the summer of
What it was like to be 15 in 2022 in America
To be fifteen in America in 2022 was to have “As It Was” by Harry Styles everywhere, Avatar: The Way of Water on every screen, and Stranger Things on after school. That year, gas cost $3.95 and the Steam Deck 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
- As It Was — Harry StylesThat heartbeat synth was the sound of growing up and quietly grieving who you used to be.
- Heat Waves — Glass AnimalsThe one that refused to end, sneaking back into your ears summer after summer like an old ache.
- About Damn Time — LizzoLizzo's strut turned bad days into a mirror pep-talk you actually started to believe.
- Running Up That Hill — Kate BushKate Bush came roaring back through Stranger Things and made a whole new generation run up that hill.
- good 4 u — Olivia RodrigoStill detonating a year later, the breakup anthem you screamed until your voice gave out.
why this one mattered
The inescapable synth-pop pulse of 2022 - bright, bittersweet and made for TikTok transitions, it was the track every 15-year-old had memorized, edging out the older slow-burn of Heat Waves as the year's true teen anthem.
the year-end #1 was Heat Waves - Glass Animals.
the movies you are watching in 2022
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- Top Gun: Maverick
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Jurassic World Dominion
the tv shows you are binging in 2022
- Stranger Things
- House of the Dragon
- Wednesday
- Yellowstone
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
the games you are playing in 2022
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land
- Splatoon 3
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Elden Ring
what things cost in 2022
| Gas (gallon) | $3.95 |
|---|---|
| Movie ticket | $10.53 |
| First-class stamp | $0.60 |
| minimum wage | $7.25/hr |
| the average income | $74,580 |
trending this year
the gadgets you just got
what everyone is snacking on
what everyone is drinking
what made the news in 2022
- Russia invades Ukraine, igniting Europe's largest war since 1945
- Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending the federal right to abortion
- US inflation spikes to a four-decade high as gas prices soar
- Queen Elizabeth II dies after seventy years on the throne
what everyone is saying
top-performing stocks in 2022
| Company | Ticker | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occidental Petroleum | OXY | $63 | +119% |
| Hess Corporation | HES | $142 | +92% |
| ExxonMobil | XOM | $110 | +80% |
| Marathon Petroleum | MPC | $116 | +76% |
| Constellation Energy | CEG | $86 | +109% |
worst-performing stocks in 2022
| Company | Ticker | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla | TSLA | $123 | -65% |
| Meta Platforms | META | $120 | -64% |
| Netflix | NFLX | $295 | -51% |
| Nvidia | NVDA | $146 | -50% |
| Carvana | CVNA | $5 | -98% |
the summer of 2022.
you think you've got all the time in the world.