Is the internet ruining nostalgia?
What goes around, comes around, but it’s happening faster now
The ’90s are back — but that’s old news. Highwaisted pants, flannels, colourful crewnecks and chunky sneakers are back in style and everybody is talking about Friends. I can’t help but wonder why ’90s pop culture is having such a huge comeback, and will it Stop right now, thank you very much?
Everybody loves nostalgia — it reminds us of the good old days when our lives were less complicated. Nostalgia most often comes in 20-year cycles, but that time frame could be shrinking because of the internet, social media and Netflix, said Scott Henderson, an associate professor at Brock University’s department of communication, popular culture and film.
“A generation that goes back to its childhood does it at a time when life gets serious,” Henderson said. “They might have kids now, they have a mortgage, a full-time job and they want to go back to a time when things were simpler when they were young.”
Henderson added that social media has allowed for millennials to be able to share their favourite childhood songs, shows, outfits, and films with their friends.
Donté Colley, a University of Guelph-Humber digital communications student and inventory associate at Aritzia, has over 12,400 Instagram followers where he shares his ’90s inspired outfits. The 21-year-old also makes digital content, such as recreating the opening credits of favourite childhood TV shows, such as Smart Guy.
“I love making people smile and feel better. That’s one of the reasons why I make these old-school, nostalgic videos. It makes me happy and people actually enjoy looking at these old videos that I’ve revamped,” Colley said.
Colley proves that it’s easier to reminisce about the past through social media, and Henderson said this could accelerate the cycle of the old becoming new again. As the younger generation continues to post throwbacks, it’s unclear how social media could affect the 20year cycle as digital content is created and distributed differently than it was is in the ’90s and early 2000s.
“Given the way things work online, how stuff never goes away, will we still have those cycles? Because media from the early 2000s remains somewhat available, and then you get to the early teens and that media is just there because it was released digitally. Will material that is never fully gone away still have that resonance that it once did?”
Henderson said there’s now more access to that content online and it’s easier to find out what people think about it, which marketers could be using to their advantage. “It’s easier to know what a generation wants and what they’re saying.”
Henderson explains how TV sitcoms used to be available only at a certain time, such as either before or after dinner, whereas now with YouTube and Netflix, episodes are released all at once and are always available to watch.
Since I was born in the ’90s, I consider myself an expert in the re-emergence of this decade. I grew up flipping the channel between music videos on MTV to Smart Guy or Boy Meets World, and I listened to Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys.
So, when I got to see Cory and Topanga back on TV in Girl Meets World 10 years later, of course I was nostalgic. That summer, I rewatched all seven seasons of Boy Meets World to prepare for the reboot.
Even just watching the first episode immediately reminded me of my childhood, sitting in my basement after school hoping to see Eric Matthews on my TV yelling, “Mr. Feeny!”
For my generation (specifically those of us in our 20s), anything to do with the ’90s brings us back to a time when we were carefree and happy — when we didn’t stress about keeping a job or being able to afford a house.
Back in the ’90s, we were only worried about whether we could trade our fruit cup for Dunk-a-Roos during lunchtime.
This could be a factor in the push for bands and music groups to get back together, like New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys. I know I’m still hoping for another Spice Girls reunion.
Colley, who was born in 1997, is influenced by the ’90s and increasingly pop culture from the early 2000s. His childhood is where he gets his fashion inspiration from; first drawing from his mother’s style when he was growing up, then finding fashion ideas from characters on shows he watched, such as Raven Baxter from That’s So Raven, which aired from 2003 to 2007 and rebooted as Raven’s Home in 2017. He said he often recalls scenes from his favourite TV shows and what the characters were wearing.
Colley also draws inspiration through Instagram and his friends, as he tries to dress out of his comfort zone, often experimenting mixing bright colours and patterns. He prefers to shop at Value Village or Goodwill where he can find one-of-akind items. He also keeps an eye out for crewnecks in neon colours or pants in bold prints. “I definitely catch myself looking back and seeing where fashion has gone and where it is now, and it’s definitely reflective of what I would watch on TV when I was younger,” he said.
While finding inspiration from the past is certainly a cycle, Toronto-based creative director Josef Adamu believes there’s always a way to recreate pop culture elements in a unique way. The 25-year-old said some of his favourite designs and creative ideas come from the ’80s and ’90s.
His latest project was a series he curated for Teen Vogue that was inspired by ’90s sitcoms and vintage African fashion. He hoped to create a nostalgic feeling with the design as one of the sets was a vintage pastel pinkthemed bedroom with a pink landline phone. Adamu grew up on Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Family Matters and Full House and he drew inspiration from the detail of the set design and the characters’ outfits. “Everything was very cohesive and it felt real. The memories from those shows still playback in my mind from time to time,” he said in an email. One of his favourite movies that he also draws inspiration from is Sarafina, which stars Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo.
While Adamu said it’s important to be inspired, it’s also just as important to ensure past ideas aren’t stolen. He has incorporated sports and streetwear into his work which reminded him of his childhood. “Creatively, I aim to keep true to myself through involving experiences I grew up on into my work. One way or another, an element or detail from my personal experiences will influence my creative decisions.”
While Henderson predicts that the 20-year cycle could shorten or even vanish, he said we might not know for sure until this current cycle is over. He notes that we’re already seeing pop culture from the early 2000s starting to emerge, and it could make a full comeback in the next five to six years.
With Netflix bringing back shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Freaks and Geeks and a Gilmore Girls revival, it might not be long until the ’90s comeback is just a thing of the past.