Why Gen Z is Using Retro Tech (bbc.com)
- Reference: 0180323601
- News link: https://games.slashdot.org/story/25/12/07/1842250/why-gen-z-is-using-retro-tech
- Source link: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl8nj8nvzo
> Amazon UK told BBC Scotland News that retro-themed products surged in popularity during its Black Friday event, with portable vinyl turntables, Tamagotchis and disposable cameras among their best sellers. Retailers Currys and John Lewis also said they had seen retro gadgets making a comeback with sales of radios, instant cameras and alarm clocks showing big jumps.
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> While some people scroll endlessly through Netflix in search of their next watch, 17-year-old Declan prefers the more traditional approach of having a DVD in his hands. He grew up surrounded by his gran's collection and later bought his own after visiting a shop with a friend. "The main selling point for me is the cases," he says. Streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ dominate the market but Declan says he values ownership. "It's nice to have something you own instead of paying for subscriptions all the time," he says. "If I lost access to streaming tomorrow, I'd still have my favourite movies ready to watch."
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> He admits DVDs are a "dying way of watching movies" but that makes them cheaper. "I think they're just cool, there's something authentic about having DVDs," he says. "These things are generations old, it's nice to have them available."
The BBC also writes that one 21-year-old likes the "deliberate artistry" of traditional-camera photography — and the nostalgic experience of using one. They interview a 20-year-old who says vinyl records have a "more authentic sound" — and he appreciates having the physical disc and jacket art.
And one 21-year-old even tracked down the handheld PlayStation Portable he'd used as a kid...
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl8nj8nvzo
That's what they get (Score:3)
Companies chose the enshitification route. A good number of people are starting to realize that it provides nothing of value at best, and potentially life altering consequences at worst. (If not out right risk of death, depending on the product category.) It should be no surprise to these companies that people are checking out.
Offline mode is basically a middle finger to these companies. As it means they are unable to sell ADs to display on the product to milk more "free" money post-purchase. ("Free" as in "socialized the costs" not "Free" as in "beer.") Turns out that people don't like being tracked constantly, or pestered constantly by their own things to buy other things.
DVDs (And to another extent VHS / Bluray / 8-Track / Records / Dead Trees / etc.) are a response to demanding rent per view, and then failing to deliver on the promised content. (480i unless your browser / OS / GPU supports the hardware attested DRM for the 4K playback you purchased. Which we won't refund you for, or tell you upfront about. Oh you wanted to watch that series? Well, you'll need to subscribe to this other service for another $$$$ per month.) To say nothing about them just memory holing something out of your "library" for whatever reason.
Video games? That's a whole other ball of wax, but enshitification exists there too. Including, but not limited to, loot boxes / gotcha games whose sole purpose is milking whales often with gambling thrown in for good measure, content being ripped out of games during development for the sole purpose of being sold back to you at an additional cost, blatant product placements in increasing numbers, updates that only degrade the experience or force players to play in ways they don't want to (Mario Kart World's online), price hikes for the sake of price hikes ("$80.00? Pfft. I think gamers are ready for $120.00 games!" - Ubisoft, "We think this game of ours is valued at $90.00." - Nintendo), intentional removal of physical sales (Poketopia, but NS2 game key cards, or digital distribution only in general. Anyone remember the PS Vita?), abuse of the patent system to remove consumer choice (Nintendo vs. Pocket Pair, but see also Capcom's bootlicking statements, and Warner Bros Interactive's nemesis system.), Demanding that legitimate buyers of a product be treated as common thieves and put up with an inferior version of the product while pirates get the best version, etc.
TL;DR: When you create nothing but garbage that only enriches yourself at the perpetual expense of others, you shouldn't be surprised when people go elsewhere.
Re: (Score:2)
The next question will be: are those large corporation going to be quick enough in realising the pendulum has reached the end of its swing, and will they be agile enough to adapt to it before going it's to late to change course?
they don't know... (Score:1)
The thing is, they don't know anything else, and the old things are different from what they're used to, which is why they might be interested. When they see that modern things are more convenient, then they'll understand why the old things fell out of use. Otherwise, we'd still be using DVDs or vinyl records...
Re: (Score:2)
> When they see that modern things are more convenient, then they'll understand why the old things fell out of use.
Because they were not a recurring revenue stream? "If I lost access to streaming tomorrow, I'd still have my favourite movies ready to watch." Seems like some of them do indeed understand. Hopefully more of them figure it out.
Re: (Score:2)
If he knows how to rip them. Because the industry has stopped making optical drives. Se he might have the DVD but when his drive croaks...
Plus DVD still have those obnoxious unskippable anti-piracy messages.It is silly but right now the most convenient medium is the ripped .mkv. Or some more modern container.
