This is In Conversation from Apple News.

I'm Sam Sanders in for Shumita Basu.

Today, nostalgia and why we long for decades we didn't live through.

You may have noticed a trend recently.

Gen Z is feeling super nostalgic for the 1990s.

So many people in their teens and 20s seem to have an affinity for CDs and flip phones,

point-and-shoot cameras, 90s clothing like boot-cut jeans and slip dresses.

I'm personally obsessed with their reclaiming of 90s sunglasses trends.

Do you see any and all of this just go on any social media platform?

The 90s a stick.

When I think of 90s makeup, I either think of Supermodel glam or grunge. Start with the t-shirt, jeans, and an oversized top. The shoes, I gotta go with the chucks, man. Everybody was wearing these back then. Listen to the music you love on physical media. This is so cool because it's actual physical music. CD, final records, and even cassette tapes. I just made a very impulsive decision.

I bought a flip phone.

Phone without smartphone functionality.

Our inspo is Drew Barrymore.

Winona Ryder and my mom.

The thing is, most of these people didn't actually live through the 90s.

They have no individual personal memory of that era.

So where is all the nostalgia coming from?

What is causing it?

And what does nostalgia do for us psychologically?

To get the answers to these questions, I wanted to talk to an expert on the topic.

One of the common misconceptions of nostalgia, I think, is that it represents a rejection of progress and a desire to go back

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