Helen McPherson, known for posting millennial content to her 93,600 followers on Instagram, recently shared a reel about why she thinks the ‘2026 is the new 2016 trend is stupid
People have been loving the trend on Instagram and TikTok(Image: Getty Images)
There seems to be a new trend on social media, and at the moment, it’s all about ‘2026 being the new 2016’. The viral trend is a nostalgia movement, primarily on TikTok and Instagram, that celebrates the mid-2010s as a “golden age” of internet culture. The movement was launched at the beginning of 2026 to mark the 10-year anniversary of 2016, and involves users “living 2026 like it’s 2016” to reclaim a sense of carefree fun. However, not everyone seems to be a fan of it.
Helen McPherson, known for posting millennial content to her 100,000 followers on TikTok, recently shared a reel about why she thinks the trend is ‘stupid’.
Speaking into the camera, Helen said: “The 2026 is the new 2016 is a stupid trend invented by young people. This has not been created by millennials or elders.”
Helen said to her, 10 years ago feels like it was 1990. She added: “I’m not going to post a picture from 2016, it’s just literally like the other day. I won’t look any different in a picture from 2016.
“I’m wearing a bra that I purchased from Marks & Spencer’s in 2016. There are shirts at the bottom of the ironing basket that I haven’t touched since 2016. There’s not gonna be that much difference.”
The influencer also joked you ‘have to take five years off for Covid’.
She then added: “This is young people experiencing their first hit… their first wave of nostalgia. They’re like, ‘Oh it was 10 years ago, why was life so good in 2016?’
“Wait until the decades roll past. The year we need to be romanticising right now is 2006. That was the millennial peak. That personally was my peak and stuff was actually different back then. This just isn’t enough time.”
Helen quipped she has ‘millennial age dysmorphia’ and doesn’t ‘accept the age she is’. “I don’t identify with the age that’s on my paperwork,” she said. “Because once the decades start rolling by, that’s when I actually feel my nostalgia like a physical pain. It’s like a grief that I carry around everyday with me.”
She also questioned what would be next, for example nostalgia over Peppa Pig. “We can’t have nostalgia over stuff that isn’t old,” she said.
Fans were loving the viral post, which racked up more than 18,000 likes. One person agreed, saying: “Petition for you to start the 2006 throwback trend.”
While another added: “Team 2006!”
A third even added: “Let’s talk 1996! Now that was EPIC!”
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