Retro video is back in a big way. It shouldn’t be too surprising if you read our 2025 Video Trends Guide, where analog and nostalgia were two big trends we predicted would be big this year. But even still, the ways that this trend has come to life has been surprising.
From point-and-shoot cameras and handheld camcorder technology seeing a boom to everything VHS being idealized, the look and feel of past decades are alive and well on social media today. Retro content isn’t just an aesthetic – it’s a movement grounded in emotion, imperfection, and cultural memory.
What does retro mean in the 2020s?
If you grew up in the 90s, the visual hallmarks of retro video are unmistakable. Grain, VHS tracking lines, washed-out color, 4:3 aspect ratio, and on-screen timestamps are all familiar signs of the technology at the time.
Now, those visuals are in high demand. While they may not necessarily always be completely accurate to the exact specs of the past, the spirit and influence is very much alive across video content today.
How retro nostalgia and aesthetics are showing up
Whether it’s through using that same analog technology or re-creating the look and feel manually, you can see it across video of all kinds. And in some cases, it’s not just the visuals alone, but also the content itself. Everything from home movies to infomercials and more are showing up on feeds today.
Analog technology is trendy and accessible
One of the most prominent ways this trend is showing up is the huge spike in popularity for older analog tech, especially amongst Gen Z. It’s not just that people want their photos and videos to look retro – they’re actually opting to use the older technology instead of the latest devices.
In a way, it makes sense. Why edit your videos to look like it was filmed on a camcorder when you can skip that step and go straight to the source? The fact that it requires either digitizing or transferring your files doesn’t seem to be a big enough blocker to stop the trend’s momentum.
Using camcorders to get an instant nostalgic, home-movie look
Take Sailorparkgirls for example, which is an account run by two women where they vlog their lives living on a sailboat with 90s camcorders. They started uploading their digitized VHS videos on Instagram in January 2025 and already have over 40,000 followers on Instagram. While the content itself is entertaining, the VHS aesthetic is definitely a big draw of their account.
Beyond VHS-driven accounts, there have even been social media trends promoting camcorder use. One is getting a camcorder for a wedding and having people pass it around to film random moments that are later digitized, edited, and posted online.
In a way, it’s the perfect way to make clips of a special day look like a dreamy, cherished memory with zero effort. The nostalgia comes pre-packaged. This retro trend has also led to a rise in dreamcore aesthetics in video, which is something we predict will become even more popular in our 2026 Video Trends Guide.
Accounts where nostalgic technology is the content
For some creators, it’s not about filming their content on retro tech, but creating videos that showcase it. A great example is the account Dreadfuladventures. The majority of his videos are him pulling out a homemade VHS that he’s recorded a modern show, movie, or video onto, and popping it into a CRT TV.
It’s a simple concept, but it works well enough that he has over 250,000 followers on TikTok. It plays into both the love for the VHS look applied to new media as well as the nostalgia for old technologies themselves. One comment on the video above highlights this perfectly: “I forgot how satisfying it was to put on a VHS. The sound is so soothing.”
Editing to make new content look old
Of course, not every creator is opting to film on outdated technology to give their videos this look. And they don’t really need to. There’s tons of overlays, presets, effects, and templates that can easily re-create the look they’re going for with minimal effort.
We cover a bunch of these in the tutorial below – check it out to learn how to apply a VHS preset in After Effects and overlays in DaVinci Resolve to get a retro aesthetic without the old tech.
You can find a ton of these presets and templates in the Storyblocks library, from VHS effects to retro templates, titles, overlays and much more. With one of our unlimited download subscriptions, you can download as many templates as you like to try out and add to your videos. It’s a great way to quickly and easily get in on this trend without having to spend a ton of time editing from scratch.
Celebrating the cultural influence of the infomercial
One of my favorite ways that 90s aesthetics are showing up in content today is the surprising amount of nods you can find to a classic ad, the infomercial. If you didn’t have infomercials making a comeback on your 2025 bingo card, you’re not alone. But you can find their influence everywhere.
In some cases, it’s a more modern nod to an infomercial. This video from Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources about finding deer sheds is a great example. From the cheesy music to using every single retro transition they could find (and of course using the classic bold yellow font with a black outline), they do a great job of giving their video a nostalgic feel while keeping the crisp quality.
But the most unexpected place that the infomercial showed up this year was in pop superstar Chappell Roan’s lyric video for her single “The Giver.” The entire video is packed full of nostalgia, from the CRT TV menu in the beginning to the fuzzy, faded VHS tape format and of course, the phone number flashing at the bottom of the screen the entire time. The retro transitions and bold WordArt style text also help add to the infomercial aesthetic of the video.
The whole thing is a celebration of this classic ad and the 90s as a whole, which is such an entertaining way to package a lyric video and a testament to the intentional choices Chappell’s creative team makes. Best of all, it’s just fun.
Looking at all of these examples together, we can definitively say that the influence of the 90s is alive and well across videos today. But why are modern creators so invested in this retro aesthetic?
The analog resurgence: Why creators are going back
It’s easy enough to say that like fashion, video is seeing its own cyclical trend of past aesthetics and trends coming back into style. But that dismisses so much of the broader creative (and cultural) landscape that exists today.
Wanting to escape modern-day overwhelm
At its core, indulging in nostalgia is a way to escape reality. Today, everything is digital and accessible. Your phone is your camera, your social media, your editing software, your news, and your connection to most of the world. But for many today, that connection can be draining.
So for creators who are using retro technology that doesn’t let them immediately upload to their accounts, it puts a buffer in between the process of creating and sharing it with the world. It lets them disconnect. And in the process of doing that, it also allows them to be more mindful and intentional.
Cherished home movies were a relic of simpler times and simpler technology. You weren’t filming content for your social media – you were filming it to capture memories and a period of time you wanted to remember. Now, using analog tech gives that relief of disconnecting from the internet and social media, at least temporarily. Even editing content to re-create that look or including elements from that time period can achieve the same effect.
Embracing imperfection
By default, today’s standards are as high as they’ll ever be for video. Because technology continues improving on itself as a rule, that means expectations for creators is to always have perfected, optimized content. Especially as more AI-generated content floods feeds with its overly-polished look and feel.
This trend gives them permission to break away from that rule. Instead of crisp resolutions, they can choose fuzzy, distorted filters in the name of aesthetics. They can embrace the limitations of a 90s camcorder without having to worry about being perfectly in focus or fixing the grain. The imperfect quality is part of the appeal of why this trend is thriving.
It’s also more honest to what creativity really looks like. Perfection and creative work are at odds with each other. Real creativity is messy and requires you to give up the idea that you have any real control over the process.
Explore the trend for yourself
You can never say for sure how long trends will stick around, but I predict this one will continue on into 2026 and beyond. It may change and evolve (like most trends do), but I don’t think it’s going away any time soon.
For creators and brands, that means you have plenty of time to try incorporating it into your own content in a way that feels authentic. Try adding the VHS aesthetic to one of your videos, picking up an older camera model to record your next video, or taking inspiration from the 90s in other ways. Trends are a great way to experiment and switch things up from your usual process.
All of the great templates, footage, music, and more in the Storyblocks library makes it easy to hop on trends, with over 10 million assets to choose from. Sign up today to start downloading instantly and get inspired by high-quality content created by our global network of talented artists.
