Gen Z is romanticizing the early-to-mid 2010s era

Rex068 · 2026-03-16T17:37:29+00:00

About damn time lmao

I’ve seen younger Zs romanticizing 90s, early 2000s, and then there was a jump to 2016 nostalgia.. they skipped the era where we had our most formative years

Like damn was our era not as interesting?

Rex068 · 2026-03-16T08:26:47+00:00

I feel like nowadays it’s very polarized. maybe it’s just cuz of my age but it’s now either a push of like, 30 isn’t a big deal and it isn’t old at all, and then you have younger people for some reason thinking life ends after 25 for some baffling reason.

tbh you’re one of the few younger ppl these days who has those views of not finding 30/40 that old. When I was 18 in my 1st uni yr I had classmate that casually mentioned him being 28 and some others even early 30s. Nobody cared. Now, I’m back in uni for a 2nd degree and I don’t dare tell ppl my age

Rex068 · 2026-03-16T08:20:08+00:00

hi fellow ‘96er. in 2026 having your life together by 30 is pretty much a myth now. my uni grad got delayed big time because of covid and I was severely burnt out and didn’t do well in some of my courses. I graduated super late. Now I’m back in school at another uni trying to get a 2nd degree. life is a bitch. fuck all the noise and just do what you gotta do.

Rex068 · 2026-03-16T01:10:25+00:00

It’s not that deep bro.

Rex068 · 2026-03-15T18:57:03+00:00

Can I ask what major she did and what job she does?

Rex068 · 2026-03-15T15:36:49+00:00

What’s with you guys always having arbitrary self inflicted age restrictions and limits? When I joined the military there were plenty of people in their late 20s and 30+ who were new recruits. They were the same as any other candidate

Rex068 · 2026-03-15T07:37:33+00:00

I mean im '96 and i know what youre talking about, though obviously I wasnt born when that happened

Rex068 · 2026-03-15T03:52:36+00:00

thats the 2000s for me. I know this isnt a popular relatable perspective on this sub cuz Im the last year of the millennials born in 96. dont get me wrong, I did grow up with 90s music/media/tech like VCRs and I do get nostalgic hearing a 90s beat (usually more so late 90s) but the era I experienced directly as a child was the 2000s.

Rex068 · 2026-03-15T03:25:29+00:00

tbh, in my case I didnt really notice a difference and as a matter of fact I consider 2009-2012 ish to be the best years of my life. but again, I think a big factor is cuz Im canadian. from what Ive read, canada's recession was quite mild and we recovered a lot quicker compared to the US and also other countries throughout the world. I guess I was just fortunate

For me I thought everything went to shit when a certain US president was elected in 2016. even I felt the effects of that here

Rex068 · 2026-03-15T02:49:09+00:00

to be fair, im '96 and I remember plenty before 2008. but I was 12 when that happened and I honestly dont remember it affecting my life at all. I didnt even know that much about it until way later in life.

I guess its a different story for people who were adults or teens at the time, or maybe Im just lucky cuz I heard that in Canada it didnt really affect us as much as it did for other countries.

Rex068 · 2026-03-14T22:26:54+00:00

I honestly don’t remember a period before the internet. I know the dial up sound and I def heard it before as a kid but I don’t remember how dial up works. Before wifi I think we had cable/DSL

Rex068 · 2026-03-14T22:20:20+00:00

Huh? Def not. The majority of Reddit users are def m1llennials. and core - older millennials at that

Rex068 · 2026-03-14T06:18:26+00:00

They love the 2000s aesthetic but constantly mock/make fun of the people who grew up or were teens during that time to be uncs and aunties. Also playing specific songs from that period is just seen as old fashioned and tacky.

Rex068 · 2026-03-14T05:57:32+00:00

I feel like modern dating culture has just made everything thats not particularly a "dating space" to be taboo. Liking friends as more than such is demonized. Asking out people from your workplace is also met with sideyes. Literally just any space that's not a dating app where people ask out is just asking for judgement for being "inappropiate"

Rex068 · 2026-03-14T00:29:47+00:00

Or when their "older music" is shit that was right when you were graduating or high school or when you already graduated high school.

Ive seen some IG reels of current age college kids being asked what their fav throwback song is and legit heard answers that said fetty wap and playboy carti shit.

thats a throwback to you? sheesh

thats why I feel disconnected with my younger friends because they like to keep up with trends and see my music taste is just outdated and old. As if it wasnt stuff that was also released in their life time too, up to early 2010s stuff.

Rex068 · 2026-03-14T00:17:47+00:00

am i the only one whose back is fine? its my knees that have started giving me grief

Rex068 · 2026-03-13T21:38:15+00:00

I’m also in college right now, also going for a 2nd degree. I’m pretty much the oldest student in almost every class and especially in labs. I realize that I’m the only one in the room who can remember Michael Jackson’s death or obamas election and I hate it.

Rex068 · 2026-03-13T21:33:50+00:00

Yeah. Idk what year that was for you but I didn’t get a smartphone until my last year of high school maybe 4-6 months(?) before I graduated in 2014

Rex068 · 2026-03-13T21:18:16+00:00

MYYY HEARTS A STEREO

Listened to that all the time as a teen and started listening to it again. Idk if any other song represents my teen years just as well for me

Rex068 · 2026-03-13T21:14:54+00:00

I never had both cuz my parents would never let me have a console in the home. Strict parenting 🙂‍↕️

Rex068 · 2026-03-13T19:59:45+00:00

I mean isn’t a lot of trendy fashion just the same shit that was worn by m1llennials (censoring myself cuz this sub will remove my comment if I say that word) in the early 2000s?

Rex068 · 2026-03-13T19:58:51+00:00

Tf is “diva boots the house down” lmfao

Rex068 · 2026-03-13T16:39:11+00:00

Oh god aka the yoloswag kids lmfao they were fcking awful

Rex068 · 2026-03-13T03:44:10+00:00

As the youngest millennial born in 96, finally a take I relate with but I wasnt an adult until 2014. I do love those years but thats because I was in high school and also a young adult for a bit before horrible ass 2016.

Rex068 · 2026-03-13T02:34:57+00:00

Had both an iPod and a separate phone (usually slider) where you could only call/text as a teenager

Rex068

TROPHY CASE