—Dougal Waters—Getty ImagesThere’s a reason why no one ever talks about “the bad old days.” A nostalgic longing for bygone times—and a sense that the present doesn’t stack up well against the past—is a common sentiment. It’s also nothing new. Writings dating back to the time of Homer reveal that such “decline narratives” have been with us for quite a long time.“In many human societies, the past is mythologized,” says Ze Hong, a behavioral scientist at the University of Macau who has studied historical examples of decline narratives. “The present world is often viewed as the product of a gradual decline from this mythologized ‘golden age.’”Hong says there are several explanations for these narratives. One of them is wrapped up with a form of cognitive bias known as “rosy retrospection,” which is our tendency to recall past events—even those that were unpleasant or challenging—with fondness or appreciation. “When we think about the past, we tend to play down the negatives,” Hong explains. “At the same time, people tend to focus on the negative side of things in the present. The combination of these two biases can give us this sense of gradual decline.”Other research has found that nostalgia flourishes during periods of instability and change, perhaps because it helps people cope.“Individuals and groups often turn to the past for psychological comfort during times of profound uncertainty.” That’s according to researchers at Claremont Graduate University in California, who led a 2025 study on the subject. They make the case that during the Covid pandemic and its accompanying upswells in social and political strife, nostalgia served as a “collective coping mechanism” that helped people connect to “a perceived simpler, more stable era.”Some have referred to this as the Covid “nostalgia bump.” Researchers found evidence that it was strong enough to shift people’s music-listening tastes toward older tracks. It may also have contributed to the resurgent popularity of decades-old TV shows like Friends.“Beyond offering psychological comfort, collective nostalgia reinforces group identity, fosters in-group cohesion, and heightens perceptions of external threats,” the Claremont team wrote in the study. Echoing some of Hong’s findings, they argue that politicians frequently weaponize nostalgia to foster feelings of shared dissatisfaction with the present and a unifying wish to return to an earlier, often over-idealized era of perceived prosperity. But while nostalgia for “the good old days” and a sense of dissatisfaction with the present are often lumped together, some say these are distinct phenomena with contrasting characteristics and effects.“People who are nostalgic are generally not people who think life is on a declining path,” says Tim Wildschut, a professor of social and personality psychology at the University of Southampton in the U.K.Wildschut is the author of two recent papers that contrast nostalgia with what he terms “declinism.” Nostalgia, he says, is all about the recollection of personal memories. These memories promote feelings of affiliation and social connectedness. “Important people in our lives, including people who may no longer be around, are brought to life through nostalgic memory, and through these memories we feel closer to them,” he explains. By reconnecting us with our past experiences, nostalgia also provides a sense of continuity that fosters feelings of meaningfulness and optimism, he says.Declinism, on the other hand, is an unrealistic glorification of the past coupled with the belief that things are steadily going downhill. It’s less about personal memory and more about feelings of dissatisfaction. “Declinism is more related to grievance and pessimism, not to social connectedness and growth,” he says. “It’s this belief that society is getting worse.”Wildschut says it’s important to highlight these distinctions because they have implications for how people feel about themselves and what’s going on in their lives.His research has found that while nostalgia is associated with improvements in social connectedness and favorable responses to questions about new innovations like AI, declinism has the opposite associations. “Nostalgia serves as a positive resource for stepping into the future, whereas declinism generates resistance to innovation,” he and his colleagues write.At a time when the pace of AI-powered technological change is swift, political polarization is endemic, and climate-related uncertainty is rife, there are seemingly plenty of reasons for people to shake their heads at the modern world and long for a simpler time. But these sorts of feelings appear to be a natural and age-old response to periods of change and instability.