“Things were just better back then.”
“Take me back!”
“I miss the good ol’ days…”
With regards to how one understands the world around them, nostalgia embodies a time, place and feeling that one presently has for a moment that existed previously. It can be attributed to various factors, including but not limited to:
-Specific timeframes, such as high school years or university
-Historical eras and locations, such as the late 1960’s in the United States
-Objects, such as toys, technology or clothing
-Media, such as books, music, movies, TV shows and video games
-Core one-time or routine memories, such as eating a specific meal on vacation or going to church on Sundays
The factors “trigger” a variety of emotions, but with regards to nostalgia specifically, the emotions and memories are viewed in a positive lens, despite otherwise personal struggles and world events.
Culturally speaking, nostalgia frames lived experiences, and therefore, meanings or “things” one knows to be true. However, as mentioned previously, it’s a present feeling for the past. It’s how one understands these past moments, and the longer time passes, the further one gets away from that “present” nostalgic time.
Since nostalgia tends to focus on the positive, rather than the negative, there are instances of memory bias, restorative nostalgia and other targeted consumerism. As such, it’s used in multiple applications, from politics, clubs, advertising, media, products and services. Memory bias and restorative nostalgia, for example, are often utilized by politicians whose platforms promise restoring “simpler times” when “things were just better.” They illustrate the nostalgia with aged media, symbolism and collective memories that are cozy and familiar rather than unknown and progressive.
While there are comforting things we individually or collectively know to be real, it’s important to put nostalgia into perspective. Time and culture are continuously changing and moving forward, and while reflecting on the past is completely normal, and using it to improve upon the present and future is the best way to approach it.
This present could use a lot of improvement, for sure. It would be wise to look back and glean the life lessons lived in times past…the things that linked family and friends together and that helped build character.