Key Takeaways

• People are posting old photos, videos, and digital memories with filters and editing styles that look a lot like things from ten years ago.
• These changes make the photos look like they were taken with early smartphone cameras or social media apps from 2016.
• Everyone is interacting with a version of the past that has now been changed by technology, memory, and how people act online.

Key Development 1

NewsTechnology NewsSocial News‘2026 is the new 2016’ Instagram trend: Why this throwback is taking over social media feedsTrendingNYT Connections HintsWordleAmazon SaleQuote Of The Day By Jensen HuangMark CubanJeff BezosOppo Reno 15Jensen HuangBill GatesMark ZuckerbergNYT Connections HintsWordleAmazon SaleQuote Of The Day By Jensen HuangMark CubanJeff BezosOppo Reno 15Jensen HuangBill GatesMark ZuckerbergNYT Connections HintsWordleAmazon SaleQuote Of The Day By Jensen HuangMark CubanJeff BezosOppo Reno 15Jensen HuangBill GatesMark Zuckerberg‘2026 is the new 2016’ Instagram trend: Why this throwback is taking over social media feedsTOI Tech Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Jan 21, 2026, 00:28 ISTCommentsShareAA+Text SizeSmallMediumLarge Instagram (Image source: Reuters) In early 2026, a noticeable trend has now started on major social media sites: people are going back to the visual and cultural style of 2016.

People are posting old photos, videos, and digital memories with filters and editing styles that look a lot like things from ten years ago.

The trend includes both personal archives and new content that looks like media from that time.How the ‘2026 is the new 2016’ trend appears on social media platformsPeople are posting pictures and short videos on TikTok and Instagram that have hazy filters, muted colours, and lower image quality.

A lot of posts on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X talk about things that were popular in the past, like events, fashion choices, and how people used the internet.

Key Development 2

A lot of creators are going back to old phone galleries, while others are using new devices to recreate scenes but adding effects that make them less sharp and more grainy.Celebrities participating in the trendMany famous people from all over the world have also joined the trend by posting old pictures and videos from 2016.

A lot of things happened after 2016, such as the coronavirus pandemic, new leaders in some countries, and the rapid growth of AI tools on social media.Some people seem to be going back to older digital experiences to remember what it was like to talk to people online before social media became more automated and commercialised.

This shows how popular familiar digital styles are.People can share pictures, music, and other things on social media to look back on and change things that have happened recently.

People often see things like carved eyebrows, Snapchat puppy filters, mirror selfies, and screenshots of people playing Pokémon Go in public.More than 56 million videos have been made on TikTok using filters that are based on the 2016 aesthetic.

Key Development 3

These changes make the photos look like they were taken with early smartphone cameras or social media apps from 2016.

This is where the trend is most clear.

The rise shows that more people want to go back to a time when many users think social media was more creative and it was easier to talk to people online.

Celebrities have helped older music, fashion, and social media styles come back into style online.User reactions and online responsesA lot of people have left comments about how they remember that time.

Key Development 4

Everyone is interacting with a version of the past that has now been changed by technology, memory, and how people act online.

This trend is called ‘2026 is the new 2016’.as per the BBC reports, searches for "2016" on TikTok rose by 452% in the first two weeks of January 2026.

Popular personalities like Selena Gomez, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kylie Jenner, Taylor Swift, Ananya Panday, and many others have taken part by posting "throwback" content.A lot of people have seen these posts, which has now helped the trend get more attention and spread.

People from all walks of life, from everyday people to celebrities, are getting involved.

Key Development 5

One person wrote on X, “Would love to return to life in 2016,” and another wrote, “Man, what a time to be alive.”These kinds of posts often come with pictures or videos from personal archives, which suggests that users are using social media to publicly look back on their own pasts, not just on bigger pop culture events.The reason behind the renewed interestThere seems to be a renewed interest in 2016, which comes at the same time as bigger changes in the global and digital world since then.

The trend doesn't show that 2016 was trouble-free; it shows how time can change how people remember things as a group.A shared digital memory experiencePeople are sharing memories and trying to look like they did in the past more and more, which is making the "2026 is the new 2016" trend grow.

This is because they are using old content and new graphics.The trend shows how digital platforms let people save, change, and relive things from earlier parts of the internet age in real time.About the AuthorTOI Tech DeskThe TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India.

TOI Tech Desk’s news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe.

Key Development 6

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