I have certainly noticed a surge of nostalgia amongst twenty-somethings in the past few years. I don’t know how many bar conversations I’ve had about favorite childhood toys or how many friends I've made reminiscing about our favorite cartoons on Nickelodeon. Young adults outside of my friend circle have certainly gotten into the act as well; blogs like “I’m Remembering” are blowing up and complete seasons of ‘90s television shows have been uploaded to YouTube.

I was glad to see that this phenomenon was picked up by CNN, who published a piece last week called “2011: The Year of Nostalgia.” It examined the idea that every generation must have a turning point in which it looks perhaps too fondly back on its childhood years, while stores and network outlets capitalize on this nostalgia by referencing ‘90s pop culture in its current output.

In 2012, the trend doesn’t seem to be slowing. TeenNick will continue to show its late-night block of programming called “The ‘90’s Are All That,” which features Nickelodeon hits like Clarissa Explains It All, All That and Are You Afraid of the Dark? Disney is also running with the trend, and will re-release The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast in 3-D later this year. Titanic will also be re-released this year in 3-D, which sounds like a decidedly less pleasant viewing experience than innocuous 3-D dancing teacups.

CNN postulates an interesting argument that the huge boom of ‘90s nostalgia was spurred because of the dismal career prospects for young people who recently graduated from college. Many are unemployed or underemployed, and more young people are living at home with their parents than ever before. Perhaps this nostalgic turn was instigated by young people who wish that their lives were simple again, like they were in childhood.

I buy this argument completely. Nostalgia is a powerful force in most peoples' lives, but if it can be used as a device to bring a diverse generation together in difficult circumstances, of course it will be magnified ten-fold. Plus, you can’t help but miss the thousands of YouTube videos of My Little Pony, the Facebook postings about Jonathon Taylor Thomas’ thirtieth birthday or wistful reminisces of the quirky toys we received on Christmas morning ’96. Twenty-somethings are nothing if not Internet-addicted.

CNN worries about this backwards-thinking generation ever being able to create anything new because its insistence on the greatness of the past. But I worry about nostalgia never allowing my generation to think what we have now is good enough. I see it in my family so often—politics were cleaner, television was better, life was less dangerous way back when. I hope that twenty-somethings don’t fall into that kind of cycle because thinking that the best is over and done with is a depressing way to live.