People are burned out by tech, and basically that means they are reverting back to a more analog way of life. Or, at least they’re trying to. Sammi Cohen, podcast host of “Social Currency,” shared in an Instagram reel, “28% of Gen Z say that they’re seeking screen-free solutions like a dumb phone.”
I have a flip phone. In 2026, it’s an eyesore in a sea of screens but it gets people off their phones to ask me if my phone is real. Like an artifact in a museum, they analyze it with curiosity as I tell them it’s my way of detaching from push notifications and toward intention. I desired strengthening my relationships and hobbies outside of a screen and there are plenty of people looking to do the same.
Younger generations are picking up their lowered heads and placing effort toward finding a hobby that isn’t doomscrolling. Author of “100 Things We’ve Lost To The Internet,” Pamela Paul shared, “They are starting to recognize how the internet has changed their lives, and they are trying to revive these in-person, low-tech environments that older generations took for granted.” If you’re on board with ditching tech, here are 4 simple things you can start doing today to help you go analog in 2026.
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Card games are a solitary source of pleasure and a step toward community engagement. Vintage inspired blogger and lover of all things anti-tech, Nicole recently shared on Instagram that she is resolving to spend as much time offline as possible in 2026. She shared how she fell in love with card playing as a way to stimulate her mind and avoid social media. “Sometimes it’s too loud to read and [I] found myself mindlessly scrolling when that happened. Playing cards kept me occupied while still feeling present.”
A phone keeps you tethered to apps and pop ups that keep you in a trance. Cards fix your attention and keep you in a mode of strategy. Distractions are not dealt a hand here.
My family has weekly board game nights. My little brother is the reigning Uno champion. It’s in our competitive nature to attempt to beat him, but either way, we’re present to the game and the conversation. In our living room, spending quality time together is more rewarding than a win.
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Pages enveloped between covers soft and hard, books are analog’s answer even infiltrating social media platforms. Cohen proclaimed, “The rise of ‘Booktok’ shows that people are looking for slower, more intentional hobbies again.”
Recommendations from “Booktok” are an opening segue into building a personal library. Completing a book and organizing it on a bookshelf is something Goodreads could never recreate. These books you add in your memory’s arsenal will be used in conversations you can come back to with friends or add to a future conversation with a stranger.
Last week, I found a book that I was looking for after years of searching. Jumping with joy, calling my close friend in jubilance, and expressing my love for the book with the cashier at the checkout counter demonstrates how adding pages fulfills myself, my space, and my memories.
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To further promote digital detox, people are crafting for themselves and others. Nicole recommended cross stitching as “it’s great for keeping your hands busy and stops you from picking up your phone…great for beginners (compared to needlepoint or embroidery) because it only uses one kind of stitch.”
Crafting keeps your attention focused on art and producing something out of nothing. The same process can be achieved through other mediums like collecting magazine scraps to collage or “junk journal.”
Facebook group leader of “Random Acts of Cardness” Megan Evans sends out letters to procure human connection. She confessed, “When you sit down and you put the pen to the paper, it becomes something that’s even more just for that person.”
I share the same sentiment. My Christmas gift to my loved ones was handwritten letters this year. It was time consuming yet so rewarding. Letter writing and receiving is a mutual language of love that lives in words of affirmation and acts of service: writing to a loved one, reflecting on your relationship, adding terms of endearment, going to the post office, and going about your day. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a letter back and a smile will never leave your face.
According to journalist Michael Liedtke, about 43 million vinyl albums have been sold since 2023, meaning streaming services are convenient but plenty of people are looking for more. Seeing the numbers of sales grow in the digital age, there is a greater want for a tangible article to take home. Collecting a physical music library allows easy access to these albums, to listen to them as they were constructed by the artist.
I collect CDs at my local record store and burn the playlists onto fresh CDs through my own artistic creation. My CD travel case lives in my passenger seat. My friends flip through the plastic and choose the soundtrack for our destination. This New Abnormal is more than a Strokes album. This is analog.
As Cohen said, “Disconnecting isn’t retreating at all. It’s actually about reclaiming your attention at a time when your attention is the world’s most valuable currency.” In a world of AI pollution and a 2x speed function, it’s nice to sit back and find nostalgic or nuanced hobbies for yourself and your community. Attentiveness and intention are cultural characteristics lost in the digital.
Shuffle that deck. Make that scrapbook. Buy that cassette player and sport it with a wired earbud. Start that book club. Away from the static, we find the answer for humanity through exploring ourselves and sharing those interests in our communities.
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Emi Magaña is a writer from Los Angeles with a bachelor’s in English. She covers entertainment, news, and the real human experience.
