Now that's what I call a digital detox 2026 — why finding my fiancé's stash of 90s cassettes is my key to analog happiness this year

If you're unaware that 2026 is being touted as the return of analog, you've either already logged off, or your algorithm is most unusual. Most of us won't have missed reels announcing, "For 2026 I'm trading my smartphone in for a Nokia 3210, a record player, a polaroid camera and a library card."

My Instagram feed is awash with folk half my age announcing a resolve to delete their entire internet presence and get a landline, then celebrating brick buildings full of books because (and I quote), "There's no AI in libraries."

When faced with news that Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Google are among those helping fund a $300m ballroom in the White House, while independent bookstores are pointing out that they donate to food banks, opting out of online music and media subscriptions in 2026 feels like a correct response ...