the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2023 in Britain

To be fifteen in Britain in 2023 was to have “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus everywhere, Barbie on every screen, and Happy Valley on after school. That year, gas cost £1.50/L and ChatGPT and the AI boom taking over everything was the new thing. Born in 2008? You turned 15 in 2023 — a teenager from 2021 to 2027, 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 2023 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2023

Flowers — Miley Cyrus

  1. Flowers — Miley CyrusMiley's defiant self-love anthem holding number one for months, sung solo in mirrors after every messy breakup.
  2. Sprinter — Dave & Central CeeDave and Central Cee owning the summer, UK rap's victory lap booming from every barbecue and bus-stop speaker.
  3. Escapism — RAYE & 070 ShakeRAYE finally free and soaring, that string-swept escapist rush blasted at 3am on the walk home from town.
  4. Miracle — Calvin Harris & Ellie GouldingCalvin and Ellie's trance-revival glow, hands-in-the-air euphoria lighting up every festival main stage that summer.
  5. Dance the Night — Dua LipaBarbie-summer disco from Dua Lipa, all pink cinema trips and dancing the night away like nothing could touch you.

▶ Play your 2023 reel

why this one mattered

The self-love anthem that ruled being 15 in 2023 — Miley's defiant, disco-tinged strut echoing out of every changing room and TikTok as the cost-of-living winter dragged on. It was the year's biggest song and the sound of learning to stand on your own two feet.

the year-end #1 was the UK's best-selling single of 2023.

the movies you are watching in 2023

  • Barbie
  • Oppenheimer
  • The Super Mario Bros. Movie
  • Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

the tv shows you are binging in 2023

  • Happy Valley
  • The Coronation
  • The Traitors
  • Strictly Come Dancing
  • The Last of Us

the games you are playing in 2023

  • Roblox
  • Fortnite
  • Minecraft
  • EA Sports FC 24
  • Hogwarts Legacy
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

what things cost in 2023

What things cost in 2023
a litre of petrol£1.50
a pint of lager£4.58
a first-class stamp£1.10 (then £1.25)
a gallon of gas£1.50/L
minimum wage£10.42/hr
a movie ticket£8.10
the average income£29,669

trending this year

ChatGPT
Jernej Furman, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
ChatGPT
Barbenheimer
Photo by No Swan So Fine (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barbenheimer_at_Crouch_End_Picturehouse,_165_Tottenham_Lane,_Crouch_End,_July_2023.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Barbenheimer
The Traitors
AI-generated illustration
The Traitors
Threads
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Threads_(app)_logo.svg · Public domain
Threads
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour
Photo by Paolo V (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eras_Tour_-_Inglewood,_California_-_Red_act_7.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour

the gadgets you just got

iPhone 15 (USB-C at last)
Photo by ThePhotoGraphIc (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Back_of_iPhone_15.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
iPhone 15 (USB-C at last)
Apple Vision Pro (unveiled)
Willy Jackson, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Apple Vision Pro (unveiled)
ChatGPT
Jernej Furman, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
ChatGPT
Meta Quest 3
Photo by Roy.wonder.cohen (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Meta_Quest_3_front_View.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Meta Quest 3
Threads app
Photo by Meta Platforms (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Threads_screenshot.jpg · Public domain
Threads app

what everyone is snacking on

Prime Hydration
Tbf69 (Toby Farman), via Wikimedia Commons (File:Prime hydration ice pop two bottles.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Prime Hydration
Greggs
Photo by Bob Harvey (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Always_a_Greggs_-_geograph.org.uk_-_4813451.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Greggs
Cadbury Dairy Milk
Photo by NINXIVI (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cadbury_Dairy_Milk_-Mini_Bar-_(3951105262).jpg · CC BY 2.0
Cadbury Dairy Milk
Little Moons mochi
AI-generated illustration
Little Moons mochi
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

Prime Hydration
Tbf69 (Toby Farman), via Wikimedia Commons (File:Prime hydration ice pop two bottles.jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Prime Hydration
Guinness (0.0)
Photo by Acabashi (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pint_of_Guinness_Ledger_Building_Wetherspoons_North_Quay_Canary_Wharf_London_England.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Guinness (0.0)
Espresso Martini
Photo by Ali Waheed (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Espresso_Martini.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Espresso Martini
hard seltzers
AI-generated illustration
hard seltzers
Yorkshire Tea
AI-generated illustration
Yorkshire Tea

what made the news in 2023

  • King Charles III is crowned at Westminster Abbey in the first coronation for 70 years
  • Waves of strikes hit the NHS, railways and schools amid the cost-of-living crisis
  • Inflation finally falls from its 11% peak but bills and mortgage rates stay painfully high
  • England's Lionesses reach the Women's World Cup final, losing to Spain
King Charles III crowned at Westminster Abbey
Photo by Katie Chan (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coronation_of_Charles_III_and_Camilla_-_King%27s_Procession_(05).jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
King Charles III crowned at Westminster Abbey
Waves of strikes hit the NHS, railways and schools
Photo by Roger Blackwell (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:4_of_the_earliest_Junior_Doctors_outside_Norfolk_and_Norwich_University_Hospital_NNUH_A3_(26649205806).jpg · CC BY 2.0
Waves of strikes hit the NHS, railways and schools
England's Lionesses reach the Women's World Cup final, losing to Spain
Photo by James Boyes (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chloe_Kelly_Eng_Women_0_Czech_Rep_0_11_10_2022-317_(52426863079).jpg · CC BY 2.0
England's Lionesses reach the Women's World Cup final, losing to Spain
The Bibby Stockholm asylum barge sparks national controversy
Photo by Ashley Smith (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bibby_Stockholm,_Portland_Port,_2023.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Bibby Stockholm asylum barge sparks national controversy
RAAC concrete crisis forces school buildings to close
AI-generated illustration
RAAC concrete crisis forces school buildings to close

what everyone is saying

  • "Rizz"Oxford Word of the Year 2023, meaning charm or charisma
  • "Delulu"delusional, usually about a crush or a dream
  • "Girl dinner"a plate of random snacks passed off as a meal
  • "Roman Empire"the thing someone thinks about far too often
  • "Beige flag"a quirk in a partner that's neither good nor bad

the summer of 2023.

the best of it still feels like it's coming.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2023 goes.

Turn 2023 into a 30-second reel →

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