The Return of 2014 Tumblr Culture
Video Overview & Insights
In this episode, Tanner talks 2014 Tumblr. An era where we romanticized sadness, discovered new artists, and held up Arizona tea cans. The fashion and trends are slowly making a comeback - but can the mindset?
5:38 i think it's less about missing every little thing we do online not being overly scrutinized and torn apart and more about how we miss trusting each other. there was a genuine innocence and earnestness to early 2010s internet and tumblr exemplifies this very well. it was about online community, genuinely liking things and being excited to share our lives. the internet still belonged to regular people. now it belongs to grifters (streamers, influencers) and the companies who sponsor them. the internet is no longer about having fun, it's about performance. everyone is mean now and trying to pointlessly one-up each other for likes/validation. we have brought the capitalist, corporate economic model to the internet sphere. human connection replaced with exponential growth. we need a return to earnestness, while rejecting consumerism, and irony.
More User Perspectives
I love that the tumblr era ābuild itselfā
The vibe was there. It just existed
Effortlessly
The music, the artists, the aesthetic
good
@littlemonster6052yall can't imagine how much I yearn and long for an iphone 6 rn
@maryunicornios3:32 LANA AND MARINA
@InYourCloset-q3ei really appreciate this video being made! i found it while looking for videos about the old tumblr era, because as a kid right now, i never really had a chance to grow up in that kind of time. i guess i've kind of been yearning for it because im in those developmental teenage years where you want to grow and explore ideas but current social media culture just scrutinizes anything that isnt considered "normal" or whatever is trendy.
im kind of the opposite when it comes to putting stuff out on the internet-- i'm very protective of my art and i like to stay an anonymous tumblr handle that just puts out art for my favorite fandoms whenever i want to, but i think this video is so helpful for me in that... for the entire time ive been online sharing my art, it kind of feels like im putting on a character! like, i've been feeling overly distant to the way i approach my art posts and it feels like im not really expressing myself. i'd look at old tumblr art/ask blogs and see all these drawings, theyre so full of character and life, and maybe its not absolutely tip top perfect but it was good and you could tell the effort and love and passion the artists put into their doodles. i dont know i just want to bring that back in me and i really appreciate you sharing your thoughts to just "dive off the diving board."
in art spaces, everything is so carefully curated and (at least for me) doodles that are "too simple" and "not high effort enough" are left out because we feel the need to put out our best work so it catches the eyes of more people, or the algorithm, or whatever. i hate that. now it feels like people are less being themselves, drawing less of what they truly want to draw. i hope i can change that mindset within me, and maybe inspire some other people to do the same like you did with your video ^^
I think some of this was due to wanting to be like one of the boys from Supernatural while at the same time wanting to add something girly. So flannels and chokers.
@maef7026obsessed with ur videos!!!
@itshannahj34I honestly credit tumblr for my leftist radicalization! I learned a lot about privilege, oppression, and intersectionality between all the thinspo lol
@kmanion8if no one gives a shit about you posting anymore that means iām dead
@grutchwhy are we all acting like tumblr is dead lol itās still running itās like the contestants on s9 after eureka talking about her like she passed away
@georgetb9083reblogged
@yooriielwhat a beautiful and insightful video
@uwubeiloved this take!! I literally just started junk posting on a fresh insta account and it feels so good, the main is too much pressure
@nevermoreravvenPeople aren't silly dorks anymore. We bullied it out of each other. It was so fun.
@voneyevaNo more 'Is crypto dead?' clickbait ads - all thanks to Blockify
@s0ftyp9ach9I'm 16, so i obviously wasn't on tumblr during it's peak, but a few years ago i got so sickly nostalgic of this era that i just downloaded tumblr and started generally pretending it was the 2010's again and i've stuck with it ever since. I love it. I wish we'd all just bring it back. Nowadays people pick apart every little thing and call it 'cringe'
@ineedcherrycolaThere are soooo many videos about this but i feel like this is the first one ive seen that was saying anything other than "it was dope"... Hello well-spoken and thoughtful!!
@emochick99i was too young during this era but i definitely remember lurking on tumblr
@mossss11I enjoyed this video sooo much!! You also come across very nice and kind and interesting, love thatš©· +1 subscriber!!!
@smolhaeven tumblr itself feels like itās been swept up in the current internet culture atm
@mervtapes10:43 LITERALLY SAID PINTREST AT THE SAME TIME OUT LOUD! I started pinning things that remind me of tumblrš« š« š«
@katelinswanson1457so well said wow... im so glad i clciked on this this made me happy
@abimon76tumblr is still my safe space over a decade later
@rockstargirlEverything you said in his video about living a different lifestyle through it is entirely true. Iāve lived the tumblr/LA/youtube girl era as a kid jusy being online, and in 2020 I lived a whole new life compared to the one I was living in real life though Pinterest. Iāve been chasing that feeling for years.
@alivefortharideI agree with everything you said! Iām 28 and spent soooooooooooooo much of my time on tumblr and twitter as a tween and teen. It truly has shaped me into who I am because they were outlets for me to discover who I was. I also remember it wasnāt ācoolā to be so online and my humor was so different because I picked up so much from tumblr, and now seeing how normalized internet culture has become im seeing certain things and Iām likeā¦. I got picked on 10 years ago for this exact thing š itās so interesting to me!
@lyndseytune6716I canāt wait for teens in 2030s to start romanticizing the 2020sš
@ChanelYuyunormal people scare me
@jailyiannaHeh I never left tumblr.. I just wish I could code my profile again š¢
@CerezaSunshynethis is my first video watching you and im so fawn of the way you explain things, i subbed so fast and iāll definitely be watching more
@giselle3341you are such a lovely person inside and out. i felt so academically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally stimulated
@elianatranelthe tumblr era was so peak. btw the FAAAHHHH sound effect has me crying š
@aces9905I was 11ā¤ It was so toxic but i miss it so much
@arielrose9874I clap louder with every sentence you speak
@crownedoll2014 was the year I realized I'm lesbian and I don't know why but since December of 2025 I'm feeling I will meet someone and actually have a connection and that's something I experienced a lot from 2014 to 2017.
@fabi_zzzggim 16 and experiencing the tumblr blessing for the first time, i am obsessed with soft/pale grunge š¤
@Paiwaneserecent arists who have made me feel like this is ethel and rosalia like its insane
@jerichojameszarateYou look like the descendant of Tumblr culture. I say that lovingly
@yooser-555Your laugh is perfect
@kbeng.8274Kik šš
@s.a.moralesI liked the 2000-2005 era.š„
@L.O.worldlolEvery now and again I still get a notification of a reblog etc on tumblr š
@leylaclareozkani loved this vid sm, very articulated and well explained
@c.videoandfilmportfolioaddison rae is single handily bringing this back
@Hypha.guys we should just go back to tumblr if ur missing the vibe, and substack has the vibe of tumblr too
@elise222_mwahlana del rey & marina and the diamonds mashup iykyk
@marieliz2454Recession indicator
@cru3lladevi11eso true!š¤people got so judgmental latelyā¦ like wtf is "hair racism"
@urvampirinalets bring back 2014 soft grunge sad girl tumblr aesthetic
@bbydevil5This 2019 ass editing
@jadore3266