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The Virtues of Millennial Nostalgia - Grattan Street Press

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Nostalgia is ingrained in the millennial identity. But while this has become an object of mockery, it can actually be a useful coping mechanism in these troubled times. One day, when doom-scrolling through Twitter, I happened across the most unexpected inter-generational debate I’ve ever read. A spa…

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Why nostalgia marketing is everywhere now

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Why nostalgia marketing is everywhere now

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Marketing Briefing: ‘In times of uncertainty, we crave familiarity’: Why nostalgia marketing is everywhere right now

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With the continued pandemic due to the variants, marketers and agency execs expect nostalgia marketing to continue.

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Erin Miller has mastered the art of unlocking millennials' core memories.

Miller, 33, has grown a following of more than 1.7 million people on TikTok by posting videos re-creating relatable - sometimes cringeworthy - moments they may have also experienced in the late '90s and the early 2000s.

Like frying her bangs with a flatiron ahead of a garage party - because that was the cool hairstyle at the time (and no one knew any better). Or asking classmates to sign her plain white T-shirts with a sharpie on the last day of middle school (Miller's caption on the video reads, "Who else remembers this?").

Tapping into that millennial nostalgia has become the way Miller and many other creators with similar throwback content pay their bills.

Nostalgia sells, according to some marketing experts. And brands know that partnering with such creators, who have specifically built their followings around nostalgia content, can help them get more exposure from a desired demographic.

"It's a psychological thing. You feel comfort when you go back in time," Lisa Sciulli, a marketing professor and the department chair at the Eberly School of Business at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, said of nostalgia-related marketing. "You reminisce about when times were simpler."

Miller shared a similar perspective, saying she and her audience know there is "something so comforting about nostalgia."

"There are so many universal experiences that we didn't realize we were all experiencing," she said.

For example, Miller said, "everyone has a horror story of their first period." That's why it was easy for her to create content for Tampax, whose products Miller grew up using.

In the video Miller posted as part of her brand deal with Tampax, Miller portrays her mom teaching her how to use a tampon for the first time. "Mom, I think I'm dying! There's blood down there!" she exclaims as her 2002 self. "Honey, you've started your period," the bespectacled version of her mother calmly explains.

It's no surprise that nostalgia content has become so popular - as the age-old saying goes, everything old becomes new again. Y2K fashion, which once made millennials cringe, is now a major influence on Gen Z's style and broader culture at large. Items like bucket hats, babydoll T-shirts and the controversial low-rise jeans have all had resurgences among younger consumers in recent years. That has led to a boom in thrifting among younger generations.

Some brands are even bringing back discontinued items and teaming up with nostalgia creators to do so.

Pop-Tarts, a Kellogg's brand, teamed up with nostalgia creator Jenna Barclay this year to promote the re-release of the Frosted Grape Pop-Tart flavor, which had been discontinued.

By reinventing your product again, in a nostalgic way, it shifts your product life cycle and extends your brand.
-Lisa Sciulli, Eberly School of Business at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
"By reinventing your product again, in a nostalgic way, it shifts your product life cycle and extends your brand," said Sciulli of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Other brands try to jump on the nostalgia trend, even if they didn't exist during the period many people are nostalgic about.

For example, Nancy Putignano, a nostalgia creator with more than 232,000 followers on TikTok, recently partnered with Poshmark, an e-commerce platform founded in 2011.

Putignano, 35, said being able to make money while connecting with other millennials has been mind-blowing.

"When I started, I didn't think I would ever have such a big following," she said. Now, "people reach out to work with me, and it's really nice."

It's a win for brands, as well, especially because millennials are a highly engaged audience, said Mae Karwowski, the founder and CEO of the influencer marketing agency Obvious.ly.

Nostalgia content feels authentic and plays to shared experiences, which helps it perform well with Gen Z and millennials alike, Karwowski said.

"It's a safe way [of marketing] while also creating really fun content that makes your brand relevant again," Karwowski said.

Sometimes, the millennial nostalgia leads to partnerships with celebrities, too.

In one video, Miller collaborated with the singer and 2000s heartthrob Jesse McCartney to promote his U.S. tour.

In another, she danced with the 1990s icon and former N'SYNC member Lance Bass. The video, however, they made just for fun.

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Millennial nostalgia sells. Just ask these influencers making their livings off it.

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Erin Miller has mastered the art of unlocking millennials' core memories. Miller, 33, has grown a following of more than 1.7 million people on TikTok by posting videos re-creating relatable - sometimes cringeworthy - moments they may have also experienced in the late '90s and the early 2000s.

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"Asjemenou" | Het Noordbrabants Museum

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Return of instant photography, Polaroid Corporation's resurrection, flood of photographic applications imitating analogue cameras. Collections on the Parisian catwalks inspired by the fashion of post-Soviet neighbourhoods, fitness culture of Jane Fonda's time or pastiche trends of the 2000s. Branding returns of old packaging or logos of brands such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, Apple or Instagram. Pop culture nostalgia has mastered today's generation, re-formulating consumer trends and strategies of global companies. Is it just fashion or a cyclical phenomenon reaching to the basics of psychology and behavioral economics? *The article written in Feb. 2018*
The trend of nostalgia has been one of the most popular weapons of the advertising industry for several years. The concept of nostalgia marketing refers to the use of popular culture motifs used in the mass-media world of the past years in promotional activities. Based on images associated with the idyllic past, brands use the power of emotional marketing to create a stronger customer-brand relationship. When the consumer sees an advertisement that contains an element taken from the space of his or her memories related to a given epoch, he or she feels a greater authenticity of the brand, even though he or she probably barely remembers the time. It is a psychological mechanism that is responsible for associating a given product or motif not with personal evaluation, but with the spirit of the epoch. What are the roots of this phenomenon?

It turns out that societies have long had a recurring tendency to nostalgia.

Alison Landberg, prof. and author of the book Engaging the Past: Mass Culture and the Production of Historical Knowledge claims that the return cycle to past trends is estimated at about 15-20 years after the end of a given era.

Based on an analysis of cultural remakes (books, films, theatre etc.) Patrick Metzger from The Patterning states that "pop culture is forever obsessed with a nostalgia pendulum that regularly resurfaces things from 30 years ago".

Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker contributor announced "The Forty-Year Golden Rule" of American popular culture cyclism.

As it can be seen the cultural cycle is defined by many different variables, and can be interpreted in many different ways. The theories mentioned above refer mainly to American culture, what is more, they are based on analyses of the film industry. This may lead to the conclusion that circular cultural cycles are subjective for different cultural circles, taking into account national differences. No matter if it is 20, 30 or 40 years, nostalgia effect digs deeper into psychology of social behaviour.

