Hey Boomer – the digital camera is back. Just point and shoot!
There is a new camera trend that isvery popular among Gen Z’ers on social media, and beyond. It features grainy images and these weird timestamps. Yep – the point-and-shoot digital cameras of the early 2000s are making a comeback!
In the last year, these ‘pre-smartphone cameras’ have been made popular, once again, by celebrities on Instagram like, Bella Hadid , Emily Ratajkowski, and Nicola Peltz Beckham. In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, “Who are these people??
“These people” are some of the biggest influencers on social media, and they’ve turned it back over to the Boomers, and gone old school!
When these influencers, and Gen Z’ers, are not taking photos on their old point-and-shoot digital cameras, they are posing with the 2000s relics looped around their wrists. Why? Because like my very wise mom told me, when me and my friends all started wearing what we thought were the new trendy “saddle shoes” – “Carla, everything old is new again!”
On TikTok, #digitalcamera has over 124 million views with videos saying “this is your sign to buy an old digital camera.”
There are many clips recommending specific cameras, like the one many of us still have tucked away in that one drawer, the Sony Cybershot. The Nikon Coolpix L15, the Samsung MV900F, and the Canon Powershot SD1300 are touted as some of the best “second-hand” digital cameras. Second hand – if they only knew how much, and how long we had to save to buy the first hand.
Why are ‘old school’ cameras so popular again? A photographer friend of mine says, “I think we’ve become numb to the novelty of a lot of things. Everything is on our phone now, and we’re attached to them. You basically choose between an Apple or Android, but in reality, the cameras are all pretty similar. With digital cameras, and film cameras, they all have a different quality, and feel.”
It’s probably inevitable that so many things would make a comeback – they always do.
Our society, and its trends, are so cyclical. Is there really anything that hasn’t been done, used, or worn before? Whatever the case, there is likely to be a generation of younger users that will be using this new camera technology for the next few years to come.
Oh, and if you’re using a camera that takes film, be prepared to pay a bit more for it than you used to – if you can find it.
Hey Boomer – here are some other trends that are popular again –
-Carla Rea
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Flip phones
Flip phones actually never really disappeared, but they did fall from grace. Motorola’s iconic RAZR sold over 130 million phones before the iPhone changed things. So in 2020, Motorola re-released their flip phone, followed by Samsung.
Vinyl Records
Vinyl records have been gaining ground again in recent years. In 2020 vinyl outsold CD’s for the first time since 1986, and they are showing no signs of slowing down. Vinyl is particularly popular among Millennials and Gen Z’ers who grew up with CD’s and streaming.
Polaroid Cameras
Polaroid is the namesake of all instant photography. The first Polaroid came out in 1940, and allowed people to shoot, then shake it (like a polaroid picture), then share – in a matter of minutes!
Fax Machines
May seem a little odd, but the numbers are growing for fax machine users. It has to do with legality.Unlike electronic signatures, fax is a recognized form of legal communication. And it allows for instant confirmation that a message has been sent.
Typewriters
Much like vinyl, and Polaroids, typewriters are drawing in younger people who grew up with computers and smartphones.Typewriters are a way to slow down in today’s non-stop digital world. It’s just you and the keys – with no distractions from the internet!
