Going analogue: Digital detox or a new consumerist trap?

What's behind the surge in 'analogue life' products and content? Digital fatigue and consumerist opportunities, writes Natasja Jacobs.

2026 has seen us embracing notebooks, radios, record players and digicams. It seems that doomscrolling, brain rot and AI-generated content have finally got the better of us. It is unsurprising that we have found ourselves craving physical. Is this a sign that social media has reached its peak? Or is ‘analogue life’ just another consumerist trap?

The urge to slow down

The booming popularity of ‘grandma hobbies’ and 2000s technology are a symptom of a society that wants to slow down. We want to listen to music, without ending up replying to emails. We want to create instead of uncontrollably consuming content at rapid speed. We want the satisfaction of making physical objects that can’t be deleted. We want to focus our attention on one thing at a time. We just want to get off our phones.

Advertisers have tapped into our digital fatigue.

But social media is a money-making machine, and an effective one. From the ‘analogue bag’ to contain analogue media, to aesthetic notebooks and expensive retro-aesthetic gadgets, advertisers have tapped into our digital fatigue. We watch ‘decorating my new journal’ videos where influencers tape polaroids and stickers on a branded notebook (all linked in the bio, of course).

We idealise an analogue lifestyle characterised by physical media, showcased in an aesthetic video.  If we just buy that gadget or those post-it notes, we might finally be able to slow down and get away from our phones. The irony is this: we consume analogue content online. This content keeps us online, and it makes us buy things.

An ‘analogue life’ doesn’t have to be bought

The issue is not our desire to switch off our devices, but how social media has coopted this desire to try and sell us more stuff, that we probably don’t need. The will to live more in the real world than online can only be a good thing. 

We all know about the body image issues, FOMO and damage to our attention span that social media can trigger. When we are craving old-school hobbies and stripped-back technology, perhaps we just want more simplicity and mindfulness in our lives. Not a new notebook, camera or sticker maker.

Perhaps we just want more simplicity and mindfulness in our lives. Not a new notebook, camera or sticker maker.

Instead of buying an expensive leather-bound journal, finish an old notebook and use stationery you already have. Junk journal by collaging food and makeup packaging, notes, napkins and supplies you already own. Go for a walk and notice the quality of things around you. Cook a new recipe and it eat it without a screen. Read a book. Spend time with friends and switch your phone off. It can really be that simple.

This is not to say that you should not try new hobbies or buy that digital camera if you really want it. It is just to say that ‘analogue life’ doesn’t have to be bought, and we can make space to slow down without the consumerism of it all.