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The Shadow Around 2010s Nostalgia
People are romanticizing the era that resulted in the techno-oligarchy we see today.
I’m seeing Gen Zers and millennials alike expressing nostalgia for the early 2010s—for the era when Obama was president, when writing listicles for Buzzfeed was a full time job, when Broad City was on TV.
I graduated from college around that time. I remember first hearing about Halsey in a Brooklyn apartment as a friend and I poured cheese on pasta and got ready for a night out. I remember warehouse parties, hipster hangouts, tacos and PBRs.
I worked in tech when I graduated, and yes, it felt a bit like a fever dream—scooters, candy, endless booze, sex, rooftops with views of Occupy Wall Street protests. I remember when same-sex marriage became legalized nationwide: My coworkers and I went to Big Gay Ice Cream to celebrate.
It did feel very hopeful.
But there was always a shadow. Those tech jobs were being funded not by profits, but by investor capital. There was always this idea that a crazy increase in cash flow was just around the corner. Bosses had sex with female subordinates and thought that because they were cool liberal tech bros, it was okay, and we didn’t need to follow the rules other businesses did.
