Physical Media: An embrace of Nostalgia
In this age of digital consumption, there is a simultaneous uproar in physical media. Records are finding new, cherishing hands, and CDs are being thrifted more frequently. DVDs are finding grasps of those who haven’t held them since they were children, and physical photographs are being displayed again. It seems many of us, our parents, their parents, everyone, have lost the delightful sense of physicality in the harrowing digital age. What it feels like to hear every small intonation through a CD, or to shuffle through old boxes of photographs. One of the fonder memories I have with my dad is sitting on the floor in his house rustling through boxes of old photos. The boxes were full of many identities still mysteries to me, but many were signed with dates and names.
Image Courtesy: Instagram
Why are many of us regressing back to physical media? Some of the sentiment is buried deeply with nostalgia. Many of us find familiarity and warmth in low-quality pictures, grainy DVDs, and stacks of CDs. These relics seem to encase the safety of childhood and youth, feeling like a soft embrace of a memory; fuzzy and yellow, assorted static and muffled sound.
I find myself collecting DVDs primarily for TV shows. I began collecting them as a stride away from streaming platforms as it seemed like my favorite TV shows were constantly alternating from platform to platform. I still use streaming platforms, but at a minimal level and often only to watch newer forms of media that are not available physically. I find that I enjoy opening the cabinet under my TV and tracing my fingers across the DVDs available to me. It feels less daunting compared to the endless scroll streaming platforms offer.
As someone who sometimes leaves their phone at home and often lets it die, I like to keep CDs in my car. I will sometimes cycle some in and out, keeping a flow of different albums moving through my car radio. I am an avid Spotify user, but I also adore my CDs and the quality they carry. A huge portion of my shelf is passed down from my dad. About three years ago my sister and I spent an hour or two in our dad’s shed picking through his old CDs. At the time I’m not really sure I cared for CDs, but I had this evolving desire to collect familiar ones for the sake of having them. Of course, I later discovered the love I harness for them. These CDs specifically were also a replica of my dad’s music taste from my youth. So many of the CDs held on to old songs that were forgotten to me but also remembered with such a tender touch to them. Soon after, I also found my Mini Ipod Shuffle at my mom’s house. This is the one and only device I had as a kid and it contained in entirety (or to the storage capacity) my dad’s music. I bought a charger for it and it’s now something I use quite frequently as it allows me to walk around and listen to music without being attached to my phone.
Image Courtesy: Instagram
I think many of us are turning back to physical media to escape the overstimulation of digital media and shorter content. There seems to be this gentle connection to the way of older media. It’s slower, familiar, and not as over-bearing. You are limited with choices and none of it is consumed by advertisements. It seems to be a comfortable pocket for many of us to slip back into, like a soft reverie.
Somehow in the convenience offered in much of digital media, it has also come with great inconvenience. Pop-up ads, commercials, media swapping to and from different platforms, music quality being diminished, and having to pay a hefty number just to have access to it all. There’s a lost art to collecting media, whether it be books, pictures, journals, DVDs, CDs, or records. There is something about having the things you love in the state of your actual being and not just captive inside a small device. Collect media you love, buy real books so you can read them and take notes inside (and then have your friends do the same), support your library (they have so many DVDs to check out), and support artists by physically collecting their work. Although digital media comes with this enticing quality of being right there at your hands, be inconvenienced every so often and let time slow down for just a few minutes.
Strike Out,
Isa Pullen
Editors: Amia King, Kaya O’Rourke
Saint Augustine
Isa Pullen is a writer for St. Augustine’s Strike Magazine. She is often reading, journaling, and expressing herself creatively through clothes. Between writing she likes to travel, converse with strangers, and be in nature. You can find more of her writing and creativity on Substack: @beddinginthebathtub and Instagram: @spectatorofladybug
