How to make nostalgia your psychological superpower
4/18/202628 min
From Apple News In Conversation: The 1990s are back — especially for Gen Z. CDs, flip phones, and ’90s beauty trends are all having a moment among people in their teens and 20s. To understand why this generation is nostalgic for a past they didn’t experience, Apple News In Conversation guest host Sam Sanders talks with psychologist Clay Routledge. Routledge is the author of Past Forward: How Nostalgia Can Help You Live a More Meaningful Life and executive vice president and COO at the Archbridge Institute. He explains what’s fueling Gen Z’s fascination with the ’90s, when romanticizing the past can be harmful, and how looking back can make your future brighter.
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First 90 secondsSam Sanders· Host0:00
[upbeat music] This is In Conversation from Apple News. I'm Sam Sanders in for Shamita Basu. Today, nostalgia and why we long for decades we didn't live through. [upbeat music] You may have noticed a trend recently. Gen Z is feeling super nostalgic for the 1990s. So many people in their teens and twenties seem to have an affinity for CDs and flip phones, point and shoot cameras, nineties clothing like boot cut jeans and slip dresses. I'm personally obsessed with their reclaiming of nineties sunglasses trends. To see any and all of this, just go on any social media platform.
Clay Routledge· Guest0:50
The nineties aesthetic. When I think of nineties makeup, I either think of supermodel glam or grunge. Start with a T-shirt, jeans, and an oversized top.
Speaker 20:59
The shoes, I gotta go with the Chucks, man. Everybody was wearing these back then.
Clay Routledge· Guest1:02
Listen to the music you love on physical media. This is so cool because it's actual physical music. CD, vinyl records, and even cassette tapes. I just made a very impulsive decision. I bought a flip phone. A phone without smartphone functionality. Our inspo is Drew Barrymore, Winona Ryder, and my mom.
Sam Sanders· Host1:17
Thing is, most of these people didn't actually live through the nineties. They have no individual personal memory of that era. So where is all the nostalgia coming from? What is causing it?