Over the past few months, I’ve seen that both in the real world and the digital one, people have been trying to build a life that is separate from the online world. I believe that this movement has sort of been building for years. While Phone addiction predates the Covid 19 pandemic (I was warned against digital safety before I had a phone in my hand), it definitely had a boom during lockdown when there was very little connection to the outside world. Since than however, I think that most people have sustained their high level of screentime.
But what even is an analogue bag? Well, I think that it’s important that we understand that there isn’t one ultimate bag with specific contents. The best way I can describe an analogue bag is basically a bag full of hobbies. Depending on the person, the bag can be filled with different hobbies, from books to crochet projects to coloring books and even journals. The point of the bag is to sort of be a hodgepodge of different items that can keep your mind and your hands off your phone. I find that typically, they are meant to provide different opportunities to express creativity. The trend also reminds me a lot of the whats in my bag YouTube videos from circa 2010.
To me, the popularity of the analogue bag is sort of a natural progression from the rise in popularity of journaling, the fiber arts, and reading that we have seen over the past few years. It isn’t a jump to say that most of the items within the bag have become their own trends before the anaoluge bag. And yes, I do understand that all of these hobbies predate the existence of phones and social media. In this case, I am specifically referring to the existence of online communities that have risen in popularity and revolve around these hobbies. However, I don’t think we can ignore the warning signs that came before. The Lousie Carmen and FiloFax trend to me served as mini analogue bags, where you could keep loads of stickers and multiple journals, even a Kindle or two. Just a little while after the peak in popularity of these journaling systems, I witnessed more and more analog bags.
I don’t want to mark this exactly as a bad idea or speak entirely negatively about it. In all honesty, I think the desire for the offline lifestyle is a good thing. Changing the way that we interact with technology is something that we must address. It’s just I’m not sure that this trend is as long-lasting or as easy as it paints itself to be. I don’t think that attempting to build an analogue bag is something that should be done too impulsively. The bag only works if it’s built intentionally and made of things that the owner actually enjoys. It doesn’t make much sense to have an overflowing bag of hobbies if you are unable to commit to at least one. I fear that the analogue trend, while it has good intentions, suffers from the same problems that most trends do. You don’t need to buy a new bag or start 5 new hobbies to help you get off your phone; do things that are already enjoyable to you, and that you find yourself reaching for organically.
