More and more, it feels like people are looking for alternatives that help them disconnect from feeling like they’re constantly online. If you're pining for a time when people weren't continuously attached to glowing screens, you're far from alone.
Technology, entertainment, and hobbies that were big in the late-twentieth century are coming back in big ways. And there's no better way to find offline joy than venturing to your friendly neighbourhood thrift shop.
Books!
Books! Books! Glorious books! No sound, occasional pictures, made of paper and containing knowledge, experience, and insight you can then carry into the larger world around you. Funny enough, reading is only one part that makes books so great.
You get to fill your bookcases with great titles and talk about fantastic stories with your friends — and, you also get to pass on books to others, sharing the knowledge, wisdom, entertainment, good laughs, and plenty of tears they gave you. This can be an incredibly kind gesture you can show to someone important in your life — you’re sharing the deep impacts that immersive books can leave with someone.
Cassettes and Vinyl
It's becoming rare that anyone finishes an album front to back. While streaming has a lot of benefits, there's an immersion to listening to an entire album, much like reading a book.
Vinyl records are lauded for the best sound quality — truly made to listen front to back in a single sitting. But they often aren't the most convenient for many of the places we most often listen to music — while driving, while on the train, walking through our neighbourhoods. This is where cassettes are making a comeback.
In the 1980s and 1990s, having a walkman was critical. And having stellar mixtapes can make any commute enjoyable. Mixtapes also require you to listen to each song as you add them, making the entire mixtape creation an immersive experience itself.
Board Games
Four to six of your best friends, sitting around a kitchen table, rolling dice, moving board pieces, snacking on chips and sipping cheap drinks. This was Friday and Saturday night for countless people from high school all the way through their adult years. And it's over a lot of these game tables that some of the strongest friendships can forge.
A lot of people can create these kinds of friendships through online games too — but board games help to break down the digital silos and open more in-person contact that can create a deeper kind of connection. Funny enough, the game isn't always the actual centre of what happens during these evenings — it's just the excuse for the people in the room to get together and share time.
Crafts
Make your grandma-core vibes shine bright! From knitting to drawing, crochet to painting, and even baking and scrapbooking, thrift shops are often a treasure-trove for fun activities that keep your hands busy. But crafts like these are so much more than ways to pass to time — they're skillsets that are becoming rarer in our digital age.
With digital and artificial intelligence made art more and more common, the appreciation for handcrafted items is only growing. These make great gifts, home decor, or even a side hustle while also expressing your creativity in something you made with your own hands.
You can find all these amazing analog treasures and more at Bissell Thrift Shop. Let's keep the conversation going. What analog treasures help you touch grass and connect with the non-digital world around you? What digital technologies have you parted with in favour of off-screen tools and experiences? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep the conversation going — then ditch the smartphone and dig your hands deep into something real.