Friday, February 20, 2026

Gen Zers and Millennials Flock to So-Called Analog Islands

because so little of their life feels tangible'

By Michael Liedtke and The Associated Press February 20, 2026, 12:02 PM ET

Comments

"As technology distracts, polarizes and automates, people are still finding refuge on analog islands in the digital sea.

The holdouts span the generation gaps, uniting elderly and middle-aged enclaves born in the pre-internet times with the digital natives raised in the era of online ubiquity.

They are setting down their devices to paint, color, knit and play board games.

Others carve out time to mail birthday cards and salutations written in their own hand. Some drive cars with manual transmissions while surrounded by automobiles increasingly able to drive themselves.

And a widening audience is turning to vinyl albums, resuscitating an analog format that was on its deathbed 20 years ago."

much more at the link

#1 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-20 05:26 PM

Well that sucks... when I clicked it again it was a Paywall.

Here's some more excerpts; if and more likely when you see a free copy post it pls.

"The analog havens provide a nostalgic escape from tumultuous times for generations born from 1946 through 1980, says Martin Bispels, 57, a former QVC executive who recently started Retroactv, a company that sells rock music merchandise dating to the 1960s and 1970s.

"The past gives comfort. The past is knowable," Bispels says. "And you can define it because you can remember it the way you want."

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"But analog escapes also beckon to the members of the millennials and Generation Z, those born from 1981 through 2012 " younger people immersed in a digital culture that has put instant information and entertainment at their fingertips.

Despite that convenience and instant gratification, even younger people growing up on technology's cutting edge are yearning for more tactile, deliberate and personal activities that don't evaporate in the digital ephemera, says Pamela Paul, author of "100 Things We've Lost To The Internet."

"Younger generations have an almost longing wistfulness because because so little of their life feels tangible," Paul says.

"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."

Here are some glimpses into how the old ways are new again."

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Here's a similar article:

theartdistricts.substack.com

#2 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-20 05:34 PM

Buy a ------- backpack, a sleeping bag, and a ------- tent, FFS.

#3 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-02-20 07:51 PM

That's what many of them are doing... of course, some of them are making yt videos about it, but still.

#4 | Posted by Corky at 2026-02-20 08:25 PM

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