A growing number of young people are intentionally disconnecting from the digital world, a trend fueled by concerns over mental health, the pressures of online life, and a desire for more authentic experiences. What began as isolated instances of “digital detoxes” is now manifesting as a broader cultural shift, with Gen Z and millennials actively seeking out “analog” lifestyles.
Account manager Matt Richards, 23, embodies this movement. After deleting all social media apps from his phone last year, he experienced a noticeable improvement in his well-being. “I think people back then used to take a break from the real world by going on their phone, but now people are taking a break from their phone to spend time in the real world,” Richards told CNBC Make It. He’s not alone. Many of his peers are reporting similar benefits, including stronger real-life connections and increased self-confidence.
The irony isn’t lost on observers: this rejection of the digital realm is itself gaining traction on social media. TikTok is awash with videos of users vowing to delete apps in and embracing analog hobbies. The hashtag #ChronicallyOffline is gaining momentum, showcasing a desire for a life less curated and more present.
This trend isn’t simply about abandoning technology altogether. It’s a recalibration, a conscious effort to regain control over one’s attention and prioritize real-world interactions. LinkedIn posts seeking perspectives on the phenomenon yielded nearly 100 responses from young people detailing their experiences with social media detoxes and digital burnout.
The shift is reflected in consumer behavior. A Deloitte consumer trends survey of over 4,000 British consumers found that nearly a quarter had deleted a social media app in the previous 12 months, rising to almost a third among Gen Z. Globally, data from the Financial Times and digital audience insights firm GWI reveals a decline in social media usage, with average daily time spent on platforms decreasing by almost 10% since , particularly among younger demographics.
Jason Dorsey, President of the Center for Generational Kinetics, attributes this decline to the increasing “nastiness and divisiveness” online, fueled in part by political rhetoric and the behavior of prominent figures. “We’re seeing that a group of Gen Z [and millennials] is choosing to leave social media entirely, and probably a larger group that’s choosing just to limit social media as they sort of regain more of what they’re trying to find: balance and security and safety in their life,” Dorsey said in a conversation with CNBC Make It.
‘Pressure Platform’
Young people are increasingly citing the pressures of online life and the negative impact on their mental health as reasons for disconnecting. Deloitte’s survey showed that almost a quarter of respondents who deleted social media did so because of its detrimental effects on their well-being and the excessive amount of time it consumed.
Richards echoes this sentiment, describing social media as a “pressure platform” where individuals are constantly bombarded with advertising and feel compelled to measure their worth against others. “I felt like I didn’t have enough things or had accomplished enough in my career,” he explained.
We’re definitely seeing a trend where people that are offline, unreachable, have a sort of cool factor around them…this person doesn’t need validation.
Matt Richards
23-year-old account manager
Lucy Stace, a 36-year-old millennial entrepreneur, is limiting her social media use because it’s “diminishing” her mental health, despite its importance to her business. “We are just inundated all of the time with so much information … our brains aren’t capable of handling that much information,” she said. “We’re actually diminishing our brain’s capacity to be able to look inward and listen to ourselves, and we’re value tagging all of these things that aren’t actually important to us.”
Dorsey points to the relentless monetization efforts of tech giants as a contributing factor. “The result of that is that Gen Z, who are already sensitive to being advertised to — they are the most advertised-to generation in the history of the world — now they’re getting advertised to even more and their feeds feel just commercial after commercial,” he said.
Offline is the New ‘Cool’
As the tide turns against social media, Richards observes that those who have gone offline are becoming increasingly intriguing. The appeal of accumulating followers has waned. “I think we’re definitely seeing a trend where people that are offline, unreachable, have a sort of cool factor around them, in terms of this person doesn’t need validation from how many likes or followers (they have) … and living life like they were in the 80s,” he added.
Social media manager Julianna Salguero, 31, believes social media lost its “cool” factor when politicians and brands began actively using the platforms. “The more that we see brands and government officials and everybody being as online as you are, as a casual user, the more you’re going to want to pull back and switch it,” she said.
Facing challenges in forming friendships and finding partners, young people are increasingly seeking in-person connections through events like speed dating and professional networking, citing loneliness and isolation as key drivers.
Ysabel Gerrard, a digital media lecturer at the University of Sheffield, argues that going offline is a way for young people to reclaim control of their lives. She explains that social media forces users into an “extremely exhausting process” of constantly crafting and editing their online identities. “There’s an unbelievable wealth of literature now to tell us that the person we are on social media is not, and cannot be, the same person who we are in face-to-face settings,” Gerrard told CNBC Make It. “It’s so much more than a trend.”
However, GWI analyst Chris Beer suggests the decline in social media usage may be a “legitimate post-pandemic correction,” as people spend more time outside the home and less time online, rather than a complete rejection of digital media. He maintains that social media remains deeply integrated into people’s lives for activities like shopping, news consumption, and education.
Analog is Back
In a September Substack post, Salguero expressed a longing for the 1990s, a time before dating apps and endless scrolling dominated young adulthood. The post, titled “How to have an analog fall”, outlined a range of offline hobbies, from writing letters to enjoying lunch dates and consuming physical media like newspapers. The post garnered 5,000 likes, and Salguero described the movement towards analog living as a “quiet revolution” against the constant stimulation of the digital world.
This resurgence of interest in physical media is evident in the growing popularity of vinyl records and record players. Others are even revisiting relics of the past, such as flip phones.
Stace and her boyfriend have begun building a record collection, frequenting record stores whenever possible. Richards, inspired by his own social media detox, is now considering purchasing a brick phone.
