Ever since 2026 began, I cannot get a break from the word “analog.” For those who have not had their social media feeds ambushed with “2026 is the year of analog,” “Here is a list of my favorite analog hobbies” and other content related to this adjective, the word analog, in this context, generally refers to activities and lifestyles that are meant to exclude modern technology. Some examples of this include journaling, puzzles, reading and listening to “physical media” such as CDs and record players. While I will be the first to say that I think social media is one of the worst things to happen to our generation, I think this notion of being “unplugged,” or without technology, is misguided. 

There is nothing wrong, in my eyes, with being advantaged by modern technology. I recently had some struggles with my car connecting to Bluetooth and decided to switch over to the radio. For about two days, I was excited about this shift and all of the positive implications I thought this phone-free behavior would have in my life. Instead, I was disappointed. What I thought would be an era of exposure to new music and ideas turned into me grumbling while avoiding traffic, switching between listening to people talk about nonsense or the same three pop songs I was already sick of. This experience made me realize how much I like getting to choose my own music in the car. It is such a gift to have access to any kind of music I want to hear, at any time of the day, and not have to listen to advertisements every two songs. I strongly contend that we could all survive without modern technology, but I don’t think it’s a crime to use technology when it makes our lives easier. 

Lately I have noticed a trend among my friends that I like to call the “DND Epidemic.” Many of my friends have their phones constantly on Do Not Disturb, never receiving any notifications. Their aim is to be on their phones less, but I have never seen it work this way. These friends afflicted by the DND Epidemic are the ones I see on their phones the most, yet they end up missing important emails and unintentionally ignoring their friends. Your texts and emails are most likely not the thing harming your mental health. I think it may have more to do with the three hours of scrolling you do a day.  

Do I think we should put down our screens more? YES! But the way we are going about it is wrong (If we were really going analog in 2026, I would not be hearing about it so much on the internet). If you want to be on your phone less, the answer is not to get rid of it or completely ignore it because, whether we like it or not, technology is ingrained in almost everything we do. Instead, we can take steps to make our phones less attractive. Delete social media and only use it on your laptop. Stop having long, drawn-out conversations over text and just call someone or talk to them in person. Stop sending pointless pictures of yourself on Snapchat. Technology is a great tool that social media companies have used to turn us into products. We need to learn to live our lives better with it, because when your hour of analog hobby is over and you have to pick up your phone again, you need to know how to use this tool without it consuming you.