flâneur

the problem with micro nostalgia - by Lydia Keating

lydialoo.substack.com · 621 words · saved by 1 readers

And the type of nostalgia that consumes us collectively is specific— different from past generations’. It’s micro nostalgia: a yearning for in-between moments of our past lives. I believe that the micro-nostalgia epidemic is a direct consequence of our tendency to chronically document everything. It used be that we would take pictures only at the big life events—graduations, weddings, birthdays—but now we’re photographing literally the eggs we made for breakfast, a random run at sunset, or a selfie of us rotting in bed (for some reason we did look kinda cute…). The problem is, you can look back on these random in-between moments of life whenever you want. And then immediately, BOOM: you’re hit a pang of micro nostalgia. I think that’s unhealthy. Generally, however, I think all nostalgia is unhealthy; it’s a form of self manipulation. (I am, by the way, a deeply nostalgic person.) Nostalgia (both micro and macro) is simply the memory of something without the anxiety you experienced whil

We’ve become perpetually nostalgic. And the type of nostalgia that consumes us collectively is specific— different from past generations’. It’s micro nostalgia: a yearning for in-between moments of our past lives. I believe that the micro-nostalgia epidemic is a direct consequence of our tendency to chronically document everything. It used be that we would take pictures only at the big life events—graduations, weddings, birthdays—but now we’re photographing literally the eggs we made for breakfast, a random run at sunset, or a selfie of us rotting in bed (for some reason we did look kinda…

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