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They’ve embraced the questionable Y2K trends of low-rise jeans and Uggs, and now Generation-Z is turning its attention to old digital cameras from the early 2000s.
You remember them: the blurry photos, the ugly metal camera frames with the wrist strap, and the inability to instantly edit each photo to make it perfect for Instagram.
That’s exactly what’s in vogue with the younger generation rebelling against fancy edited photos on their iPhones to seek more authenticity in their images.
Gen-Z’s favorite app TikTok has over 184 million views with the #digitalcamera hashtag, and fashion’s favorite magazine Vogue has even sported the device on its glossy pages.
Anthony Tabarez, 18, brought his Olympus FE-230, a camera made in 2007, to the prom to take pictures of himself and his friends waving their arms on the dance floor and doing their best moves.
Tabarez calls digital cameras “more exciting” than taking photos with your smartphone.
Zounia Rabotson (pictured), now a model in New York City, remembers standing in front of landmarks and tourist attractions while her mother took a picture of her with a digital camera. She now uses the same camera to take photos for her Instagram.
Digital cameras have become the new obsession of the year 2000 with Generation Z
Blurred and overexposed photos are taking over social media with 184 million views on TikTok and many more on Instagram.
“When you have something else to shoot at, it’s more exciting,” said the now freshman at California State University, Northridge. The New York Times. We are so used to our phones.
Mark Hunter, 37, a photographer who used to photograph celebrity nightlife with digital cameras in the early 2000s, told the Times: “People are realizing that it’s fun to have something that’s not connected to your phone.”
‘You are getting a different result than what you are used to. There is a little delay in gratification.
And it’s not just the high school and college crowds that are jumping on the bandwagon, but celebrities, like Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid, have also been seen rocking the early 2000s staple.
Many of today’s teens and young celebrities post these blurry, unrefined images to their Instagram pages, rather than their parents’ scrapbooks, as opposed to their own childhood photos lying dusty in the shelf, and enjoy the new trend.
Among them is Zounia Rabotson, now a model in New York City, who remembers standing in front of landmarks and tourist attractions while her mother took a picture of her with a digital camera.
The devices were popular in the early 2000s and were often seen in the hands of celebrities, such as Carrie Underwood.
Tom Cruise took a photo with fans in 2007 outside the Rome Film Festival.
Rabotson now uses that camera to capture moments from her adult life, posting the overexposed images on Instagram while rocking other 2000s trends like jean skirts and skimpy bags.
“I feel like we’re getting too technological,” he told the Times. “Going back in time is just a great idea.”
More than 35 percent of teens have admitted to spending too much time on their phones, according to a Pew Research Center study, and some have taken it up of their own free will to distance themselves from mind-depressing and soul-sucking devices.
In order to live more freely, teens now dig through their parents’ old boxes and pull out Canon Powershot and Kodak EasyShare cameras, and if they can’t find them at home, they go to eBay and other second-hand sites.
Searches for digital cameras increased 10 percent on eBay between 2021 and 2022, Davina Ramnarine, a company spokeswoman, told the Times.
Teens Say Shooting With Digital Cameras Is “More Exciting” And Captures A Moment Differently Than An iPhone
Searches for digital cameras have increased 10% on eBay between 2021 and 2022
Also, searches for Nikon COOLPIX have shot up 90 percent, Ramnarine said.
However, the means to live a more authentic life may not be as clear cut as Gen-Z wants it to be.
Brielle Saggese, a lifestyle strategist, told the Times that some Gen-Zs are using the cameras to appear more authentic online and to give their accounts “a layer of personality that most iPhone content doesn’t have.” .
“We want our devices to blend in quietly with our surroundings and not be visible. The Y2K aesthetic has turned that around,” he said.
However, some just want another way to characterize a special moment.
“When I look back at my digital photos, I have very specific memories attached to them,” said Rudra Sondhi, a freshman at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. “When I review the camera roll on my phone, I remember the moment and it’s not special.”