For my ninth birthday, my parents asked my twin brother and me to choose between brand-new iPhones or a birthday party (a weird ultimatum, if you ask me).
But the choice was obvious at the time. How could I say no to a phone? What could my nine-year-old self want more? A new phone meant having the ability to play games, watch YouTube, and text my older sister’s friends. Most importantly, my brother and I could call each other from different rooms of the house, just because we could.
Getting my own phone felt like gaining access to an entirely new world. One that, honestly, I feel many parents often overlook. The internet has become so overwhelming.
Social media fatigue
It’s hard to keep up with trends when every time you open an app, there seems to be something new you’re supposed to buy, try, or change about yourself. Sometimes it feels less like having fun and more like a competition you never signed up for.
But lately, there has been a different kind of trend on my feed: people looking back at 2016, decorating digital cameras, and getting excited about photos that don’t look perfectly polished. Seeing that makes me curious about what it felt like to take pictures without immediately thinking about where to post them.
Social media existed in 2016, but looking back at that time still makes me wonder when being online started to feel so constant. I chose an iPhone over a birthday party because I couldn’t wait to be connected. Now, like a lot of people my age, I’m finding little reasons to put my phone down.
Before I deleted TikTok a few years ago, I remember spending almost all day on it. I’d open the app because I wanted to relax or look up an idea for something to do. Then one video would turn into an hour of scrolling, and I’d close the app feeling worse than I did when I opened it. I might have sent a few videos to my friends, but I can barely remember the actual content itself. Even when I would look for a hobby that could get me off my phone, I’d end up stuck on it instead.
Romanticizing The digital camera
In one reel I’ve watched, a creator shows off her decorated digital cameras and recommends the Nikon W300 and Canon S100 as cheaper alternatives to the Canon G7X. Looking into different cameras is what got me into photography, as I understood the appeal immediately, especially when I started taking photos for my high school’s yearbook.
The decorations make it fun, and an item to make sure you’re carrying to every hangout. Not to mention that with the old-fashioned vibe and modern technology, being able to upload photos from the camera to the phone has never been easier. And the photos digital cameras take have a look people easily associate with the 2000s: flash, imperfect lighting, warm tones, and the kind of candid shots you might find in an old family album.
More than just an aesthetic
It’s easy to call it just nostalgia for the 2000s, but I think there’s more to it. After spending all day checking Canvas, answering messages, and working on a laptop, another hour of scrolling doesn’t always feel like a break. It’s a strange kind of nostalgia for most of us, a desire to experience an era we never had access to. I was around before smartphones became such a big part of everyday life, but I was too young to experience it myself.
Taking photos on a digital camera lets me imagine what it was like to take pictures before I could immediately post them and what it looks like to genuinely enjoy living in the moment. And other physical methods like reading or scrapbooking let me make something without wondering who’s going to see it first.
Of course, I probably wouldn’t have considered buying a digital camera if I hadn’t seen someone recommend one online. A “journal with me” video can make me want to close the app and find a notebook. There’s something a little ridiculous about scrolling for ideas on how to stop scrolling, but it makes sense. After all, I believe that the internet is where many of us discover new hobbies.
I don’t think I’d want to give up technology altogether. I still love being able to call my brother whenever I want, even if we’re no longer shouting to each other from separate bedrooms. I just want to learn to live more in the moments.
At nine, I chose an iPhone because being online felt exciting. Now, sometimes the best choice is putting it down.
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