Why Analog Summer Is Becoming 2026’s Biggest Lifestyle Trend and 15 Ways to Try It
2026 is being called the year of analog, and the shift is showing up everywhere, from surging yarn kit sales to Gen Z influencers filling canvas totes with anything that isn’t a phone. Analog summer is the warm-weather expression of that broader cultural pivot, swapping doomscrolling for books, film cameras, handwritten letters and hands-on hobbies you can actually hold.
The movement isn’t anti-technology. It’s a deliberate push to slow down, do less and be more present at a moment when AI-generated content and always-on devices have left a lot of people feeling fatigued. Here’s what analog summer looks like in practice, why it’s catching on and 15 activities to try before Labor Day.
What analog summer actually means
Analog summer is less a rulebook than a mindset, incorporating slower-paced, more tangible ways to complete tasks and entertain yourself, even while living surrounded by AI, smart home devices and phones that never stop buzzing. Analogers aren’t swearing off tech entirely. They’re building small pockets of friction back into daily life. Replacing Spotify’s AI shuffle with an iPod, swapping phone snapshots for a film camera or buying a physical alarm clock all count. It’s the modern version of mindfulness, and its appeal grew steadily after the pandemic pushed people to look for ways to cope with isolation, anxiety and uncertainty.
Part of what’s driving the shift is exhaustion with generative AI doing the thinking and creating for us. “AI slop is quite fatiguing both in the actual action of viewing the content and the fact that it’s so repetitive, so unoriginal,” Avriel Epps, an AI researcher and assistant professor at the University of California Riverside, told CNN.
The data behind the analog summer trend
The numbers make clear this isn’t a niche aesthetic. It’s a real behavior change. Searches for “analog hobbies” on the Michaels website are up 136% in the past six months, and searches for yarn kits jumped 1,200% in 2025. The craft retailer’s chief of merchandising has called it a “really big cultural shift.”
“Our customers are moving past the passive scroll and seeking out the friction of a physical hobby,” Heather Bennett, president and chief customer officer at Michaels, said. “They are reminding us that the most valuable things we own aren’t just bought. They’re the ones we’ve had a hand in creating.”
The analog bag trend explained
If there’s one visual shorthand for analog summer, it’s the analog bag, a canvas tote stocked with screen-free activities that Gen Z influencers have popularized across social media. The idea is simple. Keep your hands busy and your phone out of them by having a physical alternative ready to grab.
“I am trying to find activities that keep me from scrolling on my phone, especially since I work on social media full time. It’s easy to get on the internet, get on social media and just kind of scroll mindlessly,” Gen Z influencer Brynne Anika Fritjofson told NPR. “I think [an analog bag] helps you slow down and embrace different things in your life that you wouldn’t do if you’re scrolling.”
Sierra Campbell, credited as the creator of the trend, described the psychological payoff this way. “When I have a dedicated analog and I see it in the corner of my eye when I’m on my phone, I feel a relief, because I’ve done something to set myself up for success. This is my phone replacement, so I can put it down and pick up something else.”
15 analog summer activities to try
The point of these activities isn’t to perform an aesthetic. It’s to actually put the phone down and use your hands, your eyes and your attention on something in front of you. Some are social, some are solo, and most cost very little. Pick a few, throw them in a tote and go.
- Plan a picnic
- Go on a bike ride
- Spend an afternoon reading outside
- Go birding or bird-watching
- Play yard games like horseshoes, croquet or badminton
- Document the summer with a disposable camera
- Plant something, whether a garden, a pot or a windowsill herb
- Try a craft and take it outside
- Watercolor or paint outdoors
- Make homemade ice cream
- Host a game night
- Write someone a letter or postcard
- Cook something over a fire
- Pick berries at a local farm
- Go camping
Why analog summer resonates right now
The appeal isn’t nostalgia for its own sake. It’s that small, tactile acts feel liberating in a way that endlessly optimized digital experiences no longer do. Reaching for a film camera instead of a phone, or a paperback instead of a feed, creates a moment of friction, and that friction is exactly the point. Analog summer works because it’s low-stakes, low-cost and immediate. You don’t have to quit your group chats or throw your laptop in a lake. You just have to pick up something you can hold.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
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