The returning cycle phenomena is the result of the unrest and worries of the masses, which may be caused by global issues: unstable situation on the labor market, a drop in confidence in political power or the very present global health crisis.

In the times of uncertainty we are looking for a safe anchor from the past - from the times we remember as happy. In today's reality shaped by the waves of the lockdown, the climate crisis and the deepening polarization of societies this takes on an even stronger form.

The millenials and the entering adulthood Gen Z's are much more than previous generations, vulnerable to mental disorders - depression, loneliness or panic attacks - currently taking the form of global diseases. It is not surprising, therefore, that Generation Y, described as the one that shape the current reality, is looking for ways to prevent these threats. Returning to stylised positive memories creating a picture of a carefree past is one of these tools.

In scientific terms, nostalgia is a psychological mechanism for dealing with negative emotional states - stress, loneliness, anxiety. Positive effects of sentimentalism and nostalgia include an increase in widespread optimism and a more enthusiastic desire to plan and take action. A study published in The American Journal of Psychology showed that nostalgia strengthens social bonds and increases our sense of empathy.

What is her dark side? It also has an illusory side. Coming back to the memories we carelessly use the idealization of the past. The Polish example is, among others, mythization and "coloring" of the real picture of PRL - the era of Eastern Bloc. The result of this is a rash of nostalgic products, that is, the appearance of which refers to the originals associated with the period of Polish socialism. Such coloring occurs when "popular culture begins to produce the image of the past for its own use, and because of the power of its influence, its images [...] become the most important medium of reception of a given era".

The image has become the strongest stimulus in the modern advertising industry. Marshall McLuhan was not mistaken in saying that the future civilization will be a civilization of visual culture and the future of communication processes will be shaped around the image, not the word.

Our digital culture is oriented towards a visual message that circulates smoothly in the bloodstream of the Internet. Old photos, fashion or products of previous years have such an emotional impact on us that they create a sentimental vision of the past, which in the image processed in our memory is more attractive than the current "grey" reality. And it is the emotional layer that plays a key role in the decision-making process.

Antonio Damasio, a behavioral neurobiologist, in his hypothesis of somatic markers claims that "the action of biological drives, body states and emotions is probably the necessary basis for rationality". Iterative emotional experiences are an integral part of rational choices in our daily behavior, and negative or positive associations affect our psychosomatic state.

Damasio's theory has found wide application in psychology that studies consumer behavior, explaining the desicion-making mechanism of purchasing. This complex, psychological process reveals the basis of nostalgia in consumer behavior. It can be an ineffemeric social mechanism that has been present for many generations, in different socio-economic systems and in many economic models. Indirectly, this is true.

The writer, Douglas Coupland in Generation X defines two different cultural variations of the nostalgia of the 1970s generation. The first is the imposed nostalgia, that is to say, creating an artificial memory of years that one does not even remember. The next is the rejection of the present based on a cynical approach "once was better and only in the future can it be just as good. As in the full title of Coupland's book ' Tales for an Accelerated Culture', we can see that this macro form of pop-cultural longing is the fruit of the third industrial revolution, the unstoppable flourishing of globalization, or the rapid development of the information society and digital culture.

In the context of contemporary nomadism of generations, Svetlana Boym claims that we are dealing with a "global epidemic of nostalgia". Zbigniew Bauman also refers to it in Retrotopia. He describes the phenomenon of social loss of faith in a bright future, rewarded by a return to the retrotopian past. In the postmodern age of the Internet, where the term 'global village' has exceeded McLuhan's wildest expectations and society suffers from chronic saturation with information and communication stimuli, it is nostalgia for idyllic times of youth that seems the only cure.

For young consumers brought up in the era of Internet bloom, threads related to old technologies play an important role. The cultural and artistic reflection of this phenomenon is the vaporwave aesthetics, which is already a few good years old, using visual motifs used in the first versions of Windows 95, early-web advertisements, graphic design of websites from the end of the decade or cyberpunk genre.

Why do I bring up this artistic trend? Because it explains well how young cultural creators express their nostalgia. Vaporwave is a caricature of a bygone era. Vaporwave is a kind of ironic form of criticism of capitalism and pop culture of that time - filled with cheap and accessible advertising messages, associated today with kitsch and little consumer awareness.

Simplified anthropological characteristics of the phenomenon of nostalgia are worth supporting with examples from the real world. Some industries, due to their young target group, are much more likely to take advantage of its vulnerability to past trends, so below you will find a short analysis of nostalgia marketing cases among these major players.

1. Gaming. Nintendo's back.

In 2017 Nintendo recorded record sales of its new product - Switch console. Within nine months of its launch, more than 10 million copies were sold, resulting in a sharp increase in the value of the company's shares, and the world began to talk about the rebirth of Nintendo. One of the main reasons is the popularity of the reissue of classic titles associated mainly with the 90s - Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, or Donkey Kong.

2. Photography. Resurrection of Polaroid.

Young people went crazy about analogue photography again. Polaroid Corporation, the great loser of the technological revolution in the photographic market, resumed production of its classic instant camera models in 2017. The company, which has declared bankruptcy three times in 15 years, is reborn and is taking advantage of the resurrection of the global instant photography market.

Cause? A paradigm shift in photography, caused by widespread technology fatigue. In the era of smartphones and keeping memories in virtual form, today's generation needs a physical souvenir, which will not only be a fleeting "cloud" of memories, but an object generating a certain sentimental value.

3. Fashion. Stay retro.

The clothing industry is the biggest catalyst of socio-cultural trends. According to Gilles Lipovetsky, fashion, referring not only to elements of closet and clothing, is "one of the most basic and condensed forms of social relationship based on imitation". This mimicry, not only in the context of the society of the time, makes the fashion even more prone to draw inspiration from the past. Most global brands have followed the trend and are expanding their product portfolios with reeditions of their cult nineties models.

The sportswear segment is the best example of this. Adidas with its symbol of three stripes and the use of the logotype from 20 years ago, Puma, Nike, Levi's, Wrangler or even Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. These are brands that perfectly use past trends in their advertising messages and product designs. We are also dealing with a phenomenon analogous to that of Polaroid Corporation - after years of absence on the market, FILA, Kappa or Umbro, fashionable a few dozen years ago, are returning to favor, landing on the catwalks of world fashion capitals.

The trend of nostalgia in today's world can only be one of the repetitive phases of the generational cycle in the pseudo-scientific Strauss-Howe generational theory. However, observing the history of this phenomenon over the past years, the image of current nostalgia is drawn to us as a stronger phenomenon than ever before, which has an evolutionary impact on the entire cross-section of society and consumer behaviour that shapes corporate strategies and creates tendencies in both local and global economies.