Re: (Score:1)
No, they're not going to learn how to rip DVDs. They use old technology as if it were new, and they don't know anything beyond the basics, for example, playing a DVD, taking a picture and viewing it on the camera itself. They don't know how to download music, movies, or software, they don't know how to find subtitles for episodes, they don't know anything beyond the basic use of things, both new and old.
I am still using DVDs. (Score:2)
I dont want to pay a subscription to a media company ( I already have to pay a license fee for the BBC and that's enough). If theres a film I want to watch and keep I'll buy it on dvd otherwise ill wait for it to turn up on FTA TV.
Oh you sweet summer child... (Score:2)
> "I think they're just cool, there's something authentic about having DVDs," he says. "These things are generations old, it's nice to have them available."
First, although the DVD was developed in 1995 it wasn't a mainstream thing until at least 2000. So it's just a bit more than one generation old. If this young man loves DVDs, he'd probably pass out from joy over VHS tapes. And wait until he sees his first pair of rabbit ears and finds out what THEY were for...
All humour aside, this retro media and electronics movement pleases me. I'm pretty sure it's just a fad; but even so, a connection with and awareness of how things used to be can give one a valuable pe
Not a fad (Score:2)
There are and always have been people who like buying old stuff whether its tech, classic cars, clothes or 101 other miscellaneous things. The only problem with tech is that once it breaks that may be the end of it because even an electronics expert cant repair something that requires a replacement ASIC that's no longer made (eg pretty much every 70s, 80s and 90s electronic toy).
Tactile things are fun (Score:2)
Yup, everyone interviewed gets it, it's all of those things.
With the photography in particular there's a joy in waiting for film to return, to the hope that you got a good picture and the happy accidents you didn't plan for. If you do it with your phone you look, you verify it's good and you're more or less done with it. Waiting for film though, it could be weeks or months till you develop that roll. You've probably really forgotten what exactly you took photos of. Suddenly you have a little unwrapping, a l
Re: (Score:2)
Where can you get film developed and prints made from negatives nowadays? Bricks & mortar photography store?
The kids like retro point and shoot digital cameras too, like the Canon Elph. Maybe its part the experience of using them, but they also like the output better than iPhone. More flattering, perhaps.
Probably just posturing (Score:1)
I.e. "we are better than you" crap. Because you can do all that with modern tech as well.
Books (Score:2)
Same applies to books, I have thousands of them.
I also have hundreds of DVDs (many bought 2nd hand), CDs, etc. Most have been ripped to a server, but I have all the originals.
Internet can go down, I still have my stuff.
Licence holders can change, I still have my stuff
I buy software, I don't rent it, I still have a use Claris Draw on my old Mac, it works, so why not. Likewise Office 98, Filemaker 7, etc etc etc
I still run Mac OSX Server on a couple of Mac Minis for various things around the house.
I a
Absolutely the case (Score:2)
Daughter is a big fan of physical media, both CDs and DVDs. She doesn't buy blu-rays because her TV wouldn't really benefit and her current DVD player, which "works fine" doesn't support them. I have to remember that when I buy movies for her for birthday or Christmas, they have to be on plain DVDs.
I'm a photographer, and at one time daughter wanted to follow suit. I got her a "prosumer" digital camera which she used for a while but didn't really get into it. What she really wanted was my old film camer
Re: Absolutely the case (Score:2)
> A few years ago she won a bid on a Nintendo 64 with one controller. She found another controller somewhere, and started investing in old game cartridges. I pointed out that those games are available now on modern hardware via emulation, but she says there's something satisfying with having physical cartridges of single games.
I was playing Yooka-Laylee the other day and a message on the loading screen make me chuckle: "If cartridges were still cool this would have loaded by now."
Newspaper (Score:3)
My son works for his high school newspaper. He brought in a battery powered Panasonic cassette recorder to do interviews, complete with the cheesy chrome microphone it came with. It got people more interested in the interviews and he got some good copy out of them. He also brought in a portable typewriter we found on the side of the road being thrown away. He fixed it up and uses it to type notes in newspaper class. Everyone in that class loves it.
The way to go (Score:3)
When you buy physical media, its yours, forever.
Re: (Score:2)
> When you buy physical media, its yours, forever.
And you can rip them for portablity or to put on a server. Best of both worlds.
Lurking in some dark alley (Score:2)
Pssst! Hey kid. Wanna buy some vacuum tubes?
Re: (Score:2)
Rest assured there is a healthy market for vacuum tubes among audiophiles of all ages as well.
Always on, always connected (Score:2)
Modern devices are killing us, both physically and mentally. The Internet of Things (IoT) is composed almost entirely things that we don't want or need.
crumbles into dust (Score:2)
his gran's dvd collection? my gran collected tins of soup. she had three.