rare aesthetic." The clips often use "Gorof (Elixir) (feat. Sahra Dawho)" by Dur-Dur Band and pair memory captions with stock images. Examples include jealousy of a mother in a poolside cafe and the taste of crisps after swimming. Viral posts about early-morning airport trips evoke shared sensory details such as smells, cold air, and nausea. CivicScience data shows over 60% of Americans report feeling nostalgic, and research in Psychology of Popular Media links increased nostalgia consumption to times of crisis. Nostalgia is experienced communally through trends.
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