Analogue bags: screen-free accessory gaining traction among younger users

So-called analogue bags — filled with crosswords, knitting, novels and journals — have emerged as an unexpected accessory of the season, championed by millennials and Gen Z as a way to reduce screen time. The term was coined by Sierra Campbell, a 31-year-old content creator based in California, in a TikTok video that suggested packing items such as a New Yorker subscription, gel pens and a sketchbook; that video was viewed more than 200,000 times in five days.

Users are sharing videos of their "stop scrolling" bags and tips for what to include, and one user calls the idea a "toy box for your attention span." David Sax, author of The Revenge of Analog, approves of the trend, saying people need an alternative to fill the void left by phones.

The analogue bag appears alongside a wider revival of vinyl records, physical magazines and point-and-shoot cameras, and of in-person "cosy hobbies" such as pottery and crochet. Regulators and surveys cited in the coverage note heavy phone use: Ofcom says the average adult in Great Britain checks their phone every 12 minutes, and a 2022 USwitch survey found UK adults spent an average of five hours a day on screens outside work tasks.

Campbell says the bag has cut her screen time from seven hours to three by applying the habit framework in Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit: keep the cue and reward but change the routine.

Key Topics

Culture, Analogue Bag, Sierra Campbell, Tiktok, David Sax, Ofcom