Maybe you’ve been feeling it lately, too—that aching longing for a simpler, (arguably) better time from your childhood. There is something deeply magical about remembering what things used to be like. And it’s enjoyable to think back to the good old days for a few moments, even if you know you’re viewing everything through rose-colored glasses.

The ‘Retrogeist’ Instagram page rides that retro wave in a very fun way. The curators of the project share nostalgic pics from the 1980s and 1990s, as well as memes about what it’s like to be an adult who’s missing those decades, and we’ve collected the best ones. Check out the most interesting pics and remember to upvote your fave ones as you keep scrolling. But be warned, the nostalgia gets pretty heavy and you might get the urge to buy a time machine!

Bored Panda reached out to the friendly founder and curator of Retrogeist, a self-proclaimed nostalgia buff, and they were kind enough to tell us all about the inspiration behind the project and its vast appeal to the internet crowd.

More info: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Retrogeist.com

#1 ?

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“I was always a nostalgia buff, acting as a sort of human archive for my friends. I used to text them memes, music videos, and other fun content from the ’80s/’90s, our childhood and teenage years,” the founder of Retrogeist told Bored Panda about the roots of the project. “When Instagram started to gain popularity, I figured it could be a great platform to post all of this content, without driving my friends nuts with constant messaging. After a while, I had more followers than friends!”

We were curious to get the founder’s thoughts on why nostalgia is such a big hit on the internet. “Kids who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s were the first generation to really enjoy the proliferation of entertainment mediums. Some of these channels were new experiences—the personal computer/home video game consoles; the GameBoy, a handheld gaming device; or a portable music player like the Walkman,” they explained to us via email.

#2 Need More Jpeg

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#3 Which One Was Your Favorite?

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“We also had huge, global summer blockbusters, such as Back to the Future and Ghostbusters. So you had all this cool, new stuff to grow up with! However, what you, as a kid or teenager, didn’t have was the ability to capture your real-life experiences. Film was expensive. Polaroid—even more! Most people only have family photos from specific events—vacations, birthdays, etc. How many of us took a picture of a sleepover where we played Super Mario Bros. all night? Not to mention taking a selfie while waiting in line to see the Goonies premiere.”

According to the founder of the page, “Retrogeist gives people a glimpse of their childhood/teen years, of events they most likely don’t have any tangible, visual memory of. Given that, I often wonder if my 9-year-old son, who’s growing up in an all-digital world, would have the same nostalgic feelings for this era when he’s all grown up. Maybe the magic would be gone…”

The founder of Retrogeist said that nostalgia taps into a basic emotional need. “It can give people a sort of warm ‘high,’ mentally taking them back to a time they grasp as innocent and simple.” However, some folks can get lost in that feeling. “People who are caught in today’s ever-going rat race may get obsessed with that feeling. So just remember, kids—time is a one-way street!” they quipped.

#4 I Miss 90s Mtv

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#5 The Goonies, At The Liberty Theatre In Astoria, Oregon, For Its 1985 Premiere

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#6 Bttf Reunion!

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“Since I started Retrogeist, I have connected with numerous interesting and talented people. There are so many creators who come up with new takes on ’80s and ’90s visuals and music! I really enjoy reading all the comments and ongoing discussions that are taking place on the page and I think we have an amazing community! So, if you’re a Retrogeist follower and reading this—thanks!”

The ‘Retrogeist’ project has quite a following over on Instagram. A massive 243k internet users follow the account on the social media page to get their freshest dose of old-timey goodness. For many of you Pandas reading this, the ‘80s and ‘90s might seem like the recent past.

However, for the newest generations, those two decades may seem like a very far way off. And when you look at the tech, products, and fashion of those days, it does seem like a lifetime ago.

#7 Then And Now

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#8 Sounds Good!

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#9 True Dat!

