Nostalgia never gets old. In fact, the emotional allure of nostalgia is one of the reasons the hashtag #throwbackthursday (#TBT) is so successful. Since 2011, nearly 300 million photos have been shared on Instagram using the #TBT hashtag. Articles have been written to analyze why we embrace this trend wholeheartedly. In her insightful piece in Fortune magazine, Colleen Leahey writes, “Sharing old photos is a fun way to remember the good ol’ days, but it may also help people counteract feeling alone.”
She’s right. When we dig into our family albums and find photographic gems of loved ones, we feel more connected to them. It’s simple, really. Looking at old family photos make us feel good! So next Thursday when you dive into your archive, consider these two ways to make throwback Thursday more meaningful and fun for family.

1. Focus on Family

Although there are plenty of fun blast-from-the-past pictures of you with college buddies, share at least one old photo of family members. Maybe you’ve got great snapshots of an annual family vacation to the beach when your granddad built sandcastles with you and your sister. Or perhaps you’ll find a vintage photo of your grandmother when she was your age. There are so many priceless photos waiting to be discovered in your old-school family albums. Peel back the pages, start looking for favorites and then share them on #TBT. Whether they’re on Facebook or Instagram, your family will enjoy reliving memories! Focusing on old family photos is just one way to make #TBT more meaningful and fun for your family.

2. Tag, Tag, Tag!

Another great way to make throwback Thursday more meaningful and fun for family is to tag the heck out of your photos. Whether you’re posting to Facebook or Instagram, be generous with those tags! The more family members you tag (even ones who may not show up in the vintage picture), the more memories you can collect. Just like telling stories during a family reunion, everyone enjoys sharing their version of a particular family event or moment. (Hint: add a question in your caption to help jog memories. #TBT to that time when we buried our little sister up to her neck in sand at our beach vacay. Who remembers?)

Here’s how to tag in Instagram and Facebook, in a few simple steps:

Instagram:

Facebook

So when you post a photo, be sure to include names, dates (even if they’re approximate) and then tag family so they take part in reminiscing. Remember, the more caption info you include, the more you’ll help family members recall the memories triggered by a particular photo. It’s a simple and fun way to collaborate to pass along family stories. That’s just one way to use social media to preserve some of your family history.

By Rachel LaCour Niesen, Steward of Stories & Founder of SaveFamilyPhotos.

Rachel is a Yankee by birth but a Southern storyteller at heart. When a much-loved uncle gifted her with her first SLR camera, Rachel found her calling in photography. In pursuit of her passion, she headed to the University of Missouri, where she studied Photojournalism and Art History. Since then her work has appeared in publications such as the New York Times Magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle. Along with her business partners, she founded LaCour, a wedding photography studio based in Atlanta. As LaCour grew, the team co-founded ShootQ, a cloud-based business management application for photographers. In 2010, ShootQ was acquired by Pictage. When she’s not curating old family photos, she enjoys adventures with her husband and partner in entrepreneurship, Andrew Niesen.