Anemoia: What Is It

Anemoia is a gentle sense of longing for an era a person has never lived in. It can arise suddenly. One glimpse of an old film photograph, a black and white movie, or a family story is enough for a soft feeling of “I remember this” to appear, even though there is nothing to actually remember.

This phenomenon was described by the philosopher Felipe De Brigard, who emphasized that memory is not an archive. It works more like a creative workshop. Every time a person remembers something, the brain reconstructs the scene anew, using other people’s stories, fragments of films, books, and personal fantasies. Because of this, it is possible to miss experiences that were never lived. The image created by inner imagination becomes so convincing that the emotion feels real.

Anemoia often appears through an interest in retro culture. People who grew up in the era of smartphones buy film cameras, listen to vinyl records, wear vintage clothes, and adopt the aesthetics of the eighties or nineties. It feels as if they are trying to capture an atmosphere known to them only from movies, memes, and their parents’ stories. At the same time, those who actually lived through the difficult nineties often remember that period without much romance. For younger generations, however, it has already turned into a legend. Marketers actively use this tendency. Shelves with film, cassettes, and old electronics work precisely on a nostalgia that never truly existed.

Anemoia is also fueled by the tendency to idealize the past of one’s parents. There is a clear pattern. About two decades after a certain era, a new generation begins to see it as something golden. They hear mostly pleasant stories and encounter a beautiful visual image. Similar nostalgic feelings existed in the past as well, but earlier they were perceived not as a gentle emotion, but as a painful longing.

Young people are especially susceptible to anemoia. Their personal biography is still small. The present often feels tense and uncertain, while the past appears cozy and simple, even if it is entirely created by imagination. Memory and fantasy easily intertwine, and a teenager may sincerely feel familiarity with something known only from other people’s stories. Anemoia becomes a way to cope with anxiety and to find a point of emotional support.