Many of today’s older Gen Zers are in their late 20s, approaching 30. You would expect them to be nostalgic about their childhood, which happened around the 2010s. But according to recent social media trends, they feel more connected to the previous decade.
This is known as “noughties nostalgia,” which was a hot topic on TikTok, according to a 2025 report by The Guardian.
In terms of television shows, for example, among the most discussed on Gen Z TikTok are Gossip Girl, Gilmore Girls, and Vampire Diaries.
According to Lily Hall, programs and insights manager for TikTok in the UK, Ireland, and the Nordics, these shows have become a source of escapism and comfort for younger people.
“Older series are currently amongst the most popular on the platform. You’ve got this new generation rediscovering older TV shows, and an older generation resharing their old favorites,” Hall told The Guardian, noting that fashion, beauty, and older music trends are also popular among Gen Z.
However, many Gen among Gen Z were not even alive when some of these shows aired. A lot of them were infants when shows like Gossip Girl began airing and growing in popularity. What exactly drives their nostalgia for an era before their time?
As licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Holly Schiff tells Reader’s Digest, nostalgia isn’t a lived memory. Likewise, it can be culturally transmitted.
The Reader’s Digest report noted how many Gen Zers feel nostalgia for the Y2K era, in particular. According to Dr. Schiff, it’s likely driven by their desire to experience what it was like to live in a simpler time before the digital age.
“The appeal says more about current stressors and unmet needs than about the actual decade itself. It reflects what people feel is missing in the present,” she said.
