My take on the physical media movement

I am so up and down about this "trend" or whatever you wanna call it really. Although yes, I own a CD player and an MP3 player, that is because I genuinely like and use it and not just for partaking in the movement. I haven't ever claimed to be "chronically offline", because I think that's stupid to post online because you're just completely ruining the idea, BY POSTING ONLINE!!

I haven't used spotify since last year because I feel like I have more control over my music (Adding and deleting music manually and purposefully). However, I feel like people are getting way too excessive with technology and CD/DVDS. No, you do not need every new album. No, you do not need to replace everything with old tech. A lot of this is just genuine waste and over-consumption. There is no such thing as "good consumerism" or "ethical consumption", you're still buying too much CDS and then not using them. Think of it as a little child being told to finish their dinner before dessert. Actually USE all of the things you have before thinking of buying more, otherwise you're being wasteful just for the sake of more. Rummage through your old things, chances are you will find SOMETHING. My 3DS is literally 11 years old, but REUSE IT! Mod it! Collections aren't just a mass load of buying in a day, it's about time and mindfulness. We see all of these pinterest photos of people having 100+ CDS, "modern" nokias and flipphones, but that's not realistic at all. You are wasting money even if you thrift it, because although it's like 50p, you're buying like 30 at once. Calm down girl!! And these are the same people who claim to be anti-capitalist and anti-consumerist but they don't realise that they are GIVING to capitalism.

"Physical media", "analogue", "offline" have just become buzzwords;a lot of the tech people show is not ACTUALLY analogue. I recently stumbled across loads of videos advertising for modern blackberries, flipphones and etc, which are tech with touchscreens and IOS UIs. At this point you're literally just buying a phone that is shaped like a blackberry or whatever. How are you going to reduce your phone time if it has the EXACT same apps as a phone? The concept of someone going on tiktok on their flipphone seems so stupid.

In some respects, social media can still be good. If you use it correctly. I still use social media platforms, but I actually use it to engage with my friends and send them things. That is what social media is all about!! It is SOCIAL media, and still has it's benefits. People can express themselves to like-minded people, because local areas may not provide as much diversity, or you are able to call your family from miles away! It also creates social change because hundreds of people can come together from across the WORLD to protest about issues. We need to stop blaming social media, but the actual companies which destroy it with algorithms, as well as influencers who ruin the idea of social media and replace it with capitalism, shaming others or keeping communities further apart. I do believe that we should reduce screen time (I use opal for this but it's not obligatory!! Just be mindful!!) but since social media is genuinely psychologically wired to suck people in dopamine I obviously don't blame people for having a hard time (I still struggle!!).

On the other hand, old media can be good too! My MP3 player has actually helped me to get off my phone because I'm not tempted to go on it. And there isn't much to do on my mp3 other than listen to music, and I can just stare at the window on public transport! As well as my CD player, it feels more accessible because I don't have to manually go on my phone to play music, and I KNOW what I'm listening to. I don't have to worry about my internet cutting out either. DVD menus have so much personality that excite you to watch the movie more too, unlike netflix.

In conclusion, You shouldn't think black and white about it in my opinion, and don't mindlessly only listen to only a couple opinions that align with your own. I'm not 100% educated on this subject nor do I claim to know better than anyone, I just want to express my own opinion and experiences. I have mixed opinions but honestly mixed arguments can be more healthy than just depending on one. Be mindful about your screentime, but don't go overkill on old tech and swear to never go online ever again (cause we both know that won't happen). I hope you enjoyed, and this post was not directed at any audience, so please don't take it as hate. Thank you for reading!!