internet babies: notes on nostalgia

2 gen z's hot takes on the trends that defined the last decade

Arden: Ochuko and I met through Substack DMs a few weeks ago, because I thought she was so sharp and funny and I asked if she’d want to work on a joint post.

Ochuko Akpovbovbo

writes as seen on, where she curates a collection of news and commentary that is both entertaining and edifying. I’ve never skipped a letter.

Ochuko: I love

Arden Yum

’s substack, Ad Hoc, because sometimes I miss being a college student and her fun adventures and musings allow me to reminisce in the least embarrassing way possible. She’s also way smarter than I was as a junior so I remain impressed.

In this letter, we took one trend from the last 10 years, talked about it, and rated it. We can’t share what these ratings are based on because we do not know. This was all written in the spirit of ~vibes~ and should therefore be read in the spirit of ~vibes~

— Arden & Ochuko

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2014: YouTube Beauty Gurus

Arden: I grew up on these girls! In middle school, I’d come home every day, race to finish my homework, and then watch YouTube videos until I fell asleep. Their oversaturated, unnaturally optimistic, structured content taught me how to do my makeup, deal with friend drama, put together cute outfits, and decorate my room for each season. I lived for their Black Friday hauls and boyfriend tags. I still watch MissRemiAshten’s vlogs as a treat at the end of the day. I honestly think this was the peak of the internet: lighthearted, purposeful, feel-good.

Ochuko: This is funny because I bet I was on a completely different side of beauty Youtube than you! But let me tell you, I was in sooooo deep! In fact, I promise you that my YouTube addiction is at least 70% to blame for the fact that I didn't ace my IB exams. (The other 30% is because IB sucks). Patricia Bright, Jennie Jenkins and Nikki Thot were my girls! And if you don't know who they are, then you didn’t know black British Youtube. So if for some reason I’m ever faking a British accent and I end up sounding more Nigerian than I usually do, these women and the hours I spent binging their videos are the reason why. 

PS. They’re also the reason I had a thing for white men for a brief period in my life but that affliction has long since passed. May it never return. 

Rating: 4/5

2015: Taylor Swift’s Giant Squad

Arden: Taylor Swift, in 2015, was probably in my top 5 humans in the world. Her squad, their red carpet appearances, and their hard launch in the Bad Blood music video felt historic. Looking back, I wonder how much Taylor was actually friends with these size 0 models and how much everyone in that group just understood what they could gain by associating with each other.

Ochuko: This was my first year as a Swiftie (I no longer identify), but I still lived in Lagos where this was quite a niche thing to be. It was also an embarrassing thing to be, so of course I never told anyone except my sister, who was far braver than I and publicly a stan. Anyway, I’ve said here before that my true obsession at this point was Victoria's Secret. I watched their shows religiously and knew everything about each angel. EVERYTHING. I really truly adored these women. So let’s just say that seeing Martha, Karlie and Lily in Taylor’s Bad Blood music video only served to validate Taylor’s coolness to me and not the other way round. Does this make sense? If supermodels wanted to be her friend then maybe I could finally confess that I enjoyed her music. Idk guys I was sixteen the math isn't mathing.

Rating: 3/5

2016: Instagram-able Desserts

Arden: I was one of those middle schoolers who waited 2 hours in line to get a Black Tap milkshake. It was impossible to eat. I don’t know why everyone was fiending over a milkshake with an entire slice of cake on top and rock candy and sparklers. I think this trend catalyzed the idea that restaurants should be making photogenic food, not just food that tastes good. I’ve been to a lot of New York restaurants, and I’ll be shocked that a place I thought was just okay appears to be mind-blowingly delicious on a TikTok. I’ve stopped trusting food bloggers and “best of” lists and now I just dig into the google reviews, which rarely lead me astray. 

Ochuko: So this would have been my first year in Canada. In the West. Amongst the Whites. So sorry girl but my whole experience was clouded by that singular epic fact and I’m not even sure I registered this? I was too busy discovering that I was Black now! 

Rating: 2/5

2017: Kendall Jenner’s Infamous Pepsi Ad

Arden: This commercial is absurd. Kendall needed a better team to tell her this was NOT a good idea.

Ochuko: Okay by this time I had recovered but still had not learnt the language of outrage. That is to say I thought it was dumb and funny but really wasn’t very pressed. I think I actually remember feeling sorry for her- what a silly, silly girl. 

Rating: 2/5

2018: The Word of the Year is “Toxic”

Arden: Everyone is toxic, and labeling someone/something as such doesn’t help anyone. If I got rid of every toxic relationship I have in my life, I would have no one, because we’re all selfish and imperfect and make tons of mistakes. So this word is unproductive imo.

Ochuko: I was living in America now and by then I had learnt to be so so mad. Americans will do that to you. In my first college friend group, there was this guy from Texas (and I only remember this about him because he seemed so very un Texan) who found everyone we knew to be “sooo toxic omg”. For a while I too then started finding toxicity under every rock and around every corner, until- wouldn't you know it- I too was labeled toxic! I don’t remember what went down, only that this was a defining moment, and that naturally the only response I could have was to declare that it was actually so toxic to label other people toxic and in fact that word toxic is as toxic as it gets and this friend of old was the most toxic person of all. This is where I still stand on the issue by the way. 

