The New Nostalgia

Corona The Catalyst For "Old Is New Again" Trends?

Time To Phase Out “The New Normal” Phrase

Might I suggest a more fitting phrase for the growing pop-culture “Corona Started It” inspired 2020 trends? 

“The New Nostalgia”

Have you noticed since the Pandemic began a growing trend for going back in time? I’m not just talking about the 70’s Tye Dye and 80’s distressed jeans or even the sparkle blue eyeshadow. I’ve noticed Nostalgia everywhere, in fact “Back To The Future” zoom watch parties were the first zoomed of many retro parties! Nostalgia is not uncommon post times of trials and tribulations.Just look at our history of post wars and other major downer events to see that going back and reviving nostalgia is comfort food for the stressed and scared soul. I’m not talking about a few months before we were zooming and physically distancing ourselves. I mean a growing trend of things our grandparents, parents and my generation did to keep ourselves entertained, informed and connected, sought out by teens and Gen-z’s (The under 25 crowd). Boomers, GenX-ers & GenY-ers (yes I count them!) to Millennials playing out their youth with their kiddos. Sure, it may have been forced upon us by being in lockdown,but could it actually have been a bright side of the pandemic? What’s old is new again.Once again?

“Hopscotch, Picnics & Drinking from the Hose”

When I was a kid, we couldn’t wait for summer and our slip n’ slide, sip from the hose backyard playtime.We didn’t have public pools or the summer camps list to choose from. Sure, we had the Y and Girl or Boy Scouts camps. But for the most part our summers were not scheduled like kids today. With Covid-19 and social distancing came cancellations of just about every summer camps,sports,movie theatres,county fairs,concerts, just about anything with crowds of more than 10. What is taking the place of these activities? Let’s look at some of the trends you may have noticed in your own neighborhood.

psychedelic

“Drive-In Theatres & Family Picnics Return”

Take a walk around your block and you may notice a lot of chalk art on the sidewalk. On a recent walk of my own, I was tickled to see an older relative, perhaps a grandfather, drawing out and playing hopscotch with a boy (grandson I think) of about 7. When was the last time you saw that? I also noticed families picnicking together. It brought me back to being a kid and my mom packing the sandwiches, while my dad packed up the station wagon and we’d head to the beach for a mid-summer evening dinner. Ah yes, those WERE the days and I love to see this resurgence of family connecting through activities outside.The Drive-In Movies theatres in towns across America are re-opening to social distanced car enclosed crowds! How cool is THAT?!

Quarantined saw upward trends of watch parties pairing old classics with wines and cocktails. Even with cities across the nation cautiously open up, many of these groups (of all ages) continue to meet to keep it going as a fun and social event. I’ve also noticed rising trends in things my grandmother did like knitting, or my mom did like crocheting among the twenty-somethings. Online shopping is one thing that’s spiked due to the need. I have hope, however, that if local businesses can survive this harsh time, we consumers will go running back to those places. Seeking face to face shopping experiences at local restaurants and mom and pop stores. Personally, I love to see and touch merchandise at stores. I enjoy seeing the pride on a local chef's face when complimented on his cuisine. You can’t get that online. Certainly you can’t get those unique one-of-a kind stores that give flavor and texture to neighborhoods both big and small all over the Country. The businesses that tell the stories of the local landscapes.  

Books (The Real Ones) and Book Clubs See Virtual Jump In Members

People are reading again. Books. Real you can “smell the paper and glue” books! Remember when printed books would be a thing of the past? I think this resurgence giving the physical book life again is pretty darn cool. Writing letters instead of emails and finding old school pen pals is also trending. Playing board games like Monopoly and Clue are a recent trend with a modern twist being played out on Zoom. Parents becoming “teachers” assisting their kids own virtual teachers in lessons. Old-time cocktails like the Manhattan, the original Martini and the Rob Roy are popular insta-worthy drinks making a come-back. I’ve seen posts of parents playing jacks, pick-up stix and marbles with their kids. Putting puzzles together. Cooking and dancing together creating sometimes cringe-worthy Tik Tok videos.What’s old is new but with a social media twist. 

What’s next and will it stick?

I believe this need for connecting to past nostalgia will be around for a while. It is quite comforting to recreate a time when other generations, even ones that had gone through its own hard times, seemed light-hearted and fun. My "Trekker" dad loves sharing old “Get Smart” episodes and the original Captain Kirk “Star Trek” shows with my son, Leo. Leo, btw, is studying music and composition and his favorites: Miles Davis, Coltrane and Beethoven (just to name a few). He is sharing with me amazing music my own parents and grandparents loved that I always scoffed at!

Will we go back to paper and pencil? That I doubt. I am now trying to remember to use the new recent “one versus two spaces between sentences” rule. I am sure you'll see it if you look closely you'll spot the mixing of spaces throughout these sentences.

But I digress. Going on (uh oh, that was two spaces). 

To finish up I just want to say can we go back to a time when people truly cared about each other and were KIND to one another? Is there even such an era in humanity? Maybe in the future kindness will be the best “never before” trend ever followed. We'll call it “The Kindness Trend". Is it too nostalgic to hope?