What’s it called when you’re nostalgic for a time you didn’t live through, like teenagers feeling nostalgic and “looking back” on i.e. the 80s or 90s?

I was born in the 2000s, but somehow I feel a sort of longing to live during the 80s. I have watched a bunch of movies produced during that time, and I realise they may not be a totally realistic depiction of the time period, but for some reason I “miss” the 80s. I don’t mean the struggles of marginalised groups or the politics, but rather the feeling of “old school” and people socialising, the shows playing on TV during that time, the diners, the discotheques, the clubs, the music and fashion and hairstyles… there’s just something cozy about the 80s, how technology wasn’t super developed, how people were still discovering things. Don’t misunderstand me though, I’m glad about the technological advancements we have achieved today, and I realise my image of the 80s may be skewed since I literally didn’t exist during that time, lol.

What’s this feeling called? Has anybody else felt the same way about a time period that isn’t the 2020s?

  • @Zeth0s
    28•1 year ago

    I was there in the 80s and 90s. You young people are definitely luckier. You are by far more beautiful, more gentle, you are more welcoming, you don’t discriminate against gays and nerds. Socializing without mobiles was as boring as you can expect.

    Do not spend too much time regretting a period that was meh at most

    • @PlasticExistenceEnglish
      14•1 year ago

      You wrote out my thoughts almost entirely, save for one thing: the economy is garbage now compared to the 80s and 90s. Aside from that, I don’t look back at all that many things with nostalgia (classic video games aside).

    • @[email protected]
      6•1 year ago

      I was there in the 80s and 90s. You young people are definitely luckier. You are by far more beautiful, more gentle, you are more welcoming, you don’t discriminate against gays and nerds. Socializing without mobiles was as boring as you can expect.

      But you could afford a house on a single income :'(

    • @afraid_of_zombies
      1•1 year ago

      I was in the 90s. There were some nice stuff but on the whole, I agree with you, things are better at least for kids.

      Yeah we could go out and play more but it was also Lord of the Flies. Especially in places like trailer parks. Everyone I knew had been in multiple fights by the time they were ten, including girls.

      I see my kids and the kids they spend time with and it is like watching my childhood with the volume low and the wealth cranked up. Every kid in is in some structured activity, sometimes multiple ones. And the bigotry is super low.