In a world obsessed with screens, instant gratification, and endless scrolling, maybe it’s time we fell back in love with things we can actually hold.
Let’s be honest. We spend a ridiculous amount of time looking at screens. We wake up and check our phones, listen to music through streaming services, read or watch the news on social media, and take photographs that will probably sit in our camera rolls for the next five years. Almost everything we could want is available within a few taps, and we’ve grown accustomed to having it all immediately.
Convenience is great. I’m certainly not volunteering to give up my phone or return to a world without Apple Maps. But somewhere along the way, I think we started confusing having access to everything with actually experiencing anything.
When was the last time you bought a magazine simply because the cover caught your eye? Read a physical newspaper? Listened to an entire album without skipping a song? Or printed a photograph instead of letting it disappear in your camera roll?
There is something special about physical media that a screen cannot quite replicate. And while the world continues moving toward an increasingly digital future, I think it’s time we gave the analog world a little more love.
The art of slowing down
One of the things I love most about physical media is that it allows us to slow down. A magazine isn’t an endless feed of content designed to keep you scrolling. A newspaper doesn’t send you notifications every few minutes. A vinyl record doesn’t automatically shuffle into something else the second a song ends.
Physical media allows us to be present.
Think about reading a magazine. You can admire the photography, appreciate the layout, and stumble across a story you never would have searched for online. You might save an issue because you love the cover or return to an article months later. Reading becomes an experience rather than another task to complete before moving on to the next thing.
Magazines deserve their moment
As someone who loves journalism and storytelling, I have a particular soft spot for magazines. There is something about a beautifully designed print issue that makes a story feel like an experience rather than another link in a browser tab.
And let’s talk about the covers. A striking magazine cover can capture a celebrity, cultural moment, or fashion trend in a single image. Some become iconic, while others become personal favorites that people keep for years. There is a reason vintage magazine covers are collected, displayed, and framed.
Magazines are art!
Newspapers are not dead. At least, they shouldn’t be.
As a journalism student, I would be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t make a case for newspapers, too.
For generations, newspapers have helped communities understand what is happening around them. They document local government decisions, school board meetings, public controversies, and the everyday people whose stories might otherwise go untold. They connect readers to their communities and preserve moments in history.
Imagine finding a newspaper from the day you were born or the day a historic event took place. Suddenly, those headlines aren’t just information. They’re pieces of history you can hold in your hands.
Print newspapers also offer a different way to encounter journalism. Instead of seeing one headline in a social media feed, readers can browse an entire publication and discover stories they might never have sought out themselves.
Put the needle on the record
There’s a reason records have remained culturally relevant even as streaming has made almost every song available instantly. Vinyl offers an experience that goes beyond the music itself.
You choose a record, take it out of its sleeve, place it on the turntable, and listen. You can admire the album artwork, read the liner notes, and appreciate the music as a complete work of art. When the album ends, you can flip the record and keep listening.
There’s a ritual to it.
Vinyl invites us to approach music differently. The artwork, packaging and physical collection become part of the experience. A record might remind you of a concert, a road trip, or a particular season of your life.
And yes, records can be expensive. They take up space and require equipment. Nobody needs to spend their entire paycheck on vinyl to appreciate an album. But I love the idea that music can be something we collect, display and physically return to.
Books, photographs and the things we keep
The beauty of physical media extends far beyond magazines, newspapers and records.
There are books with worn covers and highlighted passages, photographs tucked into albums, handwritten letters and postcards from places we’ve visited. These objects become meaningful because they hold a moment in time.
Think about the difference between scrolling past a photograph on your phone and finding that same photograph years later in a printed album. You can hold it, share it with someone sitting beside you, and place it somewhere you’ll see it again.
The same is true of handwritten letters. A text message can be meaningful, but a letter carries the time and effort someone chose to invest in it. The handwriting, paper, and little imperfections become part of the message.
Our memories deserve more than an endless camera roll.
So, touch grass. Read a newspaper. Buy a record.
I don’t think our love for physical media has disappeared. I think it has been pushed aside by a world that prioritizes speed, convenience, and constant access. There is still something wonderful about discovering a magazine at a bookstore, finding an old record at a thrift shop or unfolding a newspaper at the breakfast table.
So the next time you have a free afternoon, visit a bookstore. Pick up a magazine. Browse a record shop. Print a photograph of your favorite people and put it somewhere you can see it.