Essay On Nostalgia

883 Words2 Pages

Nostalgia. Such a simple word for something that causes us to feel many emotions. Listening to a certain song may make us feel sad and long for past times while watching some TV shows make you feel like a kid again. Countless studies have been conducted to understand the concept of nostalgia and to understand why it causes us to feel the way we do. Even though we all experience nostalgia on more than one occasion in our lifetime, it 's not uncommon for people to go through their lives feeling different types of nostalgia without knowing there 's a word to describe this feeling. There are many different definitions for the word nostalgia but the most basic and common is a feeling of longing for the past. Now that you’ve got a basic understanding …show more content…

With nostalgia making us feel certain emotions in all different kinds of scenarios, scientists have conducted studies to find out how nostalgia functions inside our brain. According to the article, “However, as it turns out, nostalgia isn’t about remembering memories at all. As Hirsh points out, nostalgia does not relate to a specific memory, but rather an emotional state. We put an emotional state within an era, or specific frame, and choose to idealize that specific time. We deduce that because we remember that feeling of happiness at the park, our childhood must have been better than right now.” Due to nostalgia being based on emotional states instead of memories, a common ground is now established between everyone who has experienced nostalgia. For example, everyone may not have experienced memories of playing at the park or watching Disney movies as kids but everyone at some point in their childhood has experienced some form of happiness whether it be in the form of a game (ala hide and go seek or tag) or a simple car ride you shared between your siblings and/or parents. Another study discussed in the article was, “According to Erica Hepper, a psychologist at the University of Surrey in England, the usefulness of nostalgia varies with age, with young adults participating in it most.

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