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Retro revolution. How nostalgia affects consumer behavior.

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Return of instant photography, Polaroid Corporation's resurrection, flood of photographic applications imitating analogue cameras. Collections on the Parisian catwalks inspired by the fashion of post-Soviet neighbourhoods, fitness culture of Jane Fonda's time or pastiche trends of the 2000s. Branding returns of old packaging or logos of brands such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, Apple or Instagram.

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Is nostalgic escapism driving consumer trends?

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Is nostalgic escapism driving consumer trends?

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19th May 2022

Consumer trends are constantly evolving, and popular products or services can change in the blink of an eye. Nostalgic escapism, for example, has surged in popularity in recent years, dominating all corners of business and culture.To understand why nostalgic escapism is trending, business owners can lend knowledge from recent scientific studies. In Psychology of Popular Media, experts explored the relationship between nostalgia and well-being during the pandemic. It concludes that people consume nostalgic media (including music, movies, television, books, and video games) to escape the turbulence of COVID-19.Nostalgia allows customers to take a break from the present. Here, we will explore how this is influencing consumer behaviours, and how your business can utilise this trend. Nostalgic fashionNostalgic escapism is centre stage in fashion. The nostalgia pendulum, a theory explored by Patrick Metzger, argues that cultural trends operate on a 30-year cycle as the consumers of yesterday have become the creators of today. This explains why current style trends are reminiscent of pre-millenium fashion.Characteristically '90s trends are dominating popular fashion. Everything from corsets to slip dresses are making a comeback, and the slouched suit is taking the fashion industry by storm once more. So much so, there has been a 55% surge in searches for 'wide-leg suiting trousers' on Lyst, and tailored two-pieces featured in the Stella McCartney spring/summer 2022 collection.Nostalgic fashion has also influenced television shows, such as Euphoria (2019-Present). The series has seen widespread popularity, and one episode alone attracted 13.1 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max. The nostalgic aesthetics of this show has sparked a number of trends, including a revival of soft punk and denim two pieces. Retro retailIn addition to fashion favourites, nostalgic escapism is influencing the popularity of retro retailers. In recent weeks, searches for vintage store displays have risen from 32 per week on December 26th to 72 per week on April 17th. This retro revival can include something as whimsical as neon signs. In fact, searches for this décor staple have increased from 53 per week on December 26th to 65 per week on April 17th.These vintage trends are a great way for business owners to think creatively about their stores. If you're eager to experiment with decorations, consider taking inspiration from as far back as the mid-20th century. The '50s aesthetic can successfully attract customers to your business, whether you own a corner shop or an ice cream store.This retro revival can go beyond the rules of the nostalgic pendulum. Consumers may be influenced by the unfamiliar, otherwise thought of as anemoia, reminiscent of a period before their lifetime. This type of nostalgia can be just as influential as a yearning for a personal past. Classic food and drinkNostalgic escapism goes beyond fashion and retail. In recent years, a number of classic food and drink staples have made a comeback. Sweet treats from childhood are fun to say the least, whether it's vending machines that give you a selection of gumballs for 20p a pop or commercial slush machines that mixed nostalgic flavours of blue raspberry and strawberry together.The global commercial slush market, for example, is forecast to be worth $391.3 million by 2026. These drinks are a timeless staple that fit into the nostalgic escapism trend perfectly. Retro confectionery is also rising in popularity. During the pandemic, online sweets sales surged by 64 per cent. This included classic treats - from Haribo to BonBonVille and even penny sweets - and was a great way to escape the turmoil and uncertainty of lockdown. Indeed, nostalgic escapism is driving consumer trends. To capitalise on this, ensure your business is able to provide customers with the products they desire. A corner shop owner, for example, can produce an impressive ROI on a commercial slush machine. On the other hand, an entrepreneur in the fashion industry may utilise nostalgia to deliver trending garments. Do you think this trend is worth its salt?

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Is Nostalgic Escapism Driving Consumer Trends?

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Is Nostalgic Escapism Driving Consumer Trends? - EU Business News

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19th May 2022 Consumer trends are constantly evolving, and popular products or services can change in the blink of an eye. Nostalgic escapism, for example, has surged in popularity in recent years, dominating all corners of business and culture.To understand why nostalgic escapism is trending, business owners can lend knowledge from recent scientific studies.

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How young consumers use retro brands and retro products to mediate and express discontent towards the present

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How young consumers use retro brands and retro products to mediate and express discontent towards the present

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Why Gen Z loves TikTok, being "real", and nostalgia

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Why Gen Z loves TikTok, being "real", and nostalgia

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Gen Z is already affecting the economy, representing a fast-growing market of consumers. They are the first generation to have grown up with widespread access to technology and have a unique set of values that differ from older generations.

In order to connect with Gen Z, you need to understand their behaviours, values, and preferences. Below we'll break each of these categories down to show what Gen Zers care about and how you can better engage with them.

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Why Gen Z loves TikTok, being "real," and nostalgia - DEPT®

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In order to connect with Gen Z, you need to understand their behaviours, values, and preferences. We break these categories down for you.

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The haunting specter of retro consumption

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The haunting specter of retro consumption

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How Gen Z Is Changing Nostalgia | LBBOnline

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Julia Cuddy, a strategy intern at Camp + King is a Boston native, a University of Texas at Austin senior, and a lover of good breakfast tacos. Speaking to LBB, she explores how gen z resonates with brands that use designs and aesthetics from a 'simpler time', throwing it back to the 90s - or even just a few years ago...

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Many Millennials have been accused of being overly sentimental. They are said to live in the past, holding onto childhood memories instead of allowing themselves to adapt and evolve. But what if this is a good thing?

Nostalgia is a bittersweet longing for the past. It can be described as sadness and wistfulness that often accompany childhood, home, and family memories. Nostalgia refers to a yearning for simpler times or the good old days.

We can feel nostalgia for a place, period in time, objects, or experiences. Usually, people get nostalgic at least once every week.

Retailers can use nostalgia as an opportunity for growth. Nostalgia creates joy and comfort, encouraging people to spend more money. Retailers should consider creating nostalgic experiences to boost sales among their Millennial customers.

According to Brandtellers Studio, "Nostalgia marketing consists of using products from the past for the current strategy, awakening the feeling of homesickness in consumers, through the creation of an emotional connection." These sentiments are crucial to create an emotional bond between the brand and its consumer.

Whatever it is that makes Millennials feel nostalgic, there's no doubt that this generation has a strong affinity for things from days gone by. This can be seen not only in their spending habits but also in their style preferences.
What's the deal with Millennials and nostalgia?
Nostalgia is a powerful force, and Millennials have it in spades. Studies have found that Millennials are "the most nostalgic generation" as they grew up in the internet age. Exposure to so much information on social media and online certainly has its benefits. Still, it can also lead to anxiety over missing out, which leads some people to seek comfort in their pasts.

