Gen Z gets a lot of flak for being endlessly connected online. But a new trend is proving that the digital natives are burned out from a life spent consuming content on social media: They’re carrying tech-free purses and totes, otherwise known as “analog bags.”
While Gen Z has already been embracing dumb phones, analog bags seem to be the generation’s latest solution to screen overload. The trend takes the dumb phone trend to the next level with entire bags filled with screenless activities, like books, crafts, crosswords, and more. Of course, the trend can be spotted out in the wild, but it’s taking off online where influencers have been showing off their screen-free swag in video and carousel posts.
Siece Campbell, an influencer who frequently posts content aimed at getting people off their screens more often, claims to have kicked off the trend when she posted a video on TikTok about her analog-style life last year. The 2025 video, in which she shows off a handful of items she uses to stay off her phone, has more than 303,000 views and nearly 30,000 likes.
Now, Campbell posts monthly analog bag updates where she lets followers in on the latest screen-free items she’s carrying. In a July video, she explains the purpose of the trend, saying, “In order to replace a habit, you have to replace it with something else.” Lately, for Campbell, that looks like ditching her phone for a Polaroid Mini, a crossword puzzle book, and even biodegradable glitter to make events more fun.
Autumn Acord, a social media influencer with 150,000 followers, is embracing the trend too. In a video with more than 6,200 likes, she gave her take. “It’s essentially a bag filled with crafts, hobbies, and things you can do to simply just not be scrolling on your phone,” Acord says. The influencer proceeds to show off the contents of her bag to her audience, perhaps inspiring them to put down their phones, too. Acord’s bag had items like a watercolor painting set, cross stitch supplies, and a ton of travel games.
While the trend isn’t exactly new, as people have been partaking in analog activities long before screens were around, for Gen Z—the generation born into a world of screens—it likely feels new. That may be especially true because Gen Z typically spends much of their day on screens. On average, Gen Z spends about nine hours a day using devices with screens, according to a recent Demand Sage report.
Still, other generations are not far behind; overall, the average daily screen time in the U.S. is just over seven hours. And while experts have long warned about the mental health ramifications of excessive screen use, new concerns, such as eye damage and “tech neck,” among other health concerns, seem to be constantly emerging.
So even if you have no intention to go entirely analog, the latest Gen Z trend of leaning into some screen-free activities might still be one we could all benefit from, at least once in a while.