Had I known one personally, I would earnestly request that they open another branch of research and conduct a serious study on why every second person on Instagram is pretending to be from the 1980s while sitting here in September 2026.

I mean, seriously, imagine getting up after a good night’s sleep, opening Instagram with a fresh mind and clicking the very first story of your friend to see what interesting thing they posted.

Instead, you see someone who looks similar to your friend, except she doesn’t quite look like herself. Changed attire, different hairstyle, 80s vibe. You move to the next, and the next, and the next story, and you suddenly realise we are pretending to be in the 1980s.

Yet every single picture somehow looks the same, with only a little essence of the actual person left in it. The saddest part, it removes the beauty of the person. Be it the subtle dimples on the cheek or the mole on the neck, I haven’t seen one AI-generated photo that did justice to the beauty of the person it featured.

So, I don’t know about the thought process of people who are making these (let me know if you do), but your good mood is ruined for sure.

But wait, there’s still sanity left on the earth. You get the proof the moment you move from Instagram to Facebook. Something invisible tells me people act less carefree and more logical on Facebook. I never knew the reason, but I think the presence of more serious people (teachers, parents, relatives etc.) makes people act, or at least pretend to act, responsibly there.

So yeah, Facebook it is. Your ruined mood improves a little when you see people posting “We don’t shame people enough for posting their AI-generated pictures.” Ahhh, there there.

The brain is still not that hard to find, I suppose. You like the post and scroll past. Yet another responsible post. And if your feed isn’t entirely made up of all those AI-generated videos, you might get lucky and find a few more like it.

Just as your mood starts to lift from all these sane postings, you make the mistake of clicking the comment button of one of them, and there he is: a random Mofiz, commenting “To ki hoise? Pipol are doing this to entertain themselves. Not hurting anyone (3 laughing emojis).” Right, Mofiz. Right. Goodbye, good mood.

Yet, as a responsible person, you decide to ignore Mofiz and contribute to the world of sane people with a responsible post of your own. But somehow, Mofiz finds your post too (That’s the thing about Mofizs. They always find sanity and pick a fight).

So, if Mofiz is so eager, let’s have a little chat with him then and try to save all the almost-Mofizs still in the making.

Why are we actually trolling the 80s trend?

I mean, Mofiz, you are right in a way that these people are just entertaining themselves (which can never be wrong) and not hurting anyone (we need to have a discussion here, Mofiz).

The thing is, Mofiz, these pictures aren’t drawn by human artists and they aren’t an expression of anyone’s creativity. So where are they coming from, Mofiz? Right, AI. These almost-Mofizs go to ChatGPT and say, “Hey chatGPT, generate a picture of me from this image and turn it into an 80s photo.” ChatGPT hands back an almost identical, almost same 1980s picture to everyone, and the result is exactly what we scroll through after waking up.

Now hold on, Mofiz. I know you’re about to ask where exactly we’re hurting people here.

Well, every time we use AI, our not-so-important request goes to an overheated data centre. Inside, millions of computers run all day and they get extremely heated just to answer our “Hey chatGPT, make me look less fat here” texts.

To keep these machines cool, data centres burn through millions of gallons of water each day. So, your request to make you look like an 80s model adds to that number too. Now multiply that by the 2.3 million people who have shared an Instagram story of this AI slop.

See, Mofiz? Even though AI feels like virtual, something not real, its impact is very much real. There are real people out there living near those data centres who do not have access to clean water: not for sanitation, not to bathe, not to cook, not to clean and forget everything else, not even to drink. So yes, it is that serious.

However, I know Mofiz well. I’m sure he’s going to say, “Ohh, so when you use AI for your assignments, jobs, and make ChatGPT your personal therapist, you do forget about all the impacts, right?”

We hear you, Mofiz, and that’s exactly the point of this article, and that’s why people are screaming not to do this stupidity. Every time we use AI for every not-so-important thing, just like this 80s trend, we actually add on to the impact that’s happening. We become you, Mofiz.

Turning your picture into an 80s photo, or a cartoon, or sharpening your nose, or throwing a sun-kissed glow on your face: all of it could be a reflection of your inner insecurity and your inconsiderateness. No matter the decade you are born in, you do not need AI to show you how you’d look in another one.

When someone compliments your AI-generated photo of yours, know that both of you know that it isn’t really you. In fact, to the saner society, it can come across as a little bit annoying that Mofizs are choosing entertainment over considerateness. As I said, there is a real impact behind what you are doing. There are real people whose lives are affected, who don’t get to quench their thirst because of your entertainment.

Be considerate. Don’t be a Mofiz.