The Return of the King - I'm talking Analogue.

In a world that, for us millennials, feels like it’s changed overnight, from riding bikes, Walkman cassette players and picking Friday night movies at Blockbuster, to algorithms, notifications, and perpetual subscriptions, there’s something quietly rebellious about choosing to revert back to analogue.

Slowing down. Hearing the soft crackle of a record, or the satisfying scratch of pen against paper. These small, tangible moments remind me that life doesn’t have to be experienced through a glowing screen. In fact, it’s better for our health if it’s not.

This and the Lord of the Rings soundtrack on Vinyl... yes please.

The act of reverting back to analogue, popping in a cassette, writing by hand, painting, developing film etc, brings your hands and body back into the process. It requires slowness and presence.

And this isn’t just nostalgic comfort, it’s neurological nourishment. - Brain food, if you will!

Using our hands may actually be key to maintaining a healthy mood, and the lack of this type of activity may contribute to irritability, apathy, and depression.

Neuroscientist Kelly Lambert explores this beautifully in her book Lifting Depression: A Neuroscientist’s Hands-On Approach to Activating Your Brain’s Healing Power. I came across it while researching for this post (yes, ya girl does her fact-checking!), and it immediately landed on my TBR pile.

Lambert writes that today’s young adults are up to ten times more likely to experience depression than their grandparents were. She suggests that our increasingly automated world, where physical effort is optional, may be interfering with our happiness and our ability to handle stress.

Dr. Lambert also notes that 80% of the neurons in the brain are dedicated to controlling movement, not thought, and that a huge proportion of those neurons are connected to the hands. When you use your hands for complex tasks, you’re literally giving your brain a workout, increasing neuroplasticity and enhancing your capacity to learn, plan, and create.

In other words: using your hands makes you happier and smarter.

Of course, there's also another very important part to this conversation, the ethical one! Many of the digital platforms dominating our lives profit not just from our attention, but from our dependency. Subscription models are designed to feel “essential,” yet they quietly funnel billions into corporations that exploit both people and our planet.

A good portion of those profits they make from our subscription fees supports systems that uphold fossil fuel industries, human rights violations, and ongoing genocides. (Looking at you, Spotify, Audible, Amazon and Disney.)

When we choose analogue and cancel these subscriptions, we’re not just helping our brains, we’re taking a stand. We’re withdrawing our money, attention, and creative energy from corporations that thrive on detachment and overconsumption, and instead reinvesting in ourselves and in community.

To shop at a small local bookstore instead of buying another Kindle download.

To go thrifting for vinyls and DVDs.

To write letters to friends instead of sending instant messages. ( I have done this recently and can confirm it made my friends whole week, receiving a hand written letter for the first time in who knows how long!)

These choices are small, but they echo. Each act says:

“I refuse to be a passive consumer. I choose creation. I choose slowness. I choose awareness. And I choose community.”

Through analogue living, we are not rejecting progress, we’re redefining it. We are choosing to go back to a way of living that served us better and holds more joy.

So who wants to go thrifting with me? I’m in search of an old working cassette/CD player. ;)