Nostalgia Gets A Bad Rap
Nostalgia is often portrayed as an enemy of progress. The assumption is that those who are drawn to the past are resistant to change, suspicious of new ideas, and pessimistic about the future. But people who think this appear not to be familiar with what over 25 years of research actually shows about nostalgia. And they may be confusing nostalgia with declinism.
Nostalgia is a warm sentimentality toward the past that draws on what we find meaningful, whether that is our own cherished memories or an appreciation for the ideas, traditions, and ways of life from earlier eras. Declinism is the belief that things are getting worse, that society is deteriorating, and that the best days are behind us. Both involve looking backward. But they have very different effects on how people think, feel, and behave.
Declinism makes people dissatisfied, socially disconnected, demotivated, and pessimistic about the future. A large body of research shows that nostalgia does the opposite. As I have written about in previous newsletters and in my book Past Forward, nostalgia increases psychological wellbeing, self-esteem, self-confidence, gratitude, inspiration, goal motivation, openness, and creativity. It makes people feel more connected to others and more optimistic about the future. It boosts empathy and prosocial behavior. Nostalgia also increases a sense of meaning in life, which I believe is a crucial component of a progress mindset because it drives people to want to have a positive impact on the world.
It is true that people who are dissatisfied with aspects of present-day life often become more nostalgic. But nostalgia is not the source of their dissatisfaction. It is a response to it. And rather than deepening their frustration, nostalgia helps resolve it by reconnecting people with the meaningful experiences that give them the confidence and motivation to move forward. Every era has its problems. Nostalgia is a psychological resource we use to solve them.
New research published in the European Journal of Personality provides more direct evidence of the distinction between nostalgia and declinism. Across several studies the researchers asked participants questions about nostalgia, such as how often they experience it and how valuable it is to them, and questions about declinism, such as whether they believe quality of life is declining and whether things used to be better in the good old days. They found that the two are largely unrelated. That is, nostalgia and declinism showed little to no correlation across their studies.
More importantly, nostalgia and declinism predicted opposite outcomes. Nostalgia predicted greater social connectedness and more favorable attitudes toward innovative technology. Declinism predicted less of both.
The researchers also tested this experimentally. Participants were asked to reflect on and write about either a nostalgic event from their lives, a time they felt things were in decline, or an ordinary event (the control condition). The researchers then assessed support for technological innovation, specifically attitudes toward the continued research and development of AI products. The nostalgic group showed increased support for technological innovation. The declinist group showed decreased support.
The researchers also found that social connectedness played a key role. Nostalgia made people feel more connected to others, and that greater sense of connection was associated with more support for technological innovation. Declinism made people feel less connected, and that weaker sense of connection was associated with less support for technological innovation. Put simply, nostalgia is a resource for progress. Declinism is a barrier to it.
This distinction between nostalgia and declinism can also be observed in historical nostalgia, the sentimentality people feel toward eras they never personally lived through. And Gen Z offers a good example of how this works in practice.
In a national survey conducted by our team at the Archbridge Institute’s Human Flourishing Lab, we found that 68% of Gen Z report nostalgic feelings for eras before their lifetime. Seventy-three percent say they are drawn to media, styles, hobbies, or traditions from earlier eras, and 78% believe new technologies and products should incorporate ideas and design elements from past periods. Roughly two-thirds say that exploring eras that predate their lives helps them when they are stressed about modern life or anxious about the future.
Gen Z consumer trends further reflect this pattern. Young people are driving the resurgence of vinyl records, film photography, board games, physical books, and traditional crafts like knitting, pottery, and woodworking. They are gravitating toward in-person experiences and tangible products that offer something different from their digital-saturated lives.
A critic looking at all this might see declinism. They might conclude that young people have given up on progress and are romanticizing a past they never knew. But that conclusion does not hold up. In our research, 86% of Gen Z say they are interested in learning about new technologies, 88% are motivated to use them, and 84% find it important to keep an open mind about technological advances. These are not the attitudes of people who believe the best days are behind us.
However, Gen Z has real concerns about the negative effects of modern digital technology, from its potential impact on mental health to its role in driving people apart and fueling political polarization. And rather than retreating into pessimism, they are nostalgically looking to the past for inspiration and guidance. As I wrote in an essay for the New York Times, young adults often turn to pre-digital cultural artifacts and traditions as a way to develop more intentional relationships with contemporary technology and cultivate more in-person experiences and connections that support their wellbeing and counter the division that digital life can fuel. They are not rejecting innovation. They are selectively and creatively borrowing from earlier eras to build a more balanced life.
When we misunderstand nostalgia and mistake it for declinism, we misdiagnose a healthy and productive impulse as a sign of cultural retreat. We miss the fact that people are actively using the past to move forward. Nostalgia is not a barrier to progress. It is one of the most underappreciated drivers of it.
Have a great weekend!
Clay