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Like nearly everything on Planet Earth, nostalgia has both its upsides and downsides. Reliving positive memories and thinking about what things used to be like can energize you and give you the tenacity to push through tough times in the present. All of that optimism and motivation can be really helpful.

WebMD notes that nostalgia can even affect how we behave in the present. For example, people are more likely to exercise more if they’re optimistic about their physical health, based on their own experiences in the past. What’s more, nostalgia can push you to (re)connect with folks you cared about in the past and may even inspire you to embrace creativity. 

#10 Kirsten Dunst On The Set Of “Jumanji” (1995)

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#11 J O Y

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#12 Well…

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So in measured doses, missing the past can be just the boost that you need to get out of a slump. However, too much nostalgia might come back to bite you. If you’re constantly missing decades past, sincerely believing that the present doesn’t measure up at all, then you’re likely to reduce your quality of life. Not only that, you may become cynical and miss great opportunities because you’re longing for a different time.

#13 ? ?

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#14 Still Works!

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#15 It’s A Kind Of Magic…

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It’s actually possible to start missing things far too soon. According to Harley Therapy, there’s a phenomenon called anticipatory nostalgia where people start missing things before they’re even over. And that can lead to lots of (unnecessary) anxiety, sadness, and worry. Anticipatory nostalgia can eventually morph into anxiety about the future.

#16 An Alternate Timeline

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#17 Pick One!

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#18 David Bowie Performing Live At Milton Keynes. 1983

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Meanwhile, there’s a large difference between passive and active nostalgia. When people consciously make an effort to think about past events, this can help elevate their moods. However, the opposite is true for individuals that are reminded of the past randomly or unconsciously shift their focus to the good old days every single day.

#19 Remember That Scene In E.t. The Extra-Terrestrial Where E.t. Wears A Ghost Costume And We Can See Through His Eyes?

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#20 Let’s Sit And Stare At This For Hours

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#21 Hello

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Harley Therapy notes that some of the unhealthy thought patterns linked to nostalgia include rumination, when someone repetitively focuses on distressing thoughts, looking at all the possible little causes and consequences. Depressed individuals also tend to relive the past, judging themselves, feeling guilty, and hating themselves for what happened. 

#22 Add A Song To The Playlist

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#23 Danny Devito Becoming The Penguin For Batman Returns, 1992

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#24 What Is This Witchcraft?!

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On the whole, people are nostalgic for those times in their lives when they felt happy, free, powerful, healthy, and had fewer responsibilities to deal with. In short, you’re very likely to want to go back to a time when you were full of optimism rather than stress. Often, that’s why folks are nostalgic for their childhoods. However, if they had an awful time growing up, they might feel drawn to a different decade—perhaps when they were teenagers or even young adults.

#25 Pure 80s

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#26 Audition Photos Taken By Casting Director, Mali Finn, In The 90s

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#27 People Stop To Watch The “Seinfeld” Finale In Times Square, 25 Years Ago

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Which of these pics and memes did you enjoy the most, dear Pandas? Did you get a sudden rush of nostalgia after seeing them, like we did? Would you go back to the ‘80s and ‘90s if you could? What other time periods do you miss the most and why? We’d really love to hear your thoughts on this, so consider leaving a comment and joining in the discussion.

#28 Macaulay Culkin In Reebok Pump Twilight Zones While Leaning On The Delorean

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#29 Radnix Hg-40p

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#30 Such A Great Game…

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#31 George Lucas, 1984

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#32 I Think It Was Even Worse…

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#33 True Story

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#34 The Legend…

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#35 Waterful Ring-Toss! My Hands Hurt Just Looking At It

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#36 V I B E S

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#37 Motorola Startac Rainbow, 1997. Anyone Here Had One Of These?

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#38 Kevin In New York. 1992

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#39 Nice!

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#40 Here’s Johnny!

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#41 Let’s All Take A Moment To Appreciate Blank Vhs Cassette Packaging Design Trends

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#42 Set Them Free!!!