Millennials are spending more than ever on retro products like vinyl records and typewriters because of this desire for nostalgia, according to this research from Nielsen.
Does nostalgia have a positive impact on brands?
Nostalgia is a persuasive marketing tool. It's a way of connecting with people and making people feel good about themselves. Marketers can use nostalgia to sell products and services.

This is why brands that have been around for decades are still popular today. They tap into our nostalgia for simpler times and remind us what life was like.

When brands remind people of a past pleasant experience, there is a higher chance of making them feel comfortable and connected. A recent article by Spiralytics mentioned, "People buy certain products that connect them to their childhood because they can keep these items to help the memories stay alive."
Ways in which your brand can incorporate nostalgia
In a Forbes article, it was stated that nostalgia marketing reaches millennials better than other strategies. "The best campaigns are timely and relevant but must also be authentic with a strong emotional hook to capture the heart."

Perhaps you are currently considering how to include nostalgia in your brand's marketing strategy. There are a few ways you can do that; below, I will list three ways.

The first thing to consider is your audience and relevance. You need to understand what customers are looking for in your brand. Millennials are looking to connect with brands like they used to. Being authentic will help your brand stand out as relatable.

To boost sales, you must consider how your products can be sold as nostalgic experiences. By creating an immersive experience that gives customers a sense of belonging and creating a sense of nostalgia, you can increase customer loyalty and make them feel like they're experiencing something special.

Bring back products or services but with a twist. Create urgency for consumers by reminding them why the product is unique. This goes hand in hand with learning from your audience. Listen to what they miss from your brand, and bring it back.

In conclusion, nostalgia is a powerful force in the lives of Millennials. Brands can take advantage of this by creating nostalgic experiences that appeal to this generation's love of memories. Emotional strategies like this one have proven to be successful time and time again. Nostalgia is stronger than ever, and your brand will be too.

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Millennials Splurge for Nostalgia - The NOW Gen

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Many Millennials have been accused of being overly sentimental. They are said to live in the past, holding onto childhood memories instead of allowing themselves to adapt and evolve. But what if this is a good thing? Nostalgia is a bittersweet longing for the past.

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Nostalgie | Deze series keek jij sowieso als kind in de jaren 90

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Nostalgie | Deze series keek jij sowieso als kind in de jaren 90

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Soms is er niks zo fijn als een trip down memory lane. Deze 9 series zullen geheid goede herinneringen oproepen aan je kindertijd. Misschien kun jij alle liedjes nog meezingen of was jij, tot nu dan, helemaal vergeten dat je vroeger uren naar deze shows keek? Welke van deze series was in de jaren 90 jouw favoriet?

De Fabeltjeskrant

De eerste aflevering van De Fabeltjeskrant werd uitgezonden in 1968 en de laatste aflevering in 1973. Van 1985 tot 1989 werd er een tweede serie gemaakt van de het populaire kinderprogramma en daarna werd een derde serie uitgezonden tot 1992. Daarna werden herhalingen van de serie echter nog heel vaak uitgezonden en in 2005 werd De Fabeltjeskrant zelfs verkozen tot Beste Kinderprogramma Aller Tijden. Vorig jaar werd bekend gemaakt dat er gewerkt wordt aan een 3D versie van De Fabeltjeskrant, wij zijn benieuwd!

Maple Town

Maple Town was een Japanse serie over de avonturen van het konijn Patty, de beer Bobby en hun families in het dorpje Maple Town. De serie liep in Japan van 1986 tot 1987 en werd in Nederland in de eind jaren 80 en begin jaren 90 uitgezonden.

David de Kabouter

De tekenfilmserie David de Kabouter werd gebaseerd op de kinderboeken van Rien Poortvliet en Wil Huygen. Oorspronkelijk is het een Spaanse tekenfilm uit 1985 waarvan in 1988 de Nederlandse versie werd uitgezonden. De tekenfilm werd geproduceerd in samenwerking met het Wereld Natuurfonds en gaat over de avonturen van David de Kabouter die dokter is en zijn vrouw Lisa.

Teddy Ruxpin

De serie Teddy Ruxpin kwam oorspronkelijk uit Amerika. In Nederland werd te tekenfilm in de eind jaren 80 en begin jaren 90 uitgezonden. Het verhaal gaat over het beertje Teddy, zijn vriend de achtvoeter Grubby en de uitvinder Newton Gimmick. Met zijn drieën reizen ze de wereld over in hun luchtschip op zoek naar een schat.

Vrouwtje Theelepel

Vrouwtje Theelepel was ook van oorsprong Japans en stamt uit de jaren 1983-1984. Vanaf 1985 werd de tekenfilm uitgezonden in Nederland. De echte naam van Vrouwtje Theelepel is Thea, ze wordt meestal 'Vrouwtje Theelepel' genoemd omdat zij altijd een gouden theelepel om haar hals draagt. Er is iets vreemds met haar: ze wordt op de meest ongelegen momenten zo klein als haar theelepeltje en kan dan met dieren praten. Maar dat weet niet iedereen. Samen met haar man Bazel, buurmeisje Wendy en de dieren uit het bos beleeft Vrouwtje Theelepel een heleboel spannende avonturen.

Seabert

De van oorsprong Franse tekenfilm Seabert vertelt het verhaal van Tommy, Aura en het zeehondje Seabert die de natuur willen beschermen. De serie werd gemaakt in 1985 en daarna nog vaak herhaald op de Nederlandse tv.

Paulus de Boskabouter

De televisiepoppenserie van Paulus de Boskabouter werd in 1967 uitgezonden en was gebaseerd op de boeken en tekststripreeks die door jean Dulieu bedacht werd. Alle marionetten uit de serie werden gemaakt door Jean Dulieu, die ook zelf alle stemmen insprak. De avonturen van personages als Paulus, Oehoboeroe, Greogorius en Eucalypta waren heel populair en werden ook vertaald naar het Zweeds, Duits, Japans en Engels.

Beestenbos is boos

Beestenbos is boos was een Engelse serie, die gebaseerd was op het boek van Colin Dann. Van 1992 tot 1995 was de tekenfilm in verschillende landen in Europa te zien. In Nederland staat de serie ook wel bekend onder de naam Het wakkere woud. De serie gaat over een groep dieren die in het bos wonen. Hun leefomgeving wordt echter bedreigd omdat de mensen hun bos willen platgooien om er een woonwijk te bouwen. De serie volgt de dieren op weg naar hun nieuwe leefomgeving: het Witte Hertenpark.

