Nostalgia farming, in my understanding, is the act of seeking stimulus that connects oneself to memories and feelings in the past. Nostalgia farming has become increasingly more a part of peoples day-to-day lives recently, partly due to living through a pandemic and cultural upheaval. To understand this phenomenon, I’ve been asking many people in my life about their lockdown experience and what particular nostalgic content they sought after. With mandated time indoors this year and for many in the house they grew up in, access to nostalgic stimulus has been plentiful and full of surprises. After months of asking my circle of friends, family and acquaintances, I complied a list of the most popular types of nostalgia content that they sought after during lockdown. While this list doesn’t have any scientific backing, it’s been clear that there’s a plethora of data that I’d like to see officially collected after this weird period has passed.
Some of the most common answers to the question – ‘What type of nostalgic content did you seek during your lockdown experience?’
- Music (Especially their old favourite tunes from the ages of 13-15.)
- Movies (notably the Harry Potter Series)
- Books (Particularly from the Young Adult genre)
- Old video games from their early highschool times
- Eating childhood comfort food (special shoutout to mac ’n’ cheese)
- Toys (especially soft toys from childhood)
- Old hobbies (including painting, rollerskating, arts & crafts)
When external stresses that are outside of our control come into our lives, there’s research that our childhood experiences can influence how we deal with stress (1). With this in mind, it’s not surprising that in a time of global distress, many of us have reached into our comforting childhood memory to deal with these new times. No one’s been spared from at least a little of a reflecting on the past. There have been clear cultural markers that globally that we have been nostalgia farming. A public and brilliant example of the new era of nostalgia farming is Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ re-entering the music charts since 1977 (2). This was sparked by a viral Tiktok video of a man enjoying the sweet coke-fueled tones of Stevie Nicks while on a skateboard while drinking cranberry juice(3).
Whether people grew up in the time of Fleetwood Mac’s album release or if they were introduced through a family member on the road trip to see Nana, it’s clear that people are wanting to relive softer memories during these difficult times. Personally, I’ve been carefully enjoying my comforting nostalgic content with re-introducing myself to love of soft toys and painting. It’s been a healing experience to hang out with my younger self and plait her hair sometimes. We are indeed creatures of comfort, and we all deserve to feel at ease with our positive memories. I hope all of us find time to make some delightful new memories this summer. Maybe listen to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ with a glass of wine while you’re at it too.
This is such a sweet post, and a fascinating topic! I’ve been exploring topic a bit too, although kind of unintentionally – I turned to the sweet tunes of the 1985 recording of Les Miserables over lockdown; I grew up listening to it on long road trips, and there’s nothing like studying to ‘Do You Hear the People Sing’. Watching ‘Mary Poppins’ so long after I saw the musical as an eight-ish year old was also incredible – I couldn’t stop smiling like that little kid again.
The process of letting yourself be a child again is such a wonderful one, particularly when you feel you’ve had to grow up too fast. Indulging in musicals I loved as a kid and forgetting your responsibilities for a couple hours feels like an important step towards letting myself breathe again when the stress gets heavy.
I enjoyed this post and it really resonated with me! I have also felt pretty nostalgic for old TV shows, music and podcasts this year, particularly during lockdown. Often, a specific part will trigger a memory of the experience you first had when watching or listening. I think it’s this ability to take you back to a previous time which makes nostalgic farming so enjoyable.