Going analog: The irony of buying your way offline

The internet, once an escape from real life, has recently become something people are itching to get away from.

Phrases like needing to “touch grass” or be “chronically offline” have grown more and more in popularity, and lingering beneath is an ugly truth.

Spending too much time on your phone  —  something we were warned about as children with the ultimate parental catchphrase of “it’s the damn phone!” — isn’t a groundbreaking revelation.

But how likely is the average person today to fully evade the draw of the internet, when so much of popular culture stems from social media? Why then, in 2026, have people tried going offline?

The reason is simple — it’s cool.

The going analog trend began with people limiting or removing themselves from social media, instead indulging in hands-on pastimes and reverting back to older means of digitized technology.

Reading and journaling are favoured over doomscrolling. Wired over wireless earbuds. Collecting DVDs or VHS tapes over subscription streaming services avoids consumerism, ads, and additional paywalls. 

It sounds great, but at its core, the trend is very confusing. Despite its name, you’re not actually going back to analog technology — FM or AM radios and landline telephones. The only exception is vinyl records.

Reusing analog items from the ‘80s and ‘90s isn’t necessarily bad, nor is reading or having hobbies outside of the digital world. The real problem is influencers. Once they caught on, capitalism prevailed.

Influencers encourage the public not to reuse old items, rather purchase new versions of old stuff, obviously with their own affiliate links to websites and Amazon storefronts. 

Addressing the elephant in the room, I myself am not writing this piece beneath the warmth of candlelight, dipping my quill against a sheet of parchment in a quiet cabin. I, like many, am online, sitting across a glaringly bright laptop screen.

I won’t deny the conveniences of the internet and its presence in my own life — let’s not even mention my screen time. But I don’t think these circumstances disqualify me or anyone else from earnestly arguing that the analog trend is just another example of an aesthetic turned into a commodity.

While we should be spending more time with ourselves in the real world, many are told to because it’s the newest “chic” trend to buy into, literally.

You’re flooded with videos everywhere. From the best totes to buy as your analog bag to get-ready-with-me videos to spend the day outside, and constant journal and stationery shopping. 

Why do we need a new bag that provides no more use than an existing everyday purse or backpack? Is it so hard to suggest using items people may already have?

For some, it is too hard. Recycling and ethical consumption, where one is capable, has never been as sick as pulling up to the function with a new PETA x Tim Burton analog bag and a hardcover Leuchtturm1917 journal.

Would my teal, chevron-patterned notebook from 2016 look just as good for my analog bag photo dump? The general consensus from influencers, and the large corporations sponsoring them, is no.

It comes down to the commodification of social status — being seen owning something trendy is cool.

Going offline is great if it’s genuinely what you want to do. Physical media, reading, crocheting, nature walks, and disabling your Instagram account are great if they’re not just part of a trend.

But, if you ask me, going analog — the commercialized, influencer version — is nothing more than retro-washed consumerism.