Young adults in China are becoming increasingly overwhelmed with the present — so they’re turning to the nostalgia of the past!
Have you ever been scrolling through social media and come across one of those deeply nostalgic videos depicting the lives Millennials experienced in the 1990s and 2000s? Something like, “POV: you wake up on a hot summer day and head outside to play,” or, “POV: it’s the last day of school before winter break.” And the video then goes on to flash vintage images from the time setting the scene?
@childnostalgia_ The last day of school before Christmas break felt different. Nobody was paying attention, the teachers had movies playing, Christmas parties were happening in every classroom, and everyone was counting down the minutes until freedom. Walking out of school that afternoon knowing you had two whole weeks ahead of you felt like the greatest feeling in the world????????????I miss these days #nostalgia #retro #vintage #mood #2000s
Or what about the ones set to that hypnotic Aquatic Ambience music?
@n0stalgiabomb 90’s Nostalgia Pt. 5 #nostalgic #nostalgiacore #nostalgia #1990s #1990snostalgia #pov
Well, a similar trend has emerged amongst Gen Z social media users in China, and they’ve given it a name: Dreamcore!
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Very similar to the POV-style videos popularized here in the US, young adults born between the late 1990s and early 2000s in China have begun creating Dreamcore videos depicting nostalgic aspects of their childhood. From early-2000s playgrounds, to popular food chains of the time, to the unforgettable bulky TV sets and desktop computers stationed in family rooms prior to the rise of laptops and personal devices, and more. Many users have specifically highlighted in their videos things like QQ, China’s first mainstream instant messaging software, blue-tinted windows in apartment complexes, and the 2008 Olympics, which were memorably held in Beijing. See some examples (below):
@biao7891 Chinese dreamcore #chinese #dreamcore #millennium #千禧年
@nytimes Chinese Dreamcore is taking over the social media feeds of young people in China, who face falling wages and a dire job market. The aesthetic captures a desire to return to simpler times. #ChineseDreamcore #Y2K #nostalgia #aesthetic #GenZ
So, why has this trend become so popular? Why does China’s young adult population so badly want to escape the present? Well, apparently, there are a few reasons!
Over the weekend, the New York Times published a piece highlighting the subject of Chinese Dreamcore and consulted with experts to uncover the hidden meaning behind the craze. Han Xiaoqiang, an associate professor at Southeast University in Nanjing who specializes in media studies, told the outlet he believes the Chinese Dreamcore fad stems from a feeling of lost hope. According to him, many Gen Z individuals feel disappointed that the hopes and dreams they associate with feeling during the 2000s have not materialized, so they’re opting to return to the time where the world still felt like their oyster!
But why is that? Why are goals and dreams not being met?
Well, Gen Z individuals were born into a world of rapid economic, and technological development. We mean, this was the first generation to really grow up with technology — specifically internet culture. It was a time where opportunity felt limitless. However, as they’ve settled into adulthood, times have changed and the booming world they were born into has fizzled out into more of a muted glow as economic growth slows, the job market becomes more and more competitive, wages drop, internet culture changes with the emergence of AI, and more and more nostalgic relics from the past are being abandoned in favor of modernism.
So in other words, it isn’t necessarily the early 2000s itself that Gen Z misses, it’s the optimism they experienced during that era that they’re trying to cling to in a changing world! Chinese Dreamcore is a way for young adults in China to cling to that hope and optimism that now feels so distant. The same can be said for the nostalgia trends here in the US. It’s really a fascinating and heartbreaking trend all at the same time…
What are YOUR thoughts on “Chinese Dreamcore,” Perezcious readers? Be sure to let us know in the comments down below.
[Images via Image created for PerezHilton.com]
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