Winnie de Poeh

'Poeh beer, winnie de poeh beer'... kun jij het intro liedje ook nog helemaal meezingen? Wij wel! Er zijn al veel versies van Winnie de Poeh op tv geweest, maar als je het ons vraagt is de serie die van de eind jaren 80 tot de begin jaren 90 te zien was de beste! In The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh volgden we de avonturen van Poeh-beer, Iejoor, Teigetje, Knorretje, Konijn, Roe, Kanga en Janneman Robbinson. De serie werd geproduceerd door Disney en was geïnspireerd op de verhalen van A. A. Milne. De serie werd uitgezonden van 1988 tot 1991.

Lees ook:

Nostalgie: dit dacht men in de jaren 90 van de mobiele telefoon

Nostalgie: Deze 18 tekenfilms keek jij sowieso in de 80's!

Nostalgie: 13 dingen die je sowieso herkent als je jong was in de 90's

Marte Westdijk

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Nostalgie: Deze 9 series keek jij sowieso als kind in de jaren 90

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Soms is er niks zo fijn als een trip down memory lane. Deze 9 series zullen geheid goede herinneringen oproepen aan je kindertijd. Misschien kun jij alle liedjes nog meezingen of was jij, tot nu dan, helemaal vergeten dat je vroeger uren naar deze shows keek?

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Nostalgia is trending with Gen Z. To escape an overstimulated reality and the impending adult responsibilities, younger generations are seeking refuge in the past.

The word "nostalgia" comes from Greek, and is a compound word deriving from nostos, which means "returning home" and algos, which is "pain". Nostalgia is a longing for the past and can be seen as an escape from the uncertainty of the future. The past is known, the past is certain, the past provides comfort.

Y2K (which, for our Boomer readers, refers to the year 2000) has risen in popularity in recent years. On TikTok, the hashtag #y2k has almost 10 billion views. Nostalgia has more than 51 billion. So, why are we looking back at times in which most of us Gen Zers were barely born?

Why Gen Zers are yearning for the past

Nostalgia is a form of emotional escapism that provides comfort when the present is uncertain. We are coming of age in a period of unrest at all levels:

"My biggest concern is the amount of turmoil that exists in the world, which is seemingly getting worse. We have one large existential crisis after another, and I think the challenge is everyone is exhausted with having to be resilient... we're not truly able to solve the issues we're faced with. Instead, we put a plaster on it and inevitably the problem comes back bigger. This unrest and turmoil then plays out in the financial markets, in the economy, in politics and this coupled with the climate crisis is making everyone more stressed than ever before."
- Matt, 29, UK, One Young World ambassador

A 2022 study published on the Journal of Neuroscience, found out that the sentiment of nostalgia can lead to weaker perceptions of pain and discomfort. Consequently, young people are looking back to a past that provides them an emotional escape from the problems of today's world. Some believe we are yearning for a "simpler time". Familiarity is key. According to Business Insider, Generation Z is seeking comfort and connection during challenging times, and "instead of turning to their own childhood memories, they're seeking simpler pre-social-media times". During the first lockdown in 2020, 37% of UK consumers were revisiting dishes from their childhood. Spotify reported a 54% increase in nostalgia-themed playlists being created in the first week of April 2020. But the current trend is not only about re-living the past, it is about reinterpreting it for the present times.

Nostalgia as a marketing tactic

In an attempt to understand product value, the Harvard Business Review created the Elements of Value, identifying the 30 components that drive a customer's decision-making process. Among the Emotional needs, we find the element of Nostalgia.

Nostalgia marketing is a strategy used to evoke positive feelings related to the past, in order to prompt the purchase of products that remind consumers of the past. This technique is used to arouse personal memories, provide a sense of comfort and ease negative emotions. The negative outlook on the present is seen in contrast to the "rose-tinted" memories from the past. But nostalgia can be both used to evoke periods within the consumer's own experience, and those that predate the consumer's lifespan.

Nostalgia is trending

Gen Z are now longing for the past, especially one they have never experienced themselves, dating back to when we were not yet born.

In fashion, the luxury resale market is surging: it was worth $25 billion to $30 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow by 10 to 15 percent every year for the next decade.

The early 2000s trend is taking over the fashion world, with low-rise cargo pants, baguette bags, baby tees, body chains, chokers, tracksuits and denim on denim. We are bringing back a new era that was defined by women like the members of Destiny's Child, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Paris Hilton. Depop is one of the main platforms where we find Y2K clothing and 90% of its users are younger than 26.

According to 70% of home designers, vintage home decor would be a major trend in 2022, potentially linked to supply chain issues, which lead consumers to be creative with vintage pieces.

Vinyl records sales exceeded $1 billionlast year. CDs are rebounding from a slow 2020, growing 21% year over year. Cassettes are coming back with the number sold doubling between 2020 and 2021.

Disposable cameras are also making a comeback for that retro vibe.

So how are CPG brands navigating the nostalgia trend? We have here a selection of the best CPG examples, according to the TRFF team. Here is what we liked:

Coca Cola x Netflix Stranger Things vending machines

The company takes pride in "transforming Shoreditch into Hawkins" to celebrate the release of the third season. The space enabled visitors to play 80s gaming classics whilst drinking Coca-Cola zero sugar. Moreover, the first 800 visitors to the hidden upside-down world were given a limited-edition Coca Cola x Stranger Things upside-down can.

Burger King 1970s logo comeback

According to our Instagram poll, 71% of Gen Zers prefer the rebranding that draws on nostalgic 1970s graphics in a new way, versus 29% who preferred the former version of the logo. Launched in 2007, this product was taken off the shelves in 2012, and is now making a comeback with a "glow up" according to the brand. In perfect #tbt (aka, throwback Thursday) style.

Oreo Cakesters

Launched in 2007, this product was taken off the shelves in 2012, and is now making a comeback with a "glow up" according to the brand. In perfect #tbt (aka, throwback Thursday) style.

McDonald's Halloween Boo Buckets

The first bucket debuted in 1986, and for several Halloweens, buckets replaced the Happy Meal's cardboard box and toy, playing with different designs:

1989: McBoo was joined by the white McGhost and the green McWitch.

1992: The bucket lids got Halloween cookie cutters.

Between 2010 and 2016, the buckets featured pop culture tie-ins, including Mr. Potato Head, Minions, and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Conclusion: Recommendations for CPG marketers

According to The Drum, Gen Z look ahead to a better world, while they look to the past for belonging and comfort. They experience a tension between longing for the past and trying to shape the future.

What can marketers do to navigate this dichotomy?

Embrace the tension, by reinterpreting the past through the lens of the present reality.

