Vinyl Revival and The Return of Retro Tech

From the return of vintage vinyl to the resurrection of classic 90s games, the recent emergence of retro-tech emphasises just how infatuated we are with the past. Shockingly, it’s the younger generations leading this trend. And we’re here for it!

But why is this happening? Well, we wanted to find out, so we analysed data from some of Gen Z's favourite social media platforms and consulted with a Psychotherapist to get their take. 

 

Spinning around to vinyl

Our research found that vinyl and record players are trending on Pinterest, with 65% of people searching for them between 18-24 years old. In fact, Pinterest has seen a 40% surge in annual searches for “vinyls”, followed by a 20% increase for “vinyl records” and a 10% increase for “vinyl player”. 

As an aesthetics-focused platform, Pinterest searches suggest younger generations crave a vintage vibe. This is further highlighted by the fact that nearly half of vinyl record buyers in the past year don't even own a record player! So if half of recent vinyl buyers aren’t listening to them, what’s happening?

According to UKCP-registered Integrative Psychotherapist, Sarah Lee, the key may lie in something as simple as ‘novelty’.

“One could be the novelty factor; I remember the changes in tech from around the 80’s onwards as being fairly constant. Just for listening to music, we had radios, record players, cassette players, boom boxes, stereo systems, all different kinds of mp3 players then iPods and now phones. Younger generations may only have experienced phones as a means to play music so these old devices are quite a novelty in comparison.”

 

Snapping back to classic cameras

Turning to TikTok, where the highest percentage of TikTok users are 18-24 years old (36.2%), we found that classic digital cameras are making a comeback. According to TikTok’s Creative Centre, videos with #canong7x have garnered 4 million views on TikTok in the last 30 days while #g7x have acquired 2 million views. Despite being released in 2014, these cameras are making a big splash amongst younger generations. 

TikTok data also shows that videos with the caption #vintagephotos on TikTok have garnered 359,000 views in the last 30 days alone. This is followed by videos with #oldcamera acquiring 331,000 views, videos with #polaroids garnering 322,000 views, and videos with #35mmfilmphotography capturing 116,000 views — all within the last month. 

Sarah comments on these retro-tech trends: “Thanks to the internet; trends can spread incredibly fast in a way they couldn't have done pre-internet. Social media means that people look to influencers or other people their age to see what they're doing and using. Having an 'exclusive' product which is hard to get hold of and isn't very well known by people of your age can be a way to show your uniqueness or differentiate yourself from the masses. After all, these devices are now limited edition in a way that the latest phones aren't.”

 

Game over? Not quite!

Music and photography aren’t the only things making a welcome return. According to the latest YouTube Culture and Trends report, the platform saw 1,000 times more retrogaming video uploads in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2007. The majority of retrogaming videos revolve around 1980s and 1990s consoles and games. Picture the golden era of GameBoys and Sega!

Meanwhile on TikTok, “retro gaming” saw 373,000 searches in one day, a weekly increase of 40.8% while “retro console” acquired 538,000 searches in one day and “retro game” garnered 307,000 searches.

 

Digital disconnect

Living in such a connected world, these findings show that Gen Z craves digital disconnection. To shed light on why younger generations are seeking all manners of retro-tech from eras before their time, Sarah explains:

“There's a certain fatigue in always being connected to everyone which is hard to avoid today. Despite the popularity of social media, many people recognise the negative impact it has on them; either through comparison, unrealistic beauty standards or fear of missing out. 

“Many people of my generation and older speak fondly of the pre-internet generations and talk about the freedom and space that it afforded us so I think retro tech can offer people a taste of what it was like before the internet. Listening to a CD on a train was a completely different experience from listening to music on your phone whilst browsing social media, for example, and I think younger people are curious about what that was like.”