Nostalgia is one of the internet’s favorite pastimes.
The New York Times recently reported on a new trend built around that feeling: social media accounts posting AI-generated scenes that look as though they were plucked straight from the ’80s, ’90s, and early aughts.
“POV: Its summer in 2000… and life felt different,” one such post is captioned. A young woman looks into the camera: “Long days at the water park, no phones, just fun that never seemed to end.” Next, a teenager holds a marshmallow over a campfire. “No group chats, no DMs, just stories around the fire until morning,” he says.
Idyllic. Of course, none of those people or scenes are real. But that hasn’t stopped viewers from aching for a past that feels simpler. “Someone please build a time machine so we can go back in time and enjoy our childhood again,” one commenter wrote. Another: “I miss this so bad.” And another: “Technology killed everything.”
The popularity of this nostalgia-bait reflects a wider mood. More than 60% of Americans report feeling nostalgic right now, per CivicScience data. And for many, nostalgia is actually a sort of coping mechanism: According to a May survey from Human Flourishing Lab, 63% of people reportedly turn to nostalgia when stressed or overwhelmed by modern life, and a similar share lean on it when feeling anxious about the future. In 2025, plenty of people are feeling both.
That helps explain why AI clips can be so persuasive. “You know the 80s miss you right?” one AI creation says. “Let me guess, no one even talks face to face anymore. Here, we’re out till the streetlights come on. You should stay. The world feels real here.”
A viral Instagram account, Purest Nostalgia, which has more than 794,000 followers, offers a “life before social media” through retro televisions, softly lit bowling alleys, and sun-soaked malls. The irony that these are social media posts, created with AI, is beside the point.
“What a beautiful life,” one commenter wrote.
