A Retro Renaissance, in Print
I am stoked to share a new piece I wrote for Big Think! I have done some videos with them before, but this is my first time writing for them. I have long been a fan though, so I am excited to be in their pages.
The piece is called Why Gen Z Is Nostalgic For a World It Never Knew, and it is part of their new special issue, The Opt-Out Nation. The issue looks at a very American instinct, the urge to opt out and do things differently, whether that means leaving an institution, changing careers, or just deciding to do things your own way. There are a bunch of fascinating stories in the issue, so definitely check it out.
In my piece, I focus on what I think is driving Gen Z’s growing nostalgia, even for eras they never lived through, and why I think it is helping fuel a real world renaissance against always online life. I argue that Gen Z is not opting out of modernity. It is opting out of the assumption that the digital world must consume the analog one.
One of the retro things Gen Z is into is print media. Which is why I think it is so cool that Big Think puts out a print magazine, and my new piece is featured in the latest issue. I love the internet and digital content, but there is something about a physical magazine, something you can hold, flip through, and leave out on a table, that a website just cannot replicate. I am glad Gen Z is helping bring physical media back.
If you want to start getting physical copies of the magazine in the mail or want access to all the great content Big Think offers, become a member here.
Have a great weekend!
Clay