The Return of Tangible Things (And Why I’m Not Mad About It)

I just got my hands on a stash of 35mm film. A lot of it. Some guy was selling it in bulk, and I may or may not have bought more than I can reasonably use in a year. But when you’re a sucker for tangible things like I am, it’s hard to pass that up.

What’s wild is this isn’t just some retro hobbyist niche anymore. It’s a movement. All around me, I’m seeing the world slowly lean back into the analog. Film photography. Vinyl records. Cassette tapes. DVDs. Actual books with actual pages. People are scrapbooking again. Collecting weird little trinkets. Pressing flowers between the pages of journals instead of scanning them with an app.

We spent the last decade chasing minimalism. Living smaller. Owning less. Keeping our lives tidy and streamlined so we could focus on the now. But maybe the “now” isn’t quite as fulfilling when you can’t hold it in your hands.

Gen Z seems to get it. While older generations are trying to declutter, they’re out here buying cassettes and Polaroids and loading up on limited edition collectibles. And honestly, it’s kind of beautiful. They weren’t even around when this stuff was the norm, but they’re reviving it in a way that feels more like a personal statement than a trend.

Take cassette tapes, for example. Are they back because they’re retro? Or are they just what they always were a convenient way to carry music that also happens to look incredibly cool? Either way, I can’t pretend I didn’t smile when I saw a rack of brand-new tapes in a record store last week. I mean, I’m not going down that road again. I’m just glad others can. I’ll stick with my vinyl collection.

Holding a photo in your hand hits different than swiping past it on a screen. It’s not just nostalgia. It’s meaning. It’s proof that something happened and that it matters enough to exist outside the cloud.

I’m not complaining that vinyl is everywhere again. I’m not mad that Polaroid film is easy to find. And if I can keep buying 35mm film without getting fleeced online, I’ll be a happy guy.

We might be inching our way back into an analog society. And I think that’s a good thing.

Boomers get a bad rap, and usually for good reason. Gen X, my generation, tends to get a lot of credit for being the cool middle child. Millennials? They take more heat than they should. But Gen Z? Let’s give them the reigns for a while and see what happens. So far, they’re making life feel more real. A little more lived in. A little more worth holding onto.

And if that means shelves full of records, photo albums stacked under the bed, and fridges full of film again… sign me up.