Familiarity should capture attention through the comfort of past memories, but it should be reinterpreted to appeal to Gen Z's forward-looking attitude. Take for example the way 19-year-old TikTok creator Spencer Barbosa responds to the low-rise jeans trend. In the 2000s, this fashion trend was closely associated with flat tummies and a skinny body type. Spencer is updating this definition for our times, by showing that the Y2K fashion trend is for everyone. In this way, a nostalgic trend is reinterpreted through a more contemporary, inclusive lens.

Y2K marked the end of a century and the beginning of a new one. Don't we all feel like we are facing a period of unrest that marks the beginning of a new era? I like to believe that, with us Gen Zers coming into adult life, we will be able to create new possibilities for a better future for us all.

Beatrice Soncina

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Gen Z and the nostalgia trend - The Red Flower Factory

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Nostalgia is trending with Gen Z. To escape an overstimulated reality and the impending adult responsibilities, younger generations are seeking refuge in the past. The word "nostalgia" comes from Greek, and is a compound word deriving from nostos, which means "returning home" and algos, which is "pain".

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Why we reach for nostalgia in times of crisis

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Why we reach for nostalgia in times of crisis

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Credit... Anna Rupprecht

Ever since the coronavirus lockdown began, I've been longing for my past. For some reason, I pine for the days when I would call a friend on her landline and get a busy signal, or inexplicably hid behind my precarious swivel chair the moment my crush logged on to AIM, the AOL messaging service. Even things in recent history that I thought were awful only a few months ago - failing to avoid "Avengers: Endgame" spoilers, or the White Claw seltzer shortage - now pale in comparison to the ongoing trauma of ... all of this.

Things just seemed easier in the Before Times, when we weren't sheltering in place, losing our jobs or potentially exposing ourselves to a virus that has killed over 140,000 Americans. But in times of trauma and overwhelming stress, it's a natural instinct to feel nostalgic and rely on those feelings for comfort and a sense of normalcy, said Valentina Stoycheva, a clinical psychologist specializing in traumatic stress and the author of " The Unconscious: Theory, Research, and Clinical Implications. "

"Trauma takes away our gray areas. It divides our timeline into a before and an after," Dr. Stoycheva said. "And while it has the danger of creating this longing for the before, when things were maybe safer, and when we were unaware of all of this and protected by our naïveté, there's also something about nostalgic behaviors - fashion, clothes, movies, music - that serve as a transitional object."

Transitional objects, much like a small child's baby blanket or a toddler's favorite stuffed animal, can help people transitioning from one stage of life to the next, or help them navigate specific stressors. "It increases your ability to self-soothe during a stressful time," Dr. Stoycheva said. In this case, nostalgia serves as a kind of emotional pacifier, helping us to become accustomed to a new reality that is jarring, stressful and traumatic.

"Anything that can help you calm yourself down, feel more soothed, feel more grounded, is very useful," Dr. Stoycheva said. "So if you watch a movie and remember who you watched it with as a kid, and maybe connect with that person and you reach out to them instead of just drowning in isolation, that can be really helpful."

In a study published this year in the journal Frontiers, researchers found that nostalgia can help to combat feelings of loneliness, and a study published in 2013 in the journal Social and Personality Psychology Compass, suggested that nostalgia can even double as a resource for psychological health and overall well-being.

"I've definitely felt a pull to get in touch with old friends," said De Elizabeth, 34, an editor and writer living in Boston who said she has been feeling deep nostalgia for the 1990s since the pandemic hit. "I have reached out to a few friends from high school in recent weeks, some of whom I haven't talked to in years, and we've been in close contact lately."

Ms. Elizabeth even started a '90s and 2000s nostalgia-inspired newsletter called "Cash Register Alert." "I started it because I just find myself thinking about '90s culture so often," she said, "and wanted to collect some of my thoughts and create a little corner of the internet where other like-minded, nostalgic folks could reminisce together."

According to Florence Saint-Jean, a trauma specialist and the executive director of Global Trauma Research, as a way to cope during times of duress, our brains often take us to places that we subconsciously designate as "safe," like past memories of a joyful vacation or happy childhood moments that made us feel loved.

"That's one of the techniques I've been using with many of my clients - let's go to our 'safe place' right now," Dr. Saint-Jean said. "Right now, we may not necessarily feel safe, but we can take our minds to a safe place, which will create a chain reaction in our body."

To harness that response, Dr. Saint-Jean suggests making a list of safe places when you're not stressed, anxious or experiencing the mental and physical ramifications of trauma.

"You can literally list a park, that time when you were a child and your dad pushed you on the swings - whatever those places are," she said. "And when you have that list, you can go there and you can grab from your safety toolbox. And that's OK, because you've already planned ahead of time that these are your safe places, and this is where you go when you're in trouble."

Melinda Drake, 34, a hairdresser, has been out of work since lockdown began in order to care for her two children until they can safely return to school. Her nostalgia safety toolbox has helped her slow down, simplify her days and find a way to appreciate time spent sheltering in place with her family.

"It causes me to reflect on the quiet moments from my childhood, and what my children might enjoy and benefit from as well," Ms. Drake said. She and her husband, she added, "have been enjoying movie nights of old '80s movies, having even more time than before to play board games, and talk about our past and share some of our memories with our children - memories they can learn from and laugh from."

Ms. Elizabeth has been listening to the music she was infatuated with in high school (Dashboard Confessional, Third Eye Blind, Motion City Soundtrack, Saves the Day), writing song lyrics in her journal (much like the long-lost art of passive-aggressive Instant Messenger statuses) and making friendship bracelets. These have all helped her cope.

"I've definitely been dressing more like my teenage self," she said, "partly because I've been opting for comfier clothes anyway, but also because it feels good to lean into '90s fashion and invoke the feeling of simpler times."

Still, Dr. Saint-Jean said, there can be downsides to reaching for nostalgia, especially when the present realities are pushing you to look at your past through rose-colored glasses.

"While people are going to a past place for coping, it may not necessarily be a healthy place," she said. "For some people, their mind is going to an ex, for example. And they may be calling that ex when normally they probably wouldn't because the relationship was toxic. But their mind isn't going to the days of the abuse - their mind is going to the times when that person made them happy."

Which is why, according to Dr. Stoycheva, self-awareness is key when navigating not only the present moment, but the ways in which nostalgia presents itself as a coping mechanism. She said that nostalgia is neither good nor bad, but that you should think introspectively about what, exactly, you're truly getting out of it. Ask yourself: Why am I doing this? Why am I craving or longing for this thing in particular, and what do I hope to get out of it?

"If it's keeping us anchored in the past and avoiding the future, that's a problem," she said. "Because avoidance is actually one of the main things that maintains a trauma reaction."

