Is it cringe to be extremely online now?

The bag Emily Karst keeps in her car is filled with everything but her phone. Instead, she usually packs her journal, some watercolor supplies, a needlepoint kit, a reading light and a murder mystery-themed puzzle book. Karst, 32, calls it her “analog bag,” and she’s not the only one rocking one this year. Many people say carrying the accessory - typically packed with hobby supplies rather than electronic devices - has become their way to minimize their screen time. “Even when I’m home and my analog bag is over on the hook, when I’m like, ‘OK, what do I want to do?’ that neural pathway that used to say, ‘Well, grab your phone,’ is starting to fire with the urge to maybe do needlepoint,” said Karst, who is an assistant principal at an elementary school in Ohio. The popularity of the bag reflects a broader shift in 2025: People have generally become more intuitive about how much of their time they want to spend online. By turning to nondigital activities for entertainment, they’re trying to unplug, reclaim their attention spans and find renewed fulfillment in real-life experiences. I think we’re all craving to just get back into community and real life. - Maddie DeVico, 31, a small-business owner in Colorado Ironically, those who choose to step away from the internet have also turned to social media to document their digital detox journeys. In addition to showing off their “analog bags,” some social media users have started online movements around the concept of returning to nondigital activities, from junk journaling - a type of scrapbooking that often involves pasting in found or recycled ephemera - to “ rawdogging boredom ,” a trend in which people challenge themselves to simply sit around and do nothing. There has also been an appetite from consumers for mobile apps and tech products aimed at combating doomscrolling, or the tendency to scroll excessively online, which often entails heavy consumption of depressing content. YouTuber Hank Green’s Focus Friend app , which topped the Apple App Store charts earlier this year, gives users a little bean on their phones that knits more items the longer the user keeps away from certain blocked apps. Also generating buzz this year was a small app-blocking device called the Brick , which locks users out of distracting apps and websites until they touch their phones to the Brick to deactivate the locks. “I think we’re all craving to just get back into community and real life, like real, tangible relationships. Everyone’s so online now that it’s hurting my soul,” said Maddie DeVico, a small-business owner in Colorado. “There’s a huge movement here. I think the culture is starting to shift and people are realizing how detrimental being constantly connected can be for your mental health at the end of the day.” To combat her own social media addiction, DeVico, 31, took some clay and molded a physical dock for her to “hang up” her cellphone like a landline when she has no...

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