As the iPhone has been increasing the number of lenses with each new version, the people of our generation have been turning away from the modern, and back to the past. The rise of “vintage” technology, as well as fashion and hobbies has been a trend in the last few years, largely spiking this past year.
The idea of collecting retro tech — including digital and film cameras, walkmans, cassette, and cd players, vinyl records, flip phones and the fashion trends from the 1990’s and 2000’s — have been widely popularized within Gen Z, mainly due to social media. But why is there such a focus on nostalgia that many of us either didn’t or were too young to remember living through?
With the rise of social media in the late 2000’s, it gave a generation of kids — Generation Z — unlimited access to the internet, and they were the first to have to face the effects of it. People only began to see these effects of it as our generation began to grow up, and then began to reach Generation Alpha, with the rise of “Ipad kids.”
According to the National Literacy Institute, as of 2023, 40% of students across the nation cannot read at a basic level, and literacy rates have been declining rapidly. This is most closely tied to the heavy internet usage of our youngest generations, and the dependency on AI and the internet. Generation Z, who had been the first to register the effects of technology on children, have largely agreed that “older” technology would be more favorable for future generations.
Searches for flip phones have been rising the last 3 years, according to USA Today, but in the last year, the rates for specifically Gen Z and Millennials have increased 15%. With increases like this as well as the trends of vintage shops and clothing, the rise of vinyl record collection, and “retro” aesthetics coming back, it poses the idea that our generation is circling back, in ways better for our mental health.
The increase of creative hobbies has shown a significant improvement on mental health, compared to those who just spend most of their time scrolling on social media. A study done in 2016 reported that those participating who had hobbies had overall better mental and physical well being. Older technology like digital cameras and vinyls forces you to slow down and be more precise with your actions: the satisfaction of taking an amazing photo or listening to your favorite album causes less of a focus on immediate dopamine from scrolling through social media, and more on the slower rewarding aspects of creativity.
While we may be living in the digital age, this development had already begun almost 20 years ago, and may never truly go out of style. With the idea of micro-trends on social media, something as timeless and classic as music and first generation technology won’t be able to fade out as easily.
