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Archived Post or Archived Past? A Qualitative Study on How Gen Z Interprets and Reconstructs Digitally Mediated Pasts

Jaimes Guerra, Adriana Geraldine LU and Garfield, Mallory LU (2026) BUSN39 20261
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
The study reveals that Gen Z consumers construct nostalgia for unlived eras through four interconnected processes: platform and algorithmic exposure, aesthetic simplification, collective validation, and identity reconstruction. Nostalgic content becomes meaningful when platforms make selected versions of the past visible, when aesthetic cues such as music, filters, fashion, and visual styles make the past emotionally recognizable, and when user interactions collectively validate nostalgic feelings. The findings further show that Gen Z uses idealized representations of the past to critique contemporary digital life, particularly feelings of overstimulation, performativity, and digital fatigue.
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author
Jaimes Guerra, Adriana Geraldine LU and Garfield, Mallory LU
supervisor
organization
course
BUSN39 20261
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Digitally Mediated Nostalgia, Gen Z, Nostalgia Without Lived Memory, Algorithmic Curation, Aesthetic Mediation, Collective Validation, Consumer Culture.
language
English
id
9241095
date added to LUP
2026-06-22 15:30:12
date last changed
2026-06-22 15:30:12
@misc{9241095,
  abstract     = {{The study reveals that Gen Z consumers construct nostalgia for unlived eras through four interconnected processes: platform and algorithmic exposure, aesthetic simplification, collective validation, and identity reconstruction. Nostalgic content becomes meaningful when platforms make selected versions of the past visible, when aesthetic cues such as music, filters, fashion, and visual styles make the past emotionally recognizable, and when user interactions collectively validate nostalgic feelings. The findings further show that Gen Z uses idealized representations of the past to critique contemporary digital life, particularly feelings of overstimulation, performativity, and digital fatigue.}},
  author       = {{Jaimes Guerra, Adriana Geraldine and Garfield, Mallory}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Archived Post or Archived Past? A Qualitative Study on How Gen Z Interprets and Reconstructs Digitally Mediated Pasts}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}