Gen Z Declares Digital Cameras 'New Luxury' as They Ghost Apps to Survive

KEY POINTS

•Nostalgia for obsolete tech is trending in 2026, driven by millennials and Gen Z rejecting new digital tools.
•Users recall expensive gadgets like $700 GPS devices and $8.50 Eminem ringtone clips, highlighting tech’s disappearing convenience.
•Experts note AI's hype has turned to disillusionment, prompting some to block apps with the 'Brick' app as a form of analog rebellion.

Welcome to 2026, where nostalgia has stage-dived into the human psyche faster than you can say 'brick your phone.' Gen Z and millennials are swapping AI apocalypse jitters and record layoffs since 2009 for a retro pilgrimage back to yesteryear — specifically 2006 and 1996, when apparently people still trusted in gadgets that actually died gloriously in drawers. Reddit buzzes with hearty debates on worthless relics like $700 GPS devices that replaced MapQuest printouts, paying $8.50 for five-second Eminem ringtones, and teachers smugly predicting 512MB flash drives would last lifetimes. Thomas Roulet from Cambridge confirms disillusionment with AI’s false promise, while the 'Brick' app invites users to theatrically cripple their phones. All this analog angst marks dedigitalizing your life as the chicest 'status symbol' since taking pictures that didn’t auto-backup to the cloud and actually required batteries.