Rating: 1/5

2019: Olivia Jade’s College Scandal

Arden: I was an avid Olivia Jade fan when the USC news came out, and I felt…betrayed? I watched all her vlogs and had heard her complain about school but thought nothing of it. After the scandal I couldn’t sit through her videos for like four years. Looking back, the strength of my reaction was kind of extreme. I know so many kids who get into college through side-doors or massive donations or legacy admissions. I think my problem with Olivia is that it felt like a breach of trust between her and her audience, and I also found her claim to know nothing about it embarrassing. Her comeback a few years later was so awkward. Now she seems happier (albeit a bit lonely?) living alone, cooking, wearing cute outfits, playing with her dog. She’s posting regularly again. I can’t believe she’s dating Jacob Elordi. 

Ochuko: I thought this was funny but was also kinda sad it wasn’t someone even more rich and famous who was caught- because we know they all do it. I didn't watch Olivia’s videos back then (still don’t), so I did not witness the fallout on her end or the lame lies she must have told.  But now that I know more about her, I find her incredibly boring, so I doubt I would have gotten much satisfaction in her temporary demise anyway. Also, isn't she dating Jacob Elordi now? Nothing matters anymore sigh.

Rating: 3/5 for its impact on the culture

2020: The Hype House

Arden: Everyone was so young. I always thought it was wild how fast someone would drop out of school to pursue social media full time. To me it seems too big a risk. And they were so white.

Ochuko: Well you're right because where are these kids now? I didn't join TikTok for the longest time because I thought it’ll just be these kids and their weird dancing which always featured a lot of elbows. The dances were always very elbowyyyyy! So I never followed all the drama closely but I remember Charlie D’Amelio used to cry a lot on camera. She was a part of this right? You guys know how I feel about people crying on camera. It should never ever be done. 

Rating: 2/5

2021: Emily Mariko’s Salmon Bowl

Arden: Emily used to post videos of her making salmon for dinner and thousands of fans would comment the salmon, rice, and ice cube emojis because they knew what was coming the next day. I made the famous rice bowl a few times, and it was good, but I prefer to eat my salmon in bigger pieces. The grasp this had on the internet is so funny to me. I think a lot of young people don’t know how to cook.

Ochuko: Ahhh now we’ve caught up to the time where I had just graduated, I was on TikTok, I had a man, an apartment, a job. I HAD MONEY. So of course I was making these bowls at least once a week because that’s what a girl in my situation did!

Rating: 4/5

2022: Wordle

Arden: I talked to the guy who bought Wordle from its creator for the New York Time a couple years ago. At the time, it had no revenue, no greater scheme. Josh Wardle was just a coder who wanted to make a game to play with his girlfriend. The NYT bought it for ~1 million dollars, which is a steal. I think the reason it’s their most popular game is that it’s short, it’s satisfying, and there’s a good bit of luck involved. Sometimes I get frustrated solving spelling bee because I get stuck. Wordle, on the other hand, you can almost always win.

Ochuko: I don't play games. Card games, board games, puzzle games. I’m no good and they make me feel so DUMB. But at this point my boyfriend and I just started doing long distance and were at that stage where we tried to do fun activities together but apart (we’ve long since abandoned this), and Wordle was one of the first things we tried. I’d cheat sometimes (often) (always) because I didn't want him to think I was illiterate. But it didn't take long for him to figure it out and we decided to put an end to that to save us both some embarrassment. Fun memories though.

Rating: 4/5

2023: Tradwives

Arden: Nara Smith is incredible, but I would argue that she’s not a tradwife. She cooks for her husband and takes care of her children, but she’s also a content creator and model. I feel like actual tradwives are offline and don’t have a job. Nara’s also a total troll (I’m convinced). She posted a video the other day where she said “Lucky and I realized we were all out of toothpaste so we decided to make our own.” There’s just no way that was 100% earnest. As for the tradwife trend in general, I think people can do whatever makes them happy, but the fact that the biggest tradwife influencers have mostly male audiences is freaky.

Ochuko: People who know me don’t believe this when I tell them. People who really know me absolutely believed this when I tell them- but in another life I'd totally be a trad wife. A Nara Smith trad wife, specifically. The only difference between that life and this one is that I do not look like Nara Smith, I’m not rich, and I don’t like making videos of myself. Because why go through all that trouble if I can't show all of you how much better my life is! Look, I love Nara and thoroughly enjoy her content. If I could, I would. 

Rating: 2/5

2024: New Adulthood

Arden: My friends and I talk all the time about how the pandemic stunted our growth. This seems to be the sentiment across the country. The traditional markers of adulthood, like buying a home and getting married, are no longer achievable for young people. Instead, they're working freelance, live with their parents, stay single, and don’t plan to have children. Life stages are in flux—there’s no longer a neat beginning, middle, and end. I think this is both terrifying and freeing. I have no idea what the rest of my life will look like after I graduate in a year.

Ochuko: This doesn't bother me. I just pretend I’m on Friends or whatever. Besides, if everyone is behind, are you really even behind? I have a great life and there are really only three significant differences between the life I imagined for myself as a 15 year old in 2014 and the one I live now: 1.) my boobs are still the same size 2.) I live in Europe and not the US 3.) I did not get married at 23. Only one of these things still causes me grief. Life is a ball. 

Rating: 3.5/5

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None of this is serious, but all of it is true.