Is 2026 the New 2016?

Perhaps we have all seen on social media the trend of bringing back the culture of 2016. On Chinese social media, 2016, along with other years of the 2010s, are seen as the years of “经济上行期”, which essentially means “the era of economic growth”. Think about it—before the pandemic (aka 2019), economies around the world have been booming. As a girl living in China, that rise and people’s attitude towards the future of the nation and the world was extremely optimistic. Not to say that it is not optimistic now, but sometimes, when people think about the post-pandemic economy and the world, they think that it brings a lack of hope because of the high unemployment rates that increased throughout 2020 and 2021 and that so many industries have lost their hope of developing. Of course, people miss it when everyone around them is hopeful and confident about the future and the society, which is, in my opinion, one of the reasons why the 2000s and 2010s are so popular nowadays. 

If I were to be a teenager in the years of the 2000s and 2010s, I would be in my twenties and I would surely be cherishing my teenage years. I would feel so proud to be part of a generation that could witness the world develop from an era when technology was a luxury, to now an accessible and necessary tool for all. Sometimes, I wonder, if my generation will ever be able to witness the world evolve from having technology accessible to being integrated into aspects of one’s job positively, without interfering with humans’ employment. I always question the idea of work though—it always seems to me that the world could operate in another way that does not require humans to work or do schooling 8 hours a day, but I have yet to figure out what that alternative system would be like. However, just like the Industrial Revolutions that got everyone thinking if it would take over all the jobs there are and how everyone would be unemployed, I hope the future would offer a similar ending—society shifts, not exacerbates. 

Photo Credit: The Zoe Report