It’s fun to pretend that things were better a couple of years ago. We think the sports were better, the music was superior, and the movies were more entertaining. We even romanticize horrible events like the pandemic because it was a distinct time in our lives. Yes, we got to play video games and sleep in, but it was not a good time. Through our memories, humans tend to remember happy events and stray away from anything negative. Nostalgia clouds the negative times and has us remember only the good experiences.
An argument I often hear is that sports are declining. I completely disagree. Our childhood heroes like Tom Brady, Usain Bolt and Serena Williams are indeed retired, but other young athletes push the sports industry forward. Stars like Patrick Mahomes, Noah Lyles and Coco Gauff push barriers and challenge records in the same sports the previous legends were in. If we blind ourselves to the new talent, of course, we’re going to think the previous generation was better. We can still appreciate greatness while being excited for the future.
It’s not as if we can’t still have fun, but sitting around and remembering enjoyable times isn’t going to magically make them come back. When arriving home one day, a woman in my neighborhood told me that she remembered me often playing basketball when I was younger. This conversation was influenced by me parking in front of my house to play basketball. I too have fond memories of basketball in my childhood. This reminiscence doesn’t just need to be a fragment of memory but still can be a reality. We don’t have to be nostalgic about the past because often we can do these activities today. It is easy to limit yourself because something will seemingly be less fun than how it used to be, but you really don’t know until you try.
Another huge area where I see nostalgia being overused is music. Classic songs are being sampled into oblivion at this point, controversy following each one. It feels like artists are using the quality of previous works and not making the effort to innovate themselves. It only serves to devalue the art.
Additionally, we feel such nostalgia for time periods of music, with a good example being the recent revival of 80s-themed tracks. Popular artists such as The Weeknd, Dua Lipa and Tory Lanez all released albums heavily inspired by the 80s. While the quality of the records was high, it’s hard to evolve music as a whole if we are stuck in aesthetics from the past. Even the 2010s are becoming “nostalgic.” Sure, it’s the music we grew up with, but it’s not like we can’t listen to those songs anymore. Everything in music doesn’t need to be “worse” just because it’s not the same as it was. Genres evolve with time, and there are still many creative and innovative artists. Nostalgia makes us limit ourselves.
We as a society need to do better than living in the past. The bad memories fade with time and the good ones grow stronger, leading to nostalgia and disappointment at our current situation. Generally, life is as good as it was five years ago and 10 years ago and so on. It’s just that we only remember the good parts. Let’s enjoy talented athletes and musicians as they rise to fame and dominate their art while appreciating the people who came before them.
It’s in our best interest.
