Maybe you’ve heard of it or perhaps you’ve already started off the new year by ditching social media all together.Â
“Going analog” is a newer trend being promoted on social media. The catch is that it’s all about getting off. “Going analog” pays homage to analog clocks, the ones you actually need to spend 5 seconds to read before you know what time it is. The phrase itself, however, is less about the type of clock you use, and more about how you spend your time. It encourages getting offline and engaging in physical media and hobbies. Reading real books in your spare time, crafting, baking, walking, journaling, or puzzling—anything that doesn’t require blue light glasses. It is an interesting paradox, a trend that encourages people to be engaged in real life and offline that is presented online. Perhaps that is the only way now to create a real change. Â
I think that “going analog” is trending as our generation realizes that we may actually want to own some physical media for ourselves. There’s a lot of discourse online where people are suddenly acknowledging that they pay for so many things that they don’t own. Think about it: how do you listen to music? How do you watch your comfort show? How do you exercise? For most people, these are all the results of a subscription; which there is nothing inherently wrong with, of course. But what would happen if your streaming services changed what shows were available or what music you could listen to? Since you don’t own it, you don’t have much control over it or much to show for it if these services decide to change. Â
In this way, your interests or preferences aren’t at your disposal. “Going analog” is not a complete rejection of technology, but it puts the values of technology in a smaller box, and it doesn’t let it overwhelm all aspects of life. Just because technology can be involved in every part of our daily routine (i.e., walking with headphones on, wearable health technology, comfort shows constantly on in the background), doesn’t mean it should be.Â
It has become so natural to grab our phones while we sit on the bus or while we wait in line for our coffee. What would happen if we struck up a conversation with the person next to us, or just stood in line for coffee while observing the world around us, unplugged and without a soundtrack? Living life while being fully present is a harder change to make than you may think. If you’re looking for a rewarding challenge this year, “going analog” might be a novel way to feel more present in real life, and less overwhelmed by our digital ones.Â