A Return to Analog
The sweetest rebellion to today's digital hustle.
Remember hobbies? Those very visceral and tangible activities we partook as kids before we had our iPhones in school? Yeah, I’m petitioning to bring those back, and it seems like so is most of everyone else.
The seismic shift of society being fed up with their phones and arguing to just “throw them in the ocean” is louder than ever. Every other Substack Note I scroll by seems to be praising the near-heavenly effects of deleting their TikTok and Instagram. Miraculously, they all have mental clarity and more time in the day.
Sometimes I roll my eyes at how extreme it all feels, even if we are mutually eternally online, but I know that being fully offline isn’t the solution either. Smartphones were made to streamline and optimize our lives, so it’s only a problem when these tech-y bricks sitting in our pockets start counterproductively eating away at our time.
The issue is that most of what we do now is efficiently provided online - listening to music, watching our comfort shows, shopping, even playing word games. So what if, as step one, we chose to replace these habits with their analog predecessors, as a restorative balance to our reliance on phones?
Instead of streaming on Spotify, put on your favorite CD or even a crackly, warm record. Embrace how affable the audio feels against your eardrums. Go read a book instead of listening to your audiobook. Pick up a crossword and your Muji inky pen and fill out a crossword with bold risk, rather than tapping on the Wordle. Wear a watch, so you don’t need your phone to check something simple and ephemeral like the time. Doesn’t it feel good to just do something in its most physical form?
The next step is for the bold. Call to self your hobbies from childhood and young adulthood. Pick up and strum on your guitar, or snag your coloring pencils out of storage and sketch. Try writing in a Moleskine notebook (my favorite) and you’ll likely find your next brilliant idea. What’s key here is to embrace tangibility through analog.
As AI increases technology’s hyper intelligence, the human collective’s brainpower is decreasing in tandem. Isn’t slowing down by spending time away from devices and living your life through palpable work a beautiful rejection of it all?
Happy new year, everyone! Sound off below and let me know how you’re choosing to welcome more analog fun (if any!) this year.
Many times I miss the simplicity of doing things the “old way.” A great reminder to step away from screens and reconnect with tangible moments. I recently went back to cooking from recipes in print rather then an app and browsing books at the library instead of scrolling online for my next read. Enjoy whatever new things you discover!
I love this wholeheartedly. Even though I am not entirely “anti-technology,” doing activities on something tangible is refreshing. People need to be mindful that technology is meant to enhance our lives, not replace them.