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Why We Reach for Nostalgia in Times of Crisis

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Ever since the coronavirus lockdown began, I've been longing for my past. For some reason, I pine for the days when I would call a friend on her landline and get a busy signal, or inexplicably hid behind my precarious swivel chair the moment my crush logged on to AIM, the AOL messaging service.

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They weren't even born, so why is Gen Z nostalgic for the 80s?

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They weren't even born, so why is Gen Z nostalgic for the 80s?

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This was published 7 months ago

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Everything old is new again, and no one is more delighted than Kate Bush. In case you just arrived from another planet, her 1985 song Running Up That Hill went viral after it was used in a key scene in the fourth season of sci-fi TV series Stranger Things. The song promptly went to No. 1 in almost 10 countries, including Australia, and she cracked the American top five for the first time in her career.

When it comes to nostalgia - pseudo or otherwise - we're all looking back with a warm glow.

Is it just nostalgia at work? Well, yes, if you were a fan of the song when it was released. But the primary audience for Stranger Things is the 18-29 age group, who weren't even born in 1985, and they're the ones driving the interest in the show's '80s aesthetic. Many are calling it pseudo nostalgia.

"That's a term I'm not sure I agree with," says Charles Fairchild, associate professor of popular music at University Of Sydney. "You can have nostalgia for things you haven't directly experienced. What Stranger Things has done is taken this era and put coherence and a story to it. It has taken this music, fashion and popular culture and given it a focus. There's a shared experience that gives people a vivid and immediate connection, and that's what the Kate Bush song has done."

In truth, the 1980s revival started a while ago. Look at the 2001 film Donnie Darko, which put a dark spin on John Hughes movies, with a soundtrack that skilfully used '80s songs from Tears for Fears and Echo & the Bunnymen. But Stranger Things has pushed the revival into hyperspace, and Fairchild believes that's due to the times we live in, "when the music industry has finally worked out how to really exploit their catalogues with licensing to TV and film, where there is now so much content being made."

And it's not just musical nostalgia being marketed on Stranger Things. The Aussie-conceived, US-transplanted brand Quiksilver has teamed with the show to create a clothing line based on the characters' T-shirts, boardshorts, hoodies and jackets in '80s pastels and prints.

But nostalgia can be a fiercely guarded domain. The show's latest season also features Metallica's 1986 song Master of Puppets. Old fans are complaining about young newbies who up until a month ago thought Metallica was somewhere on the periodic table next to magnesium.

The band responded on TikTok, playing the song alongside footage from the episode and adding the comment: "FYI - everyone is welcome in the Metallica family. Whether you've been a fan for 40 hours or 40 years, we all share a bond through music."

It seems that when it comes to nostalgia - pseudo or otherwise - we're all looking back with a warm glow. Especially if you're on the receiving end of royalty cheques.

To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.

Barry Divola is a journalist and author who specialises in music, popular culture, the arts, podcasts and travel.

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They weren't even born, so why is Gen Z nostalgic for the '80s?

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This was published 7 months ago Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Everything old is new again, and no one is more delighted than Kate Bush. In case you just arrived from another planet, her 1985 song Running Up That Hill went viral after it was used in a key scene in the fourth season of sci-fi TV series Stranger Things.

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Back

transcript

Science of Nostalgia

It was first thought to be a "neurological disease of essentially demonic cause," but it turns out that nostalgia is good for your brain. And there's science to prove it.

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It was first thought to be a "neurological disease of essentially demonic cause," but it turns out that nostalgia is good for your brain. And there's science to prove it.

SOUTHAMPTON, England - Not long after moving to the University of Southampton, Constantine Sedikides had lunch with a colleague in the psychology department and described some unusual symptoms he'd been feeling. A few times a week, he was suddenly hit with nostalgia for his previous home at the University of North Carolina: memories of old friends, Tar Heel basketball games, fried okra, the sweet smells of autumn in Chapel Hill.

His colleague, a clinical psychologist, made an immediate diagnosis. He must be depressed. Why else live in the past? Nostalgia had been considered a disorder ever since the term was coined by a 17th-century Swiss physician who attributed soldiers' mental and physical maladies to their longing to return home - nostos in Greek, and the accompanying pain, algos.

But Dr. Sedikides didn't want to return to any home - not to Chapel Hill, not to his native Greece - and he insisted to his lunch companion that he wasn't in pain.

"I told him I did live my life forward, but sometimes I couldn't help thinking about the past, and it was rewarding," he says. "Nostalgia made me feel that my life had roots and continuity. It made me feel good about myself and my relationships. It provided a texture to my life and gave me strength to move forward."

The colleague remained skeptical, but ultimately Dr. Sedikides prevailed. That lunch in 1999 inspired him to pioneer a field that today includes dozens of researchers around the world using tools developed at his social-psychology laboratory, including a questionnaire called the Southampton Nostalgia Scale. After a decade of study, nostalgia isn't what it used to be - it's looking a lot better.

Nostalgia has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety. It makes people more generous to strangers and more tolerant of outsiders. Couples feel closer and look happier when they're sharing nostalgic memories. On cold days, or in cold rooms, people use nostalgia to literally feel warmer.

Nostalgia does have its painful side - it's a bittersweet emotion - but the net effect is to make life seem more meaningful and death less frightening. When people speak wistfully of the past, they typically become more optimistic and inspired about the future.

"Nostalgia makes us a bit more human," Dr. Sedikides says. He considers the first great nostalgist to be Odysseus, an itinerant who used memories of his family and home to get through hard times, but Dr. Sedikides emphasizes that nostalgia is not the same as homesickness. It's not just for those away from home, and it's not a sickness, despite its historical reputation.

Nostalgia was originally described as a "neurological disease of essentially demonic cause" by Johannes Hoffer, the Swiss doctor who coined the term in 1688. Military physicians speculated that its prevalence among Swiss mercenaries abroad was due to earlier damage to the soldiers' ear drums and brain cells by the unremitting clanging of cowbells in the Alps.

A Universal Feeling
In the 19th and 20th centuries nostalgia was variously classified as an "immigrant psychosis," a form of "melancholia" and a "mentally repressive compulsive disorder" among other pathologies. But when Dr. Sedikides, Tim Wildschut and other psychologists at Southampton began studying nostalgia, they found it to be common around the world, including in children as young as 7 (who look back fondly on birthdays and vacations).

"The defining features of nostalgia in England are also the defining features in Africa and South America," Dr. Wildschut says. The topics are universal - reminiscences about friends and family members, holidays, weddings, songs, sunsets, lakes. The stories tend to feature the self as the protagonist surrounded by close friends.

