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In this article, Dani will examine the fascination with nostalgia and its impact.
The Obsession With Nostalgia
The Obsession With Nostalgia
By: Dani Porterfield
By: Dani Porterfield
Nostalgia is a feeling of longing for something of the past, usually associated with a positive period in that person's life. In the 21st century, it is becoming more and more common to be nostalgic for something that the individuals of a generation have never experienced and has become a larger cultural phenomenon. Nostalgia takes many forms and this is filled by the widespread availability of media and cultural artifacts from previous decades.
First described by Swiss Physician Johannes Hofer in the 1690s, he used the then medical term to describe the condition of homesickness among soldiers and, according to The British Psychology Society, “Hofer thought of nostalgia as 'a cerebral disease' and believed that it was caused by 'the quite continuous vibration of animal spirits through those fibers of the middle brain”. This early, strange interpretation framed nostalgia as a medical condition rather than the more generalized emotion we describe feeling today.
Photo by: Useless Etymology
Photo by: The Medium
In the modern day, this feeling has evolved with the unimaginably vastly large access to images, music, films, advertisements and cultural artifacts from past decades leading people in the newest generations to develop nostalgic feelings for eras they never really lived through. As they are immersing themselves in their aesthetic version of these eras, generations can gain new feelings, but there is a reason for this. As explained by Valentina Caballero, a student at the University Of Pittsburgh, “this ever-growing database of digital content and constant social media connectedness can also prove to be overwhelming and isolating.” Caballero goes on to say that nostalgia can be used to provide a form of emotional escapism and the feeling of authentic experiences to a generation overwhelmed and jaded by modern oversaturation.
As a society, we try to escape the pressures. Physically or mentally saturating ourselves with past feelings and fashions can do just that, and it is fueled by our ever-changing world. This yearning for the past is often fueled by the desire to reconnect with simpler times. This desire manifests in various forms, from the resurgence of vintage clothing style and retro music to the appreciation for classic films and literature, allowing us to momentarily step back from the present, and providing us with a sense of familiarity and peace in doing so. We find solace and inspiration in the simple, allowing the past to educate us and further deepen our understanding of the past, present and future.
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