Apple News In Conversation How to make nostalgia your psychological superpower
Apr 16, 2026
Clay Routledge, psychologist and author of Past Forward, explores nostalgia as a psychological resource. He explains why Gen Z is drawn to 1990s culture, how nostalgia comforts loneliness and motivates connection, and when romanticizing the past can be harmful. The conversation also covers retro tech, political misuse of nostalgia, and using memory to fuel a more balanced future.
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Nostalgia Was Once A Diagnosed Brain Disease
- The term nostalgia was coined in 1688 and originally described a brain disease among Swiss mercenaries homesick for Alpine life.
- Clay Routledge recounts absurd historical theories like cowbells damaging ears or demonic causes to illustrate early misunderstanding.
Nostalgia Acts As Emotional Self Regulation
- Nostalgia functions as a self-regulatory resource that comforts and motivates during negative states like loneliness.
- Clay Routledge shows nostalgia down-regulates distress and increases confidence to rebuild social connections, using past meaningful relationships as evidence you can connect again.
Gen Z Uses Historical Nostalgia To Borrow Cultural Ideas
- Historical nostalgia lets people borrow cultural memories they didn't personally experience to inspire present creativity.
- Clay Routledge calls Gen Z's 90s nostalgia 'historical nostalgia' and says they use shared cultural artifacts as a bank to innovate and adapt.
