In the saturated age of physical media intrigue and striving to be ‘chronically offline’, we are fascinated by why now, do people seem more consumed by this than ever? Gen-Z’s are being reacquainted with their preloved iPods, DVDs and Digital/Analog Camera as there’s an intentionality in the act of ‘collecting’ that is antithetical to the capitalist craze of ‘consuming’. Submerged in a subscription-economy-stasis, consumers are beginning to grasp how little ownership we truly possess. So, we’d like to dissect the triggers of this shift to physical media and what this lack of physical ownership looks like at a societal and individual level.
The trigger of this societal pull towards physical media begins with Mimi Livanos’ ‘Illusion of Choice’ theory, which insinuates that societally we have very little control over the media we consume. This then drives the notion that societally we become burdened by consumption fatigue as there is an intentional recursivity to media consumption. Finally, amidst this intentional mass information onslaught, consumers are being driven to the ‘simpler time’ of physical media in nostalgia to rescind the exploitative passivity by which we interact with media today.
Turning to Nostalgia in the Face of Disempowerment
Substack writer Mimi Livanos refers to the ‘Illusion of Choice’ as an occurrence whereby consumers are disillusioned into believing they have totalised autonomy over the media they consume, when in actuality, all information we’re privy to is heavily curated and strategised by the tech and entertainment industry. Our hyper-curated algorithms strips us of the curiosity and pleasure in seeking out new albums to dissect, or series to divulge and reshapes the experience into a passive absorption of intentionally curated media.
For example, in 2022, Digital Music reported that major label partnerships heavily control major algorithmic and editorial placements, frequently capturing upwards of 70%-87% of slots on prominent high-rotation lists. Which is likely why despite being on shuffle mode, your playlist may repeat the same 6 songs over and over. Consultancy firm Music Tomorrow, published a study dissecting how playlists impact emerging artists. The study concurs that over the last 4 years, major labels accounted for 70% of the music featured in the ‘New Music Friday’ Spotify playlist. Of that 70%, 30% was UMG, 19% was Warner and 19% for Sony. This reaffirms the little ownership we possess when it comes to the art that we choose to consume. And why turning to an Ipod Shuffle instead of upgrading your Spotify subscription to the Family plan might make you feel like you’re not only engaging with the nostalgic joys of simplicity but are actually more in control of the media you’re consuming.
Similarly, when buying a film through a streaming service for example, your “ownership” is entirely dependent on the licensing of the studio and/or production and can be revoked at any time. “What was once a method of convenience - auto renewal so you don't have to think about it - has become a tool of exploitation”. Here, it becomes clear that between subscription economy and structured algorithmic placement, the appeal of physical media alongside repossessing ownership, is crucially the finite nature of consumption. And only in the absence of an end point, do we grow continuously burdened by consumption fatigue.
Consumption fatigue refers to the overwhelming information overload that consumers experience in the modern age of technology, becoming stuck in a cycle of doomscrolling and oversaturation of information despite the anxiety it provides. “Scrolling through Netflix or Prime Video can feel like an endless cycle of the same three films”. The largest marker of consumption fatigue has been personified through the subscription economy. In a world where DVDs, VHS tapes and vinyl records are replaced by streaming services, the consumer (subject) has become aware of the lack of actual autonomy they possess through the absence of physical media.
It’s no secret that nostalgia sells. ‘Nostalgia ignites a feeling of authenticity within us by reminiscing on our youth with admiration. We realign with our childlike confidence to be who we truly were before the world told us who we were’. This warm familiar authenticity imbues us with a feeling of control and our identity is affirmed in our affliction to the things we used to and still love. In the world of absent minded consumption, this is often not the case. Nostalgia is anti-capitalist by nature of its simplistic authenticity. Although, like every facet of operation under capitalism, industries have found ways to monetize nostalgia.
Between the subscription economy and Generative AI advancement, every possible thing is done for us to ensure that we remain the perfect tractable consumer. Thus, collecting and curating our own capsules becomes the nature of not capitulating. Nostalgia encourages consumers to repossess permanency in the form of physical media. We seek comfort in that which remains the same.
Salvaging An Identity in Totalised Ownership
As a result of the homecoming to physical media, consumers have found themselves reestablishing their sense of identity due to the intentionality behind slow consumption. In the absence of algorithmically strategized content and marketing materials, consumers decipher, through the noise, what they like, dislike and actually wish to consume. “Inducing nostalgia within us allows our brains to remind us who we have been and compare that to who we are today, to look for continuity, because continuity in our identity signals control”.
Adorning your room with stacks of books, DVDs, vinyls are all cultural identity indicators. It’s a “declaration of who you are, what you believe in, and what community you belong to”, a 2026 Forbes article explains. Thus, Gen-Z’s in particular, gravitate towards nostalgia, with the Journal of Local Self-Government reporting that Nostalgic content shared on Tiktok and Instagram yields up to a 43% higher engagement rate than non-nostalgic content. Whereas “boomers are far less likely to seek out escapist media, as they’re highly brand loyal and stick with traditional companies and services that they trust”, and where Gen-Z’s and millennials are untrusting, it makes all the more sense as to why they have no choice but to gravitate towards the past, a simpler time.
As society warms once again to physical media, we see the commitment that total ownership actually requires. Because as established, inconvenience is the price we pay for ownership. It may look like heading over to the local second hand store, rather than the fast fashion immediacy of a next day delivery, or bringing a batch of DVDs over to a friends house when suggesting film options, (neither of these will sound particularly groundbreaking to the older Gen-Z/Millennial). Where we once acquiesced to the convenience of advancing digital technology, we’re now beginning to appreciate the inconvenience in autonomy. As convenience is the cost of community after all.
In addition to the personability of these tangible markers of our interests, once the DVD has ended, the record stops spinning, and the last page is turned, the experience with the art is over. Physical media is finite in a way that the subscription economy infrastructurally cannot be and thus anti-capitalist in its principle consumer practice.
Consumerism today relies on the endless doomscroll. 3-day rentals, “playing recommended tracks”, and auto-play, all to prolong and dictate the extent to which consumers interact with their service. The goal is indefinitely.
While companies are fixated on performance optimization, physical media rejects complacency and forces the consumer to interact with media, inviting room for ideation, detached from the world’s perception of the respective art. Combating late-stage capitalism may be a large feat but perhaps we can bear some inconvenience at the cost of rebuilding an identity through the homecoming to physical media.
References & Further Reading:
Bakhtiari, Kian Why Gen-Z Is Bringing Back Physical Media
Federal Trade Commission, The Rise of Surveillance Pricing
Horvath, Hannah Nobody Trusts Anybody Anymore
King, Ashley A New Study Confirms The Obvious: Major labels Control Spotify Playlists
Lex Locals, Reconstructed Nostalgia and Vintage Branding
Reuters Institute, People Are Turning Away From the News.
Sax, Sally Consumers Are Worried About The Loss Of Physical Media Ownership
Youtube, Why Is Gen-Z Obsessed With Nostalgia?