Most people report experiencing nostalgia at least once a week, and nearly half experience it three or four times a week. These reported bouts are often touched off by negative events and feelings of loneliness, but people say the "nostalgizing" - researchers distinguish it from reminiscing - helps them feel better.

To test these effects in the laboratory, researchers at Southampton induced negative moods by having people read about a deadly disaster and take a personality test that supposedly revealed them to be exceptionally lonely. Sure enough, the people depressed about the disaster victims or worried about being lonely became more likely to wax nostalgic. And the strategy worked: They subsequently felt less depressed and less lonely.

Nostalgic stories aren't simple exercises in cheeriness, though. The memories aren't all happy, and even the joys are mixed with a wistful sense of loss. But on the whole, the positive elements greatly outnumber the negative elements, as the Southampton researchers found by methodically analyzing stories collected in the laboratory as well as in a magazine named Nostalgia.

"Nostalgic stories often start badly, with some kind of problem, but then they tend to end well, thanks to help from someone close to you," Dr. Sedikides says. "So you end up with a stronger feeling of belonging and affiliation, and you become more generous toward others."

A quick way to induce nostalgia is through music, which has become a favorite tool of researchers. In an experiment in the Netherlands, Ad J. J. M. Vingerhoets of Tilburg University and colleagues found that listening to songs made people feel not only nostalgic but also warmer physically.

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Credit... Jasper James/Getty Images

That warm glow was investigated in southern China by Xinyue Zhou of Sun Yat-Sen University. By tracking students over the course of a month, she and colleagues found that feelings of nostalgia were more common on cold days. The researchers also found that people in a cool room (68 degrees Fahrenheit) were more likely to nostalgize than people in warmer rooms.

Not everyone in the cool room turned nostalgic during the experiment, but the ones who did reported feeling warmer. That mind-body link, Dr. Wildschut says, means that nostalgia might have had evolutionary value to our ancestors long before Odysseus.

"If you can recruit a memory to maintain physiological comfort, at least subjectively, that could be an amazing and complex adaptation," he says. "It could contribute to survival by making you look for food and shelter that much longer."
Finding a Sweet Spot
Of course, memories can also be depressing. Some researchers in the 1970s and '80s suggested that nostalgia could worsen a problem that psychologists call self-discontinuity, which is nicely defined in " Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," by Stephen Stills: "Don't let the past remind us of what we are not now." This sense of loss and dislocation has repeatedly been linked to both physical and mental ills.

But the feeling of discontinuity doesn't seem to be a typical result of nostalgia, according to recent studies. In fact, people tend to have a healthier sense of self-continuity if they nostalgize more frequently, as measured on the scale developed at Southampton. To understand why these memories seem reassuring, Clay Routledge of North Dakota State University and other psychologists conducted a series of experiments with English, Dutch and American adults.

First, the experimenters induced nostalgia by playing hit songs from the past for some people and letting them read lyrics to their favorite songs. Afterward, these people were more likely than a control group to say that they felt "loved" and that "life is worth living."

Then the researchers tested the effect in the other direction by trying to induce existential angst. They subjected some people to an essay by a supposed Oxford philosopher who wrote that life is meaningless because any single person's contribution to the world is "paltry, pathetic and pointless." Readers of the essay became more likely to nostalgize, presumably to ward off Sartrean despair.

Moreover, when some people were induced to nostalgia before reading the bleak essay, they were less likely to be convinced by it. The brief stroll down memory lane apparently made life seem worthwhile, at least to the English students in that experiment. (Whether it would work with gloomy French intellectuals remains to be determined.)

"Nostalgia serves a crucial existential function," Dr. Routledge says. "It brings to mind cherished experiences that assure us we are valued people who have meaningful lives. Some of our research shows that people who regularly engage in nostalgia are better at coping with concerns about death."
Feeding the Memory Bank
The usefulness of nostalgia seems to vary with age, according to Erica Hepper, a psychologist at the University of Surrey in England. She and her colleagues have found that nostalgia levels tend to be high among young adults, then dip in middle age and rise again during old age.

"Nostalgia helps us deal with transitions," Dr. Hepper says. "The young adults are just moving away from home and or starting their first jobs, so they fall back on memories of family Christmases, pets and friends in school."

Dr. Sedikides, now 54, still enjoys nostalgizing about Chapel Hill, although his range has expanded greatly over the past decade. He says that the years of research have inspired strategies for increasing nostalgia in his own life. One is to create more moments that will be memorable.

"I don't miss an opportunity to build nostalgic-to-be memories," he says. "We call this anticipatory nostalgia and have even started a line of relevant research."

Another strategy is to draw on his "nostalgic repository" when he needs a psychological lift or some extra motivation. At such moments, he tries to focus on the memories and savor them without comparing them with anything else.

"Many other people," he explains, "have defined nostalgia as comparing the past with the present and saying, implicitly, that the past was better - 'Those were the days.' But that may not be the best way for most people to nostalgize. The comparison will not benefit, say, the elderly in a nursing home who don't see their future as bright. But if they focus on the past in an existential way - 'What has my life meant?' - then they can potentially benefit."

This comparison-free nostalgizing is being taught to first-year college students as part of a study testing its value for people in difficult situations. Other experiments are using the same technique in people in nursing homes, women recovering from cancer surgery, and prison inmates.

Is there anyone who shouldn't be indulging in nostalgia? People who are leery of intimate relationships - "avoidant," in psychological jargon - seem to reap relatively small benefits from nostalgia compared with people who crave closeness. And there are undoubtedly neurotics who overdo it. But for most others, Dr. Sedikides recommends regular exercises.

"If you're not neurotic or avoidant, I think you'll benefit by nostalgizing two or maybe three times a week," he says. "Experience it as a prized possession. When Humphrey Bogart says, ' We'll always have Paris,' that's nostalgia for you. We have it, and nobody can take it away from us. It's our diamond."

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What Is Nostalgia Good For? Quite a Bit, Research Shows (Published 2013)

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SOUTHAMPTON, England - Not long after moving to the University of Southampton, Constantine Sedikides had lunch with a colleague in the psychology department and described some unusual symptoms he'd been feeling.

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Eysing PF40

Eysing designed by Pininfarina

Two brands with a rich heritage, Eysing and Pininfarina have joined forces together on a futuristic looking new e-moped that reflects their commitment to innovation, design and tradition. The two brands are unveiling the outcome of their first collaboration. It represents the exclusive reinterpretation of the original e-moped, with even more eye for detail. The name of this creation; the Eysing PF40.

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Eysing designed by Pininfarina Two brands with a rich heritage, Eysing and Pininfarina have joined forces together on a futuristic looking new e-moped that reflects their commitment to innovation, design and tradition. The two brands are unveiling the outcome of their first collaboration.