Nostalgia
Essay idea I want to flesh out
Nostalgia
What teenagers today are offered instead is a hyperactive landscape of so-called aesthetics — thousands of them, including everything from the infamous cottagecore to, these days, prep. These are more like cultural atmospheres, performed mainly online, with names and looks and hashtags, an easy visual pablum.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/mireille-silcoff • Teen Subcultures Are Fading. Pity the Poor Kids.
hustle culture, old money, hybrid athlete, etc.
Micronostalgia is personal - usually takes a month to 6 months for you to start feeling it about your own life.
Macronostalgia is cultural - usually takes 10-12 years, with key exceptions, like the pre-pandemic era was 5-6 years ago but we still feel nostalgic for it.
Macronostalgia is cultural - usually takes 10-12 years, with key exceptions, like the pre-pandemic era was 5-6 years ago but we still feel nostalgic for it.
The nostalgia machine
Consumer trends suggest that many members of Gen Z yearn for a taste of the predigital era. The oft-noted increase in sales of vinyl records, CDs, physical books and board games is driven only in part by older adults looking to revisit their youth. Young people who grew up on digital entertainments are also a major force behind this retro
... See moreVinyl record sales have surpassed CD sales for the first time since 1987, driven by consistent growth over 16 years. In 2022, vinyl accounted for 71% of physical music format revenue, with a 17% sales increase, while CD sales declined by 18%. By 2024, vinyl music sales hit $1.4 billion on 43.6 million units, far outpacing CDs at $541 million on 33
... See moreIt seems as though they are looking, hard, for identity, for validation, for the dignification of their taste. It’s just that they are being presented with these thin cultural planes that barely exist outside their devices.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/mireille-silcoff • Teen Subcultures Are Fading. Pity the Poor Kids.
damn.
Stop looking into the past for experiences and make experiences which people will look back on like you look back on theirs.
Just a moment...
Teen Subcultures Are Fading. Pity the Poor Kids.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/mireille-silcoffnytimes.comKids are not failing by wanting to be cottagecore or meatcore or this new preppy. It’s the culture available to them that is failing, by no longer being able to connect any of these categories with lived experience or social meaning.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/mireille-silcoff • Teen Subcultures Are Fading. Pity the Poor Kids.
this really gets to the heart of the thesis
Opinion | Why Gen Z Is Resurrecting the 1990s
nytimes.com
For example, the practice of listening to an entire vinyl record is a valuable exercise in sustained focus, since you can’t toggle away on Spotify to another album or song or click on a YouTube video halfway through. But the practice may also be teaching young people broader lessons — say, that they can take a long walk in nature without having to check their phones until they return.