Jasimo’s Blog

Simple question: what did you do in 2016?

Simple answer: oh, the usual.

Complicated question: what was it like to live in 2016?

Short answer: better and simpler.

Long answer: for many of us it felt prosperous and without a whole buncha chaos. Everyone had a good time doing the Pokémon Go thing and doing the mannequin challenge, and we all felt free on social media. Everyone could share photos and win a bunch of likes, hearts and stuff. We all flocked to the movie theaters to catch superhero fare like Deadpool that became huge box-office draws in years to follow. We streamed Netflix and caught the premiere of ‘Stranger Things’. We were addicted to so much EDM claptrap and artist collaborations in our musical vibes. That was until the November election came along and suddenly things took a more divided U-turn. In months that passed by, we lost David Bowie and Prince, followed by George Michael and Carrie ‘Princess Leia’ Fisher before year’s end. We asked ourselves this burning question before the arrival of 2017: where do we go from here?

But I do know that one major detail hasn’t changed in the past ten years, and that is everyone’s still using and carrying smartphones in jeans pockets in 2026, swaying our attention away from IRL and directly at a Gorilla Glass screen. These pocket computers are always convenient and it’s that easy to remember! Not in 2006, 1996, nor 1986.

Either way you look at 2016, each year has its up and down moments. When the #2026isthenew2016 trend creeped into our minds on New Year’s Day, celebrities, influencers and Average Joes like myself sorted through the cloud for photos that reminded them of the “simpler” times in contrast to today’s chaos-driven world. Interest in throwback fare — better known as #TBT, or Throwback Thursday — rose dramatically as a rallying cry for nostalgic comfort became evident in the face of divided politics, major crises and dystopian realities that continue to plague the American way of life unabated.

Perhaps it’s time to go back and listen to ‘7 Years’ by Lukas Graham which could end up going viral once again as an emotional experience that reminds us about living in the past and growing older — that song was a relevant hit in 2016, by the way. As you are reading this, several throwback songs just made the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including from 2016, a pop ditty called ‘Lush Life’ by Zara Larsson. I would expect ‘Stressed Out’ by Twenty-One Pilots to make a resurgence in popularity once again, because let’s face it, we’re all stressed out over everything turning upside down since COVID arrived at the very start of the 2020s, and with no signs of easing any time soon.

Personally, I don’t think time is kind to the year 2016 or at most every other year before and after. It was pretty much in the same vein with more turbulent years like 2001, considering that just one fateful day in September created a harbinger of bad things to come, and we were forgetting about it. Each passing year got progressively worse like a slow-moving train wreck, societally and politically. If you ever paid close attention to major news events about war, pestilences and natural disasters without following all those pop culture fads and trends too much, then you have a bird’s eye view of reality. I know, I’m in Generation-X, so please put that into perspective. 

I would not call 2016 “the last great year” at all. Instead, I would personally proclaim 2012 to be exactly that, but your personal life experience will vary. My first purchase of an Apple-related device was a third-generation IPad, and that thing saved me because a month later my PC died after a loud gigantic “boom clap” struck mere inches from the house — pardon Charli XCX. For 2012 was the year the surviving breadwinner of my family, our dad, had passed away that November and I carried on with life without paid employment. The number of road trips I used to enjoy were down to nothing. While I’m grateful to have had enough money to buy my daily sustenances, the aftereffects of our loss still remain. I can still hear the remaining echoes of this short-lived music group known as Fun as a reminder of how things have been going in 2012 and 2013.

But back to 2016, which is still fresh in my memory as it felt like it was here sixteen hours ago. The older you are, the more you remember things vividly and they stick inside your brain for a very long time. At the ripe young age of 40, I almost had 100% laryngitis that one January because of the winter flu. That summer, I clinched a few places to do upkeep with yard maintenance with over 25 years of “father’s helper” experience behind me — it’s the ol’ odd jobs trick actually.  I bought my first ever smartphone, an IPhone SE first-generation model — now I have finally joined the rising number of Americans with short attention spans and learning to type emojis. I dug a 10-foot grave for a deceased cat later that summer and it was a total backbreaker because I hardly ever used pick axes. I watched a Periscope livestream of the November election protests with my head left scratching. So maybe it was right at that point when the line between “united” and “divided” was finally crossed, leading many of us in 2026 to proclaim 2016 to be, well, “the last great year”.

Sometimes, I have deep regrets about not willing to do or share online things while the rest of the world did, and with better outcomes. They say 2016 was a “good year” for social media because you had more independence. I had no interest in Pokémon Go, mind you, but I was slowly getting ready. As part of my future retirement plans, it was about productivity that would have netted me a little extra income, and that required a social connection — just like this website you’re reading now. My guess is that if more people wanted to “like” my content, then it’s clear I should have done blogs, cartoon art projects (‘Melody’) and posted on social media ten years sooner because I sure am not getting the same and encouraging results ten years later. Well-known public figures like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Kylie Jenner and Selena Gomez became Instagram megastars in the long run because timing was everything, and they all nailed it right around or during 2016. I know tens of millions of us who’s signed up for new accounts after the 2010s will have to fight really hard to reach ten followers at most, just like I am.

Well, here in 2026, those fickly-fickle algorithms and A.I. bots have replaced human compassion and curation, while stricter enforcement has replaced freedom of expression, and it is what it is. That’s just one of the signals of a tightly regulated online culture we’re up against now compared to 2016. No one ever thought of the idea of having teens under the age of ‘16’ being blocked or limited to just one measly hour of social media screen time. Sadly, it’s the whole truth in our modern world climate just because of all this fussing over protecting the wellbeing of “kids”.

And for the answer to our headline that reads “really, was 2016 all that mattered?”… Yes and no, but at the end of the day, it comes down to individual experience just like every other passing year. There is always triumph. There is always tragedy. There is always something new. There is always something coming back. There is always hope for the best. There is always expecting the worst. Most of all, there is always a work in progress. It’s understandable why people are hyped up about a calendar year that evokes strong feelings, and yes, life and lifestyles do change overnight. While it’s fascinating to reminisce comfortably, it’s really up to ourselves to shape the way a year lasting 365 days can be defined and we should do it together with a positive mindset.

As an example, forty years ago on Memorial Day 1986, there was Hands Across America, a nationwide charity event that illustrated the power of humanity. People from all walks of life held hands together in forming a human chain from coast to coast in an effort to raise money to fight poverty, hunger and homelessness. We could rip out a page from that once-in-a-lifetime event right now and make it all happen once again — difficult if not impossible.

But right now, we’re all too busy reminiscing and thinking about 2016 as we stream ‘Hands To Myself’ while doomscrolling our way through a gazillion reels about a four-digit number. And in four more years, we’ll look back to 2020 when things were, well… if there’s only one “good” word you can describe it… “better”.