Neuchâtel woman turns childhood nostalgia into social media hit

Swiss broadcaster SRF reports that a Neuchâtel woman known as “Palomastapes” has attracted thousands of millennials by reviving the toys, VHS clips and old computer games of the 1990s and early 2000s.

Her project began as a personal effort to show her children the cartoons she watched growing up. Encouraged by people around her, she decided to share those childhood memories online. Within weeks, her Instagram account grew rapidly, with some videos receiving more than 100,000 views.

Her posts recall rituals from a slower era, such as choosing a cassette, taking it from its case, placing it in a video recorder and waiting for the distinctive sound of it rewinding.

Paloma says the response reflects the experience of millennials, who were born between the early 1980s and late 1990s. She describes them as a “hinge generation” that experienced a fully analogue childhood before entering the digital world of the 2000s, with services such as MSN Messenger, Skyblog and streaming platforms.

In a time defined by immediacy and a constant flow of screen content, she says, the slowness of a VHS cassette restores a forgotten form of focused attention and patience.

For Paloma, iconic objects such as VHS tapes, a Furby and a tube television also offer comfort during periods of uncertainty, crises and the pressures of adult life. Holding on to VHS tapes is like having “a real emotional comfort object”, she says.

She does not want to turn her living room into a frozen museum. Her tapes, Furby and tube television are part of everyday family life and are used and appreciated by her children.