the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2022 in Britain

To be fifteen in Britain in 2022 was to have “As It Was” by Harry Styles everywhere, Top Gun: Maverick on every screen, and Stranger Things on after school. That year, gas cost £1.66/L and Kate Bush going Number 1 again thanks to Stranger Things was the new thing. Born in 2007? You turned 15 in 2022 — a teenager from 2020 to 2026, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.

Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.

▶ Play your 2022 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2022

As It Was — Harry Styles

  1. As It Was — Harry StylesHarry's wistful synth-pop, the melancholy heart of a heatwave summer where everything felt like it was quietly changing.
  2. Running Up That Hill — Kate BushStranger Things dragged Kate Bush back to the top decades on, and a new generation ran up that hill together.
  3. Where Are You Now — Lost Frequencies & Calum ScottCalum Scott and Lost Frequencies' bittersweet dance ache, drifting across festival fields and long, golden coastal drives.
  4. Afraid to Feel — LF SystemThat euphoric piano-house sample owning the record-breaking heatwave, hands aloft in fields, the sound of feeling free again.
  5. Go — Cat BurnsCat Burns' TikTok-born heartbreak, quietly devastating, played on repeat by every kid nursing their first proper letdown.

▶ Play your 2022 reel

why this one mattered

The sound of being 15 in 2022 — Harry's bittersweet synth-pop pulsing out of every speaker while the country lurched through heatwaves, a Queen's death and a cost-of-living squeeze. Nostalgic and restless at once, it was the song that felt like growing up in fast-forward.

the year-end #1 was the UK's best-selling single of 2022.

the movies you are watching in 2022

  • Top Gun: Maverick
  • Avatar: The Way of Water
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru
  • The Batman
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

the tv shows you are binging in 2022

  • Stranger Things
  • The FIFA World Cup
  • Strictly Come Dancing
  • House of the Dragon
  • The Great British Bake Off

the games you are playing in 2022

  • Roblox
  • Minecraft
  • Fortnite
  • FIFA 23
  • Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
  • Elden Ring

what things cost in 2022

What things cost in 2022
a litre of petrol£1.66 (peaking near £1.92)
a pint of lager£4.20
a first-class stamp95p
a gallon of gas£1.66/L
minimum wage£9.50/hr
a movie ticket£7.69
the average income£27,756

trending this year

Kate Bush at Number 1
Photo by Stephen Luff from West Sussex (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kate_Bush_(15312486456).jpg · CC BY 2.0
Kate Bush at Number 1
BeReal
Teknoeric, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
BeReal
Wordle mania
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wordle_196_example.svg · Public domain
Wordle mania
the winter World Cup
Photo by Hossein Zohrevand / Tasnim News Agency (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2022_FIFA_World_Cup_Qatar_0%E2%80%932_Ecuador_-_(21).jpg · CC BY 4.0
the winter World Cup
ChatGPT launches (November)
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ChatGPT_logo.svg · Public domain
ChatGPT launches (November)

the gadgets you just got

iPhone 14 Pro
Photo by iGeeksBlog (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_14_Pro.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
iPhone 14 Pro
Steam Deck
Reza Almanda, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Steam Deck
AirPods Pro (2nd gen)
Photo by Hajoon0102 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AirPods_Pro_(2nd_generation).jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
AirPods Pro (2nd gen)
smart energy meters
AI-generated illustration
smart energy meters
BeReal
Teknoeric, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
BeReal

what everyone is snacking on

Colin the Caterpillar cake
Photo by Andy Li (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colin_the_Caterpillar_2024-06-14.jpg · CC0
Colin the Caterpillar cake
Greggs pizza and bakes
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pepperoni_Pizza_-_Greggs_2024-03-16.jpg · CC0
Greggs pizza and bakes
Prime Hydration bars-era hype
Photo by Harry Cavanagh (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_Raspberry_and_Ice_Pop_Prime_Hydration.jpg · CC0
Prime Hydration bars-era hype
Cadbury Twirl Orange
AI-generated illustration
Cadbury Twirl Orange
Freddo
Photo by Dan arndt (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dairy_Milk_Freddo.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Freddo

what everyone is drinking

Aperol Spritz
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aperol_Spritz_-_July_2024_-_Sarah_Stierch.jpg · CC0
Aperol Spritz
hard seltzers
AI-generated illustration
hard seltzers
BrewDog
Photo by Iain Cameron (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brewdog_Pink_IPA.jpg · CC BY 2.0
BrewDog
Dalston's soda
AI-generated illustration
Dalston's soda
Costa iced drinks
AI-generated illustration
Costa iced drinks

what made the news in 2022

  • Queen Elizabeth II dies aged 96 after a 70-year reign; Charles III becomes King
  • Liz Truss becomes PM then resigns after 49 chaotic days; Rishi Sunak takes over
  • A cost-of-living crisis and soaring energy bills grip the country as inflation hits 11%
  • Britain swelters through a record 40°C heatwave in July
Queen Elizabeth II dies aged 96; Charles III becomes King
Photo by Joel Rouse / Ministry of Defence (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Elizabeth_II_March_2015.jpg · OGL v3.0
Queen Elizabeth II dies aged 96; Charles III becomes King
Liz Truss resigns after just 49 days as Prime Minister
Photo by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Official_portrait_of_Prime_Minister_Liz_Truss.jpg · OGL v3.0
Liz Truss resigns after just 49 days as Prime Minister
Russia invades Ukraine, triggering an energy and cost-of-living crisis
Photo by Kisnaak (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_destroyed_school_building_in_Kyiv_oblast_after_the_invasion_of_Russian_troops_p2.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Russia invades Ukraine, triggering an energy and cost-of-living crisis
Britain hits a record 40°C in a July heatwave
Photo by Alisdare Hickson (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heatwave_in_London_(9217).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Britain hits a record 40°C in a July heatwave
Boris Johnson resigns as PM amid the Partygate scandal
Photo by Ben Shread / Cabinet Office (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boris_Johnson_official_portrait_(cropped).jpg · OGL v3.0
Boris Johnson resigns as PM amid the Partygate scandal

what everyone is saying

  • "It's giving..."TikTok phrase for describing a vibe or energy
  • "Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss"the ironic meme trio of 2022
  • "Corn (as in porn)"TikTok censorship-speak that became slang
  • "Bussin'"meaning delicious or excellent, peak TikTok slang
  • "Mini-budget meltdown"shorthand for the Truss economic chaos

the summer of 2022.

you think you've got all the time in the world.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2022 goes.

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