The Y2K Wave of the 2020s

Candids on a 2003 Canon Powershot A410, Image by Kenji Ng

Nostalgia is a powerful emotion, it makes us long for a time when we were younger where we spent the best moments of our childhood. It is natural that we would wanna revisit or relive those moments which is why memorabilia and trends from decades past have made a comeback in recent years.

Browsing through social media one might notice that some pictures looked more vibrant or “fuzzier” than usual, some of them even have a date stamp on the bottom right; this is because people have started buying older 2000s era digicams which have a special film-like effect on pictures that give it that nostalgic vibe. Digicams are also a unique way of capturing photos because the experience of using one is more fun than your conventional smartphone camera. There's just something special about a picture captured on a digicam, the “rawness” of them makes you feel like these images are from a lost time period.

Members of NewJeans (Danielle, Hanni, Hyein, Minji, Haerin) Left to Right, Image by Allkpop

Olivia Rodrigo in 'Brutal' Music Video, Image by Womens Wear Daily (WWD)

Even fashion trends and music from yesteryear have also influenced their counterparts of today, one walk around campus you might even notice people have begun wearing baggy jeans and  hand warmers which were clothes that were fashionable back then. As for the music scene, artists like Olivia Rodrigo and NewJeans have a lot of fashion and melodic influences from the hit songs of the 2000s. Needless to say, Y2K nostalgia isn't gonna go away anytime soon as it is a timeless era that still appeals to generations to come.