Analogue is the New Cool and the Rise of Slow Making

I’ve been noticing a few things lately.

In December, our daughter bought a camera while we were on holiday. An actual camera. One used simply to take photographs, not texts, not messages, just photographs.

Then I heard about something called a “Brick” on a podcast. A small physical device paired with an app that locks distracting apps on your phone. You tap your phone to it to block them, and tap again to unblock them. A physical barrier to doomscrolling. A literal object enforcing attention.

It feels as though the world is growing weary of online overstimulation. Screens. Noise. Speed. AI has accelerated so much of it that there is now an equally strong pull in the opposite direction. Younger generations are leaning toward tactile experiences and slower media: analogue photography, vinyl, printed books, physical objects. A shift toward conscious engagement rather than endless digital consumption.

And as a bit of a crocheter, a garden dabbler, and recently a committed collager, it turns out I am accidentally very on trend.

The return to the analogue world is quietly becoming one of 2026’s defining cultural shifts. Ironically, the online world is telling us that being offline is cool.

It made me reflect on my own January.

I attended an art course exploring image making, signs, and the reimagining of fragments into new narratives. Working with nothing more than found images, glue, and scissors. There is something grounding about cutting and assembling by hand. A return to basics. A slowing down. A different kind of thinking.

This is not about rejecting technology. It is not anti digital. It is about choice. About moments of balance. Some people are swapping Spotify shuffle for an iPod. Others are slowing down to take a photograph they can hold. Even something as simple as using a physical alarm clock can feel quietly liberating.

So perhaps 2026 is the year we stop living through the algorithm and start living more fully in the world around us. Less doomscrolling. Less distraction. Less performance. More connection. More focus. More presence.

And perhaps, more making by hand.

Bring it on.