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It’s completely natural to miss the periods of your life when you felt happy, free, and optimistic about your future and that of the world. So, when things feel exceptionally difficult and pessimistic, it’s a breath of fresh air to temporarily put on your rose-colored glasses and have a good laugh when remembering the past.
The ‘British Nostalgia’ Instagram account helps you do just that. It does exactly what it says on the tin and shares funny, classic, and nostalgic British memes. We’ve collected some of the best pics to share with you, and you’ll probably find them very relatable, whether or not you’ve ever lived in the UK.
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One of the most fascinating things about nostalgia is that, in some cases, it doesn’t just focus on your personal recollections. You can actually yearn for a time period in history that you haven’t personally experienced.
In other words, you might have a deep desire to live in a period of time before you were even born.
This phenomenon is known as anemoia.
Based on the findings of philosopher Professor Felipe De Brigard, from Duke University, nostalgia can include your yearnings, not just your recollections. According to him, memory is a creative process, BBC Science Focus reports.
“When you recollect memories, it’s not like you’re looking up a recording of what happened, it’s more like your brain creates a simulation of those past events.”
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Riaan van der Walt 11 hours ago (edited)
Haha. Yes! Or surprised when he walks in. Like holy c**p man, we havent even noticed the cameras or the crew for the last week. Tthis is a really unexpected surprise. Let me yell at my staff for dramatic effect.
“In this way, De Brigard argues that nostalgia can be based on memories – simulations of pleasant past experiences – but doesn’t have to be. Given the role of imagination in memory, he says it’s not a huge leap to propose that nostalgia can also be based on imagined positive past experiences,” BBC Science Focus explains.
As per BBC Science Focus, this type of imagination-based nostalgia is likely to be influenced by a variety of sources, such as stories and propaganda about the past.
“So it’s quite likely that you’ve read or heard rose-tinted accounts of historical periods or places. Based on those accounts, your mind creates a simulation of what those places or times would have been like and you then feel a yearning to experience them for yourself.”
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You are more likely to yearn for a past that you see through rose-colored glasses if you’re feeling dissatisfied with your present.
The reason why anemoia can, at times, be problematic is that some populist movements might use it to promote their political agendas. In short, they might promise returning to the ‘good old days,’ even if they are merely a figment of their imagination.
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Riaan van der Walt 11 hours ago
Maybe she was enjoying the view with a little bit of quiet time and along comes these people idiots to take it away.
“Older populist voters might be inspired by conventional nostalgia, for times they really did experience (that’s not to say their memories are necessarily accurate). But many young voters also seem to be susceptible to nostalgia-based propaganda and anemoia helps to make sense of this,” BBC Science Focus stresses.
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Overall, nostalgia can be quite beneficial if you have the discipline to engage with it in moderation. But it has its share of downsides, too.
On the positive end of the scale, nostalgia can help you fight off existential dread, counter-balance feeling lonely, and remind you of your roots. Reminiscing about the past can also fill you with optimism and hope and help you weather your current challenges.
The Guardian writes that nostalgia can be actively therapeutic and affirm your ties with your family, friends, and partners. “People with nostalgic tendencies feel more loved and protected, have reduced anxiety, are more likely to have secure attachments and are even supposed to have better social skills.”
And yet, if you rely on nostalgia too much, you might find that your opportunities in the present slip away and your current relationships suffer. Yearning for the past, the ‘good old days,’ and your personal ‘glory days’ at the cost of your current and future quality of life isn’t the right way to go.
The ‘British Nostalgia’ social media project, a United Kingdom-based account, was first created all the way back in June 2018.
It currently boasts a solid 141k followers on Instagram who love the fact that the curator posts funny memes and pictures full of British nostalgia to their feeds. At the time of writing, the account has shared over 1,400 nostalgic and relatable memes about British life.
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Panda Kicki 8 hours ago
That stopped when Show and Tell turned into "bring your most expensive item and brag about it for less fortunate kids, then tease poor kids for not having the coolest toys"
We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments at the bottom of this post, Pandas! Which of these memes did you like best? What decade do you miss the most? Have you ever lived in the United Kingdom, or do you currently live there?
What do you love the most about your life there? On the flip side, where do you think there’s room for improvement?
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michael Chock 8 hours ago (edited)
Yeah Caitlin! What are you doing with your life? Sort. It. Out.
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Bunny Wood 8 hours ago
Omg yes. I used to get so anxious watching Peppa Pig when this happened. "Is it 4 wheel drive? Is he in low ratio? What tyres are on that? "
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UnclePanda 2 hours ago (edited)
My 'at home only' and 'in public' t-shirt collections merged when I retired, but for some reason, I still think of some of them as my 'good' t-shirts that need consideration before use. "Will ketchup be involved today?"
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Bartlet for world domination 7 hours ago
And I still remember the one time it worked (and the time: 8:40 PM).
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Bunny Wood 8 hours ago (edited)
I went shopping at a supermarket that has two prices. Members and non members prices??? Like FFS Is it not enough that im here shopping? Do i have to be dating the bosses daughter to get the price?
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Kira Okah 10 hours ago
I had one of these recently that would not open, that connecting chocolate was all "absolutely not, nope!" Whacking it on the table did nothing unfortunately, took about 10 minutes of clawing off shavings until one segment was loose enough. Nt usually that much of a pest to open.
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MalayDragon 8 hours ago
I'm 41 and still looking for this Hannah person so i can join ins the game.
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Kira Okah 11 hours ago (edited)
Now if only I could get one not covered by plastic or sugar. Seriously, was trying to restock the first aid kit and all the ones available were either plastic film or sugar coat. Neither of us can take the latter and nope on the former, what happened to the cellulose film ones?
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Remi (He/Him) 6 hours ago
I'd never even heard of Benidorm before hearing about it from Brits. Finns all congregate around Fuengirola and thereabouts you see
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Daisydaisy 11 hours ago
And frankly I think it's appalling to see all these twelve year olds trotting about with two or even three kids, or pretending to be doctors
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Nota Robot 9 hours ago
Just superglue the other end into the phone, sit back and watch the carnage.
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Rose the Cook 8 hours ago
Surely that is just common sense. Like don't put real photos of your young children there.
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Chihuahua Mama 6 hours ago
Genuine question: do a lot of McDonalds in the UK not have a drive thru? The only ones I can think of here in Canada that don't have drive thrus are the ones in Walmarts
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What do you think ?
PrettyJoyBird 2 hours ago
These were fun. For the most part. Some i did not understand but majority were relatable.
David Morgan 11 hours ago
As an English person, I am a little saddened at how few of these are a) funny; b) written properly. You don't HAVE to just press 'send', you CAN check first.
Cee Cee 8 hours ago
Oh dear. Got out of bed the wrong side? I'm British and enjoyed most of these.
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PrettyJoyBird 2 hours ago
These were fun. For the most part. Some i did not understand but majority were relatable.
David Morgan 11 hours ago
As an English person, I am a little saddened at how few of these are a) funny; b) written properly. You don't HAVE to just press 'send', you CAN check first.
Cee Cee 8 hours ago
Oh dear. Got out of bed the wrong side? I'm British and enjoyed most of these.
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