Despite living in a world where we can read the news while brushing our teeth and doomscroll through headlines before our morning coffee, something about the glossy weight of a magazine still feels sacred. Somewhere between the endless scroll on TikTok or Substack, I found myself craving something more intimate, something I could hold. And then it hit me: I needed something printed.
So, why are we suddenly craving paper again? Online, we’re constantly being pushed, pulled, and persuaded by algorithms. Print media is like a slow Sunday morning. It’s curated, intentional, and free from distractions. It doesn’t demand your attention, but rather it earns it. In a time that scrolls faster than we can think, that pause feels radical.
Here’s the plot twist: print media didn’t die, but instead, it adapted.
Magazines like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and The New Yorker didn’t fade into nostalgia: they’ve evolved into hybrids. They built entire digital empires, including apps, online editors, and exclusive digital content that expanded on what the printed medium had started. Now you can scroll through Vogue’s latest issue on your phone while on your morning commute or listen to a New Yorker essay on your morning walk, both still matter in the digital age. One can say it’s the best of both worlds.
There is no digital item that can replicate the feeling of holding a real magazine. The texture of the page, the smell of fresh ink, the ritual of flipping through glossy editorials, as if you can get pulled into each distinct world as you turn the page. When you hold a magazine, it’s not just media, it’s the moment, the present, a quiet one, in a world that rarely gives us those anymore.
Print media isn’t about breaking news anymore, but rather about storytelling.
It’s about building a moment that lasts longer than a swipe. Telling heartbreaking, joyful, and gruesome moments in a raw, felt manner. The digital world may have changed the way we consume media, but print changed with it, proving that timeless things don’t die; they rebrand.
Maybe print isn’t about information anymore, but maybe it’s about experience. And in an age where everything is instant, slowing down to actually turn a page is a frill that we can afford. Next time your screen time warning pops up, take it as a sign to put down the phone and pick up a magazine or newspaper, and remember what it feels like to read without swiping.