A Covid “side-effect” is that I hugely increased my “analog” photography. While there’s a digital aspect to it (scanning, printing), I took so many “analog” photos during the pandemic.
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I’ve never thought this topic would go so far! Thanks a lot, guys!
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I’m jumping in late to this thread, but thought I’d put in my two cents. I have to honestly say no, I’m not tired of digital life. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by computers. Enough so that it is now my profession (software developer). I still get a deep sense of satisfaction when I’m able to ship a new piece of software or fix a bug in existing code.
Computers have also made life better in other ways unimaginable when I first started. For example, one long standing passion is classical music. For years, I would buy recordings on LP and later CDs. Now I pretty much have all classical music ever recorded at my fingertips on Spotify (or Apple Music). I do have some nostalgia for the time I used to spend discovering new recordings in a record shop, but I don’t miss it enough to want to go back to the old ways!
I do think the best way to experience classical music is live in a concert hall, so this is definitely still an analog experience. But it is also relatively rare, compared to my daily listening to music on Spotify.
I also love nature and try to spend time on the weekend hiking with my two dogs. I bring my iPhone, but only use it if I get lost in the woods and need help finding my way out, otherwise it stays unused in my pocket on Do Not Disturb mode.
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So did I. My collection of cds and vinyl dates back to a Beatles album I purchased in 1964. But I haven’t touched any of them in years. What have you done with your physical music?
I’m loving my LAMY Safari which I got for Christmas combined with a Poi Co dot grid Log Journal.
Sadly, I’m no drawer, but I do scribble 
And I’m going back to Bullet Journaling.
I’m moving back to analogue for some things (not music or long-form writing… but I can’t spend all day on digital devices.)
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For me it’s the exact opposite. Maybe it’s because I’ve been working with computers for over 30 years, but I’m just sick of them. I stopped programming for fun about 5 years ago and drag myself to do it when I have to for work. This is mainly from being involved in computer security for 20 of those 30 years which is what I’m probably burnt out from doing.
I still enjoy computing, but I now find computers pretty boring.
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I sold most of it. I kept a small collection of CDs that are hard to find online or have special value to me.
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When I was working from home during the pandemic, I did notice that I spent less and less time at my desk during non-work hours. This, for me, was not a “digital” issue but an issue of space. By the end of the average work day, I usually wanted to be anywhere else but there — similar to how I feel at the end of the day when I’m working at the office.
I don’t ever tire of the digital tools that help me do the things I want/need to do. But I also rarely think about qualifying or quantifying or comparing my time spent using technology — whether it’s a computer, a pencil, or a paperclip — to accomplish things.
I do take notice of fatigue during those moments when I find myself a little rudderless and relying too much on things to provoke or entertain me. That could be the act constantly revisiting this forum in hopes of finding an interesting post, or it could be sitting in front of the TV, flipping channels and waiting to find anything that catches my interest. But I think that’s a different kind of distraction or loss of focus than the kind you’re describing.
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Yes, me too - went in on Wednesday when the weekly news had just arrived from the UK and German presses. Early to mid-80s mainly. So much great music available, but as a teen spending close to 100% of my budget on vinyl, still so many records went un-purchased.
Right now, I’m down the rabbit hole of late 1960s soul, R&B and funk. Picking off one album after the next - already paid for through my monthly subscription of less than a single CD.
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Nope, never, nada, absolutely not. I can type waaaaaay faster than I can write, my handwriting is atrocious, and my fingers cramp up after one sentence. Paper isn’t searchable, and just winds up in piles all over the place. Also paper is heavy. And I can’t bump up the font size, which is getting more important as the years go on.
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Do you have a regular camera now? I use to have a few. I have a 35 mm and last time I looked it still worked.
I scan, print. Wish I had a better printer but it does a decent job.
But the iPhones take nice enough photos. I’d love to get one w the three lenses!
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For “analog”:
- Nikon FE2
- Nikon F5
- Bronica SQ-Ai
- Intrepid 4x5 Mk4
All of them regularly used.
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Bill, I bought a Rocket Book. Actually there is a small notebook that came with it. So far looks very cool.
I told my nephew about it and it can help him a lot in college
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Despite running a very large forum for writers, and making a living as a technical writer, I am still very much in the analog world. Even books and articles about iOS apps start as hand-written notes. Reading notes from codex books are hand-written, usually with fountain pen because I love the inks and it’s easier on my hands, but I often use pencil. More often than not, a few days later, I keyboard and augment the notes, for later use.
I write a lot of letters and postcards. I annotate printed books, usually with pencil. I use a PDF annotation app and Apple Pencil to annote .pdfs. I still revise on hard copy. Even blog posts start out as hand-written notes.
I like the tactile effects of analog tools. They allow me time to think about what I’m writing in ways that the keyboard doesn’t. I like the beauty too. And I’m dyslexic; it took me so long to be able to write, I don’t want to lose it.
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I bet there are more than a few people here who have lost the ability (me included) who are slightly jealous of you. I suppose I could relearn to write without seizing up after a few minutes, but based on the results from last time, maybe I owe the world not to. 
I was really excited by the idea of the Rocket Book; it reminds me of Roman and later Medieval tablets. The Romans used wax, the late Medieval and early Renaissance tablets (Hamlet’s “tables”) were coated with a material designed to be easily sponged off, creating a temporary writing surface that was very portable.
I tried very hard to like the Rocketbook. I found the texture, the slickness, made it very difficult to write easily or rapidly, and ended up sending mine and a dozen or so color Frixion pens to a blogger.
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I do this too, for anything important. I’m always finding surprises in the printed copy where they suddenly become blaringly obvious. “Why didn’t I see that on the screen?” - it’s very weird how the same content can behave so differently depending on the medium.
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For the same reason, I like “analog” photography. While with in technical or measurable dimension (resolution, speed, productivity,…) digital wins hands down, it creates more involvement in the process. I need to think more about it, before I commit. Which is also applicable to writing. On the computer; I have a delete key. On paper, I have to commit.
And, getting back to photography, there’s the whole manual/tactile aspect. While uploading to a cloud is super efficient, manually loading a film, manually winding is just…more satisfying. And since way more work goes into the whole process, I connect more.
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terrific! do you think if i can figure out a computer (basically, at any rate), I can figure out a Rocket book, Bill? Actually, the iphone app looks like it is really very easy to figure out. So far, I have my name and phone number in them.