There is a strange melancholy that sometimes catches us by scrolling the smartphone. A video of a university party of the ’90s, a faded picture of a cartoon forgotten, a song popular in the vintage summer especially happy. We feel a sense of warmth, of regret, of longing for that moment. And yet, in that time we have not necessarily lived. That party there we were, that cardboard maybe we have never seen, that summer we were from another part. We are experiencing the nostalgia digital: a deeply human sentiment, but one which is generated, amplified and distributed by the machines. Is the regret for a collective past, idealized, and often fictitious, that the algorithms of social media continue to rifilarci, confusing our personal memories with our collective imagination. We are moving to the memories of the other, mistaking them for our.
The Roots of a Feeling Hypermodern
Nostalgia for traditional it's a pain to return, a longing for home and for your past staff. It is an emotion that has to do with the biography, with the experiences that have formed us. Nostalgia digital, however, is a construct that is different. It has nothing to do with our lives, but with a collective past, and use that is offered to us, through the endless stream of online content.
This melancholy of the second hand is born from the encounter between two elements: our psychological need for belonging and the machine algorithmic social network. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook they have perfected the art of exploiting the “engagement” of emotional distress. They found that the contents that evoke nostalgia – even if not authentic – generate more likes, shares and comments. Thus, the algorithms show us more and more often reel of “the way we were”, the challenge that evoke the fashions of the past and the pages dedicated to the decades-specific, creating a loop of content that fuels a poignant and shared melancholy for a time, very often, never existed as we get the story.
As we analyzed in our article on the social media and algorithmsthe platforms are designed to maximize the engagement, often at the expense of our emotional well-being.
Because It Makes Us Feel So? The Psychology of Melancholy, Algorithmic
The power of this nostalgia is in its ability to cater, in a distorted way, some of our psychological needs are basic.
The search for Identity and Belonging
In a world that is complex and fragmented, the past – especially in a shared – offers a sense of stability and identity. Share the nostalgia for the same toys, the same TV jingles, or the same mode of adolescents create a powerful social bond. It is a way to say “I was there”, even if “there” is a place of the collective imaginary, not a real place in our history. The algorithm, understanding this, we consistently provides the fuel to feel part of a community, mitigating the loneliness digital that it helps to create.
As discussed in our article on AI and psychologythis mechanism reveals how deeply the algorithms are able to understand and manipulate our emotional needs deeper.
Escape from the Present
Nostalgia digital is also a form of escapismo. Faced with the anxiety of the present and the uncertainty of the future, to take refuge in an idealized past, and what is perceived as the most simple and authentic is a temptation strong. The algorithms we indulge it, transforming our timeline in the machines of the time, always ready to take us away. The problem is that this escape is not regenerative, like a real personal memory; it's a distraction that, in the long run, can lead to disenchantment, to the present and a distorted perception of reality.
This mechanism binds directly to the themes of the well-being digital and the need to find a healthy balance with technology.
The Distortion of Memory
The phenomenon is most disturbing, is, perhaps, the erosion of the boundary between personal memory and collective memory. When we are constantly exposed to the stories and images of a certain decade, we begin to incorporate them into our personal baggage mnemonic. It is an effect known in psychology as “cryptomnesia” or “the appropriation of memories”. We regret the experiences that we have ever had, to try and tenderness for times that do not belong to us, living in a sort of universal history shared but deeply impersonal.
As highlighted in our article on AI and memorythis phenomenon raises important questions about who controls our memories in the digital age.
The Algorithm, as the Curator of Emotions
The algorithms are not limited to show content that: treat an active role in our emotions. Meta (Facebook) and ByteDance (TikTok) are a team of neuroscientists and psychologists to maximize the emotional impact of their algorithms. They know exactly what trigger to use to trigger nostalgia, surprise, indignation, or joy.
Nostalgia digital is particularly powerful because:
- It is universally accessible (they all have a “past” to hold on to)
- It creates a sense of community artificial, but emotionally satisfying
- It is harmless on the surface, thus bypassing our defenses critical
- Generates engagement, long-lasting (we always want to “remember” and more)
From the Entertainment to the Discomfort: When Nostalgia Becomes Toxic
In small doses, this nostalgia collective is harmless and can be pleasant. It becomes problematic when it turns entertainment into a true retreat, psychological, replacing the construction of the actual memories in the present with the consummation passive past the artificial.
This can lead to a dangerous idealization of the past, forgetting the negative sides, and a paralysis of the project towards the future. Why bother to build a better tomorrow if we can take refuge in a yesterday's perfect, and in fact, never existed? In this sense, the nostalgia digital is likely to become an opium of the people of the era of algorithmic tool that appeases the anxiety, but at the same time dampens the desire for change and progress.
As discussed in our article onthe economy of the micro-decisionsevery choice that we make online is analyzed and used to influence our behaviour in the future.
The Digital Cultural Heritage: Between Preservation and Handling
A paradoxical aspect of nostalgia digital is its relationship with cultural preservation. As highlighted in our article on AI and cultural heritagethe digitization of the collective memory is essential to preserve the history of mankind. However, when this preservation is filtered through algorithms of trade, the risk is to be amplified only certain narratives at the expense of others.
Take Control: How to Manage the Nostalgia Algorithmic
The solution is not to remove the content, but take control of them with awareness.
Be an Archaeologist, not a Tourist
Approaches to the content nostalgic with a critical spirit. Ask yourself: “Am I remembering, or am I consuming?”. Use them to discover new things about the past, not just to satisfy a vague melancholy.
Treated Dieting Digital
Use the functions “Not interested” or “don't show more” to teach the algorithm that you will not only be entertained, but also inspired and challenged. Follow accounts that speak of the present and the future. As suggested in our article on the mindfulness digitalit is important to find a balance between passive consumption and conscious use of technology.
Build Memories Real
The antidote to the more powerful the nostalgia, the artificial is the creation of authentic memories in the present. Turn your phone off and invest time in the real-life experiences, that one day you'll remember truly, without the need of an algorithm that you remember them.
The Future of Memory in the Digital age
Looking to the future, nostalgia digital might evolve in the forms even more sophisticated. The AI generative could soon create memories completely fictitious, but emotionally convincing. OpenAI and Google are already working on technologies that could generate content nostalgic customized based on our behavioral data.
As explored in our article on hybrid identityour digital identity is becoming ever more complex and layered.
Conclusion
Nostalgia digital reminds us that the algorithms do not manipulate only what they buy and who we vote for, but also what we feel and, most importantly, what we remember. In an era in which our mind is increasingly observed and influenced, to protect the authenticity of our emotional experience and our memory is not an exercise in style, but is an act of sovereignty staff.
As pointed out in our article onillusion of control in the age of AImaintain a critical awareness on the mechanisms that influence our emotions and decisions is more important than ever.
For a further discussion on how technology is redefining our identity, read our article on hybrid identity: who we are with the AI?.