2026 is officially in full swing, however instead of moving forward into the new year, many people spent their first month of 2026 reminiscing. They weren’t reflecting on 2025, but instead a whole decade in the past, 2016. Social media saw a large increase in flashbacks posted from 10 years ago and in filters used that year. Additionally, Instagram and TikTok were not alone in these trends. Spotify reported an increase in 2016 playlists as well, demonstrating how a whole society pressed rewind on their lives for the month of January. So why was 2016 such a big year in pop culture and what was trending this time 10 years ago?
Whether the audience was a child or a young adult, music 2016 was defined by the upbeat pop songs. This year was essential to the careers of Justin Bieber, Halsey, Shawn Mendes, Twenty One Pilots, the Chainsmokers, and Rihanna. The most trending songs of the year, according to Billboard’s 2016 Year-End Hot 100 included “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake, “7 Years” by Lukas Graham, “Cheap Thrills” by Sia, and countless others that are loved by Gen Z. “I was a big Twenty One Pilots fan,” said senior Owen McCoy, demonstrating how some of these artists and their music still stand out ten years later.
Movies were also incredibly popular and produced movies that are to this day some of the highest rated children-friendly movies. Some notable titles that stand out from this year are Disney’s Zootopia, The Jungle Book, Moana, and Finding Dory, alongside Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets. Additionally, Marvel produced the highest grossing film of the year with Captain America: Civil War making $1,153,196,293 worldwide. “It was a good year for movies,” said McCoy, as it truly is hard not to look back on 2016 films and smile.
However, what really draws people this year to 2016 are the trends that took place this year. Entertainment was essential to this year, however a lot of influencers have observed that 2016 was entirely different from 2026 in terms of social media. It was a lighter form of entertainment, as opposed to now where it is a lifestyle that is affecting teenagers negatively. For current high schoolers, trends ten years ago are notably fidget spinners and slime, but other popular trends that come to mind are social media related. “I think the filters are the biggest one,” said senior Olivia Acosta, who has seen a lot of 2016 flashback posts on social media and has even made some of these posts herself.
2026 has already brought new pop culture events and trends, the 2016 trend being one that can not be ignored. Taking over social media as people refer back to their lives 10 years ago, it’s easy to understand what makes this such an iconic year, especially for current teenagers. Despite this, it is also essential to keep looking forward, as there will be new pop culture moments that define the upcoming year of 2026.