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#43 ?

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#44 Safety First!

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#45 A E S T H E T I C Taco Bell

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#46 Nic Cage Was Supposed To Be The Next Superman In Tim Burton’s 1997 “Superman Lives”. However, Although In This Timeline The Project Never Took Off, We Still Got This Test Photo To Look At

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#47 There’s An Emoji For ?, So Why Not For This?!

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#48 Where’s Zed?

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#49 While Filming Rocky Iv, Sylvester Stallone Asked Dolph Lundgren To Hit Him For Real. Lundgren Agreed And Then Hit Him So Hard Stallone Had To Spend 9 Days Recovering In Intensive Care. In A Later Interview, Lundgren Showed No Sympathy Stating “All I Did Was Obey Orders.”

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#50 Rowan Atkinson With His 1981 Aston Martin Vantage

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#51 ?or ??

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#52 On A Scale Of 1-95, How Happy Were You When You Got Your Copy Of Windows 95?

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#53 Gillian & David. 90s

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#54 Danny Trejo. Muscle Beach. Early 80s

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#55 Who Made This?

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#56 Polaroids Of The Cast Of Clueless – 1995

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#57 1994 vs. 2022

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#58 Classic

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#59 Mika Jovovich Answering Fan Questions On An Aol Chat. 1995

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#60 Can You Guess What Robin Williams Is Playing? (1993)

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#61 Lover’s Lane. 1983

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#62 Vincent Price And Drew Barrymore Make Cookies (1986)

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#63 ? ☎️

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#64 There’s Something About Cameron… 1994

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#65 Burger King Am Radio With Burger Headphones. These Were Produced Exclusively For Radio Shack In 1983

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#66 Nicolas Cage And His Father, August Coppola, Brother Of Francis Ford Coppola. 1988

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#67 It’s Starting…

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#68 90s Music Was The Best With These Guys!

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#69 Get Some Pavarotti Vibes!

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#70 Trivia Time: According To Sean Astin, He Was Allowed To Keep The Treasure Map Used In The Film. Several Years Later His Mother Patty Duke Discovered It, Thought It Was Just A Crinkled Piece Of Paper, And Threw It In The Bin. Oops

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#71 Lan Party, Late 99

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#72 True Story

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#73 Sleepover Time!!!

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#74 A Rare Collectors Item

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#75 Super Soaker 50

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#76 Iconic

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#77 During The 90s, Cambridgeshire Had Its Own Flying Saucer-Shaped Mcdonald’s!

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#78 ?

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#79 That Tower…

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#80 Every Time…

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#81 Which One Is You?

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#82 The Shirt Or The Painting?

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#83 Pamela

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#84 The Wonderful Casio Tm-100!

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#85 Julio Living The Life. 1986

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#86 What About Your Hardware?!

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#87 Lunch Time!

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#88 Sony Mega Watchman Fd-500. High Tech!!!

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#89 Spice Girls, 1997. And Now Let’s Have A Go At The Old Game Of Who Is Your Favorite Spice Girl?

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#90 The Cast Of “Friends” Went On A Trip To Vegas Before The Show Aired In 1994

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#91 ??‍♂️

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#92 New York City In 1989

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#93 Bedroom Goals

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#94 Batman In 1987

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#95 Gaming In The 90s. Can You Smell It?

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#96 What Does It Taste Like?

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#97 How Do You Backup Your Photos To Cloud With This?

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#98 Heather Thomas And Arnold Schwarzenegger…

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#99 Let’s Play!

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#100 Do You Wear A Wrist Watch? If So, Is It Casio?

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#101 I’ll Be There For You! (When You Install Windows 95…)

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#102 Don’t You Hate When This Happens?

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#103 Panasonic Sg-J500 Portable Stereo. 1984

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#104 Can You Feel The Heat Radiating From All These Crts?

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#105 What Could Go Wrong?

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#106 Snack Time

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