Is 2026 the new 2016? A look at campus life a decade ago

Natalie Zurakowski
Thu, 05 Feb 2026 03:34:05 +0000
Arts & Life, News, Pop culture, 2016, 2016 nostalgia, 2026, 2026 trends, Alumni memories, arts & life, Buckeyes, campus changes, campus life, Chainsmokers, challenges, College nostalgia, Columbus, decade, Decade shift, Filters, Harambe, high street, instagram, Instagram filters, Juju On, King Kylie, kylie jenner, Mannequin Challenge, music, north campus, ohio state, osu, OSU campus [and 15 more]

Credit: Grayson Newbourn | Managing Arts & Life Editor

As packs of students roamed the Oval searching for Pokémon, others filmed their best attempts at the Mannequin Challenge or practiced the dance moves to “Juju on That Beat,” “Closer” by The Chainsmokers and Halsey played on a continuous loop and campus energy was still riding high from the Buckeyes’ 2014 national championship win.

The year? 2016.?

Defined by its rose-tinted filters, maximalist aesthetics and viral moments — including the death of Harambe, the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla — 2016 has taken on a legendary status online. A decade later, social media users are longing for the iconic year, posting throwback photos and videos and reviving the filters that once dominated Instagram feeds.?

According to a Jan. 9 BBC article, searches for “2016” on TikTok surged 452 percent. More than 55 million videos using the app’s “2016” filter were posted in the first week of January.

At Ohio State, campus itself tells a different story than it did 10 years ago.

Since 2016, North Campus housing — including Blackburn, Busch, Houston and Nosker Houses — has been renovated, while various locations across High Street have undergone major transformations. Austin Candea, a 2018 graduate who got a degree in health sciences, attended Ohio State during the peak of the 2016 era. He said on and off-campus construction felt ongoing and dining options felt limited.?

“The construction was everywhere I went, not only on High Street, but when you were walking, they were building all those dorms right there on North Campus,” Candea said. “I remember we used to drive 45 minutes to Chick-fil-A — now there’s one on campus. It’s obviously a different world than when I lived there, but I’m definitely jealous when I come back and see what it is and what it’s turned into.”

Beyond new buildings and restaurants, Ohio State has undergone institutional shifts since 2016. In 2025, the university closed its Office of Diversity and Inclusion. AI Fluency became a required program starting with the class of 2029, making students “bilingual” in both their major and AI. Enrollment also has grown, increasing by 1.8 percent since 2016, according to university data.?

But back then, in a year full of political divide during the 2016 presidential election and devastation following the Nov. 28 campus attack that left 11 people injured, students continued to find joy in campus life.

“In 2016 at Ohio State, campus was always awesome,” Candea said. “Obviously, game days still are and always were what separates Ohio State from everybody else, but the general mood and everything was just a positive energy.”

For those who were actually walking the Oval a decade ago, 2016 wasn’t a TikTok trend, it was a lived reality.?

Although the current trend originated on TikTok, the social media app wasn’t around in 2016.?

Instead, the year belonged to older social media, such as Instagram and Snapchat, and is remembered by the “King Kylie” — a nickname for Kylie Jenner’s notable 2016 aesthetic — era and the Snapchat dog-filter obsession.?

Maddie Brahler, an Ohio State alumna who graduated with a degree in zoology in 2020, said social media felt more carefree than it is now. Instead of causing isolation, she said it created community.

“There was social media, and some people might have had an aesthetic they were trying to keep on their social media, but that was the minority,” Brahler said. “It was still pretty unserious, instead of now where it’s very much this unspoken competition of who’s got the best body and the best clothes and lives the best life. It was like, ‘OK, who’s having the most fun?’”

Whether it was sun bathing in the Oval listening to “Lemonade” by Beyoncé, quoting Vine in everyday conversations or binge-watching the first season of “Stranger Things” on the weekends, 2016 felt easy, according to alumni. Looking back, Brahler said the year stands out not just for her, but for many who lived it.?

“I think that for some reason, universally, everyone talks about 2016,” Brahler said. “I feel like it was such a fun time. If 2026 is anywhere near as good as 2016, that’d be awesome.”