Sometime in 2024, I found myself in possession of a film camera.

It was a simple model — a point-and-shoot with no flash and no batteries. I got it as a freebie together with a digital camera that I purchased. I was missing photography as a hobby, and I didn’t want to rely on my smartphone alone. I had never dealt with film photography before, but I figured: Why not?

It was quite a learning curve. I discovered that film rolls were pricier than I thought. It did push me to be more intentional with my photography, to look around and see what’s worth memorializing.

More than half of my shots eventually came out blank.

Many young people have taken up film photography. They have become interested in new hobbies, too: journaling, reading physical books, playing board games, or listening to music on vinyl. Anything that’s not digitized or computerized.

Hence, the rise of the analog trend.

Google search interest in the Philippines for analog and analog hobbies had been generally consistent in 2025, then spiked in February 2026. Search interest for film cameras, however, took a dip in the same month despite rising at the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, worldwide search interest for analog, film cameras, and analog bags more or less doubled from the first half of 2025 to the second half. There’s also consistent interest for vinyl and increasing interest for journaling since the start of the year.

With this rising attention, many users on TikTok have declared 2026 “the year of the analog.”

In an analysis conducted by data consultancy group The Nerve from December 2025 to the first week of February 2026, TikTok posts in the Philippines that tackled the analog trend increased slightly in January, then rose sharply in February. There were around 200 posts found in The Nerve’s dataset.

What were these posts talking about? The Nerve took a deep dive and, in our analysis, saw a desire for a slow-paced lifestyle where physical takes higher precedence over digital. 

Why people are going analog

Through Probe Video, The Nerve’s forensic solution for analyzing audio and video content, we found multiple motivations for people going analog. 

Around 18% of the TikTok posts in The Nerve’s dataset tackled the benefits of and tips for practicing digital detox.

People seeking a life with less screen time mirrors an emerging sentiment from Generation Z: a desire to step away from the noise and performativity of forming relationships online. [READ: Decoding Gen Z: Digital Habits, Money Moves, and Relationships]

Psychologist Marc Clint Maceda suggested a similar insight, pointing out that the analog trend has become “a natural consequence” as people feel more disconnected from the fast-paced modern era.

“This was also evident during the height of the pandemic [when] people wanted to find ways to connect with each other,” he said.  

This sense of disconnect reflects the decline of average daily social media use worldwide. 

From 151 minutes in 2023, it went down to 143 minutes in 2024, then to 141 in 2025, according to Statista numbers gathered with management consultancy Kepios.

Around 14% of the TikTok posts in The Nerve’s analysis also featured some forms of old and physical media: books, art fairs, images and movies of the yesteryears, and the like. This shows a yearning for classic, tactile experiencing of art and media.

Climate justice advocate Krishna Ariola has been into analog “for a decade at least, my whole life if I’m honest.”

Inheriting her parents’ love for compact discs, books, and films, Ariola began collecting media in physical formats when she realized the impermanence of the digital space.

“Subscriptions expire, artists pull out their music from platforms you pay for, websites go down, online magazines deactivate, and the list goes on,” she said.

Meanwhile, around 34% of the TikTok posts featured slow, serene scenes from rural communities and quiet destinations, mostly from foreigners who traveled — or relocated — to the Philippines. These videos showed simpler lives: eating breakfast in bamboo huts surrounded by trees, tending to farm animals, and spending time with communities outdoors.

In a world where systems are weakened by worsening disinformation, propaganda, and attacks, people seem to seek a rewind to more peaceful times.  

“Getting into hobbies that reconnect us with nature or return us to a simpler, quieter life is a way that people can regulate themselves amidst the noise of the modern world right now,” Maceda said. 

“For instance, getting into photography or journaling allows one to appreciate the world around them via capturing moments or peaceful self-reflection. This allows individuals to slow down, take it easy, and pace themselves from the stress of every day,” he added.

An irony?

The remaining 34% of the TikTok posts in The Nerve’s dataset includes users that shared their analog hobbies. 

Around 12% of the videos featured film photography, where users showed the cameras they used and the photos they’ve taken. Another 8% showed vinyl records and analog watches.

Some brands and business owners even rode on the trend, promoting their analog products on TikTok Shop.

Meanwhile, around 14% of the videos had users showcasing their analog bags — bags that contain one’s stuff that they bring at times when they want to take a break from their devices.

This shows an irony to the analog trend that some publications pointed out: that a movement to take life offline is growing online.

“I saw the term ‘analog bag’ on TikTok and thought it was funny because that is what my bag has always looked like,” Ariola shared. “Then I thought about it a little more and found it interesting that we sort of have to trendbait people into going offline.”

She then advised that an analog bag can have even just a notebook and a pen, as long as it lets people disconnect from the digital space. “A bag with a collection of stuff you don’t even like or won’t use after you post it online is just junk,” she added.

Some TikTok users, including carmeldeni, shared a similar sentiment, lamenting that instead of appreciating the “slow, tangible, and offline,” people going analog are now “buying more things…ironically sold to us through fast internet trends.”

On the other hand, TikTok user Angelique de Leon pushed back against negative feedback on the analog trend. While acknowledging that some may be participating in it to be “performative,” De Leon said the trend may still lead people to discover things they enjoy.

“Recently I’m junk journaling, and it has reached the point where my child became interested in junk journaling, too…. So even if it’s a trend, for me it’s doing something good for me and my child’s relationship. We found a hobby we both like,” she shared in a mix of English and Filipino.

Maceda agreed. “Just like any other ‘trend’, there will be some people who will be going back to analog just because it is what everybody else is doing, hence performative,” he said. He then recognized that people who start out this way can learn to appreciate analog hobbies later on. 

“Regardless of what the purpose is for entering the analog trend, it doesn’t really matter and we mustn’t judge others right away for wanting to try something new,” he added. 

Is analog here to stay?

I admit, I had not picked up my film camera again since I had my first roll developed.

Maybe I’m just discouraged by the blank prints. Maybe I’m still intimidated by the additional steps film photography requires to take images. I found myself picking up my digital camera more instead.

Getting these cameras still ended up being an effective way to become less dependent on my phone, though. There are now fewer photos in it compared to past months. I also have way more beautiful photos that were born from actual effort.

The journey to analog may be rough, as digital has become so ingrained in global systems and everyday life. But for Maceda, analog is “here to stay,” as long as there are people who are interested in it and who promote it. 

“As a millennial, I grew up with both analog and technological play — playing outdoor games with my friends while also playing video games from time to time,” the psychologist shared. 

“Journaling, photography, or hobbies that do not require technology have also been present for such a long time, and I have seen a lot of people both young and old be immersed in it and make it a big part of their life,” he added. – with reports from Pauline Macaraeg/Rappler.com