28/01/2026
Do your mornings start with a scroll, your days spent sending emails and your wind down at night to podcasts, audiobooks or doomscrolling? Most people are chronically online. According to Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator, the average adult in Great Britain checks their phone every 12 minutes. Screen time is now a habit in many people’s lives, but we are starting to see a shift.
You may have seen the trend ‘analogue bag’, and we are here for it. Gen Z is leading the way in moving away from digital and looking to rely less on digital things and lean more into an offline lifestyle. They might start taking days off social media, using Polaroid and traditional cameras, switching to flip phones, and using CD players or vinyl. Instead of games on their phones their picking up actual books or a physical crossword puzzle book. Landlines are making their way back into our homes, not just for retro fun but also to support safer conversations that help children connect with friends.
It’s not anti-tech, it’s more about making memories in person and giving yourself a bit of time away from screens. Ironically, social media was developed to connect, but more and more people feel more isolated than ever, and we are yearning for those real-life in-person moments. Stress-related health issues have been seen to reduce once time away from a screen or social media diminishes, and the act of doing things away from a screen can be therapeutic and soothing. Writing letters, reading real books, baking, crafts, letting quiet moments exist without feeling the need to capture them with a photo or fill them with someone else’s feed.
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