The world at your fingertips: Gen Z is going analog in 2026

I decided that if 2026 was the year of resurrecting analog, I would participate.

Taking my pen, I slashed through multiple lines of my writing. The sharp scent of ink burned my nostrils as I continued to blot out words and phrases on my page. Even though the entire paragraph was marred by black lines, I was not worried about losing the intimacy I had crafted on the page.

It could have been the physicality of putting pen to paper or the slow unspooling of my thoughts, but I had grown addicted to journaling. Unlike a computer, I couldn’t tap the delete key and watch my work blink away. What I wrote on paper was binding, and most importantly, mine. 

As 2026 finds its footing, I have noticed an analog renaissance emerging in response to digital modernity. Facing constant overstimulation, hyper-automation and declining literacy rates, more and more digital natives are turning to vintage technologies. 

We are choosing wired earbuds over wireless, podcasts over TikTok and vinyls, paperbacks and digital cameras are once again a hot commodity. We crave anything that stretches our understanding of empathy and art. Micro-influencers like Rachel Schwartzmann and Siece Campbell are developing the “analog bag,” a conversation starter toolkit replete with pieces that are meant to be used in moments of boredom rather than retreating to a phone.

The analog bag’s popularity surged on social media. For many, it was a breath of fresh air after years of reliance on digital highs. It is not only stimulating but affordable in comparison to technology that functions just the same. It could contain anything from customized Louise Carmen journals to books, vinyls, puzzles, newspapers, iPods, magazines, embroidery, film cameras or even a deck of playing cards.

As the internet becomes more divisive, the generation that has grown up primarily online is realizing two very important things. 

First, we do not actually own anythingin the media world. One fatal password or subscription loss could obliterate years’ worth of your online presence. We have put so much time into our digital identities that it has become natural to exist mainly in cyberspace, even when friends are seated right next to us. 

Secondly, the performative style of social media has demanded a change from avoiding loud intellect to becoming “disgustingly educated,” a term coined as being overly clever in interpersonal settings. Essentially, it is cool to be smart and fun to be tactile. It is easier to recognize this shift away from the pervasive influence of digitization when influential people like Kaia Gerber create book clubs detailing underrepresented voices and classical literature. As Sherry Turkle fabulously puts it, we have spent too long being “alone together” in the digital realm, and now we are starving for wisdom and whimsy.

For some, personalizing Louise Carmen journals or buying a paper subscription to The New York Times is purely for aesthetic purposes. For others, the analog aesthetic may be a factor, but it is ultimately born out of a desire for self-actualization. Either way, a piece of our generation is working to transform these practices into habits before the digital age feels any more threatening. The goal is to shake loose our dependency on social media and inability to socialize and imagine a future beyond this techno-feudal reality. We are finally seeing the consequences of handing power to tech companies that push us further into this automated society.

So pull out the digital camera and write that thought down. Make memories and put them on paper; you may want to draw hearts around them one day.