For the last few years, many have discussed the popularity of point- and-shoot digital cameras, as well as Polaroid and film. In 2024, CBC reported that #digitalcamera on TikTok had over 287,000 posts. This hashtag has now amounted to over 669,000 posts. In an interview with BBC, Scott Ewart, a TikToker who has gained a following for his digital camera centered content, said: “A lot of folk find [digital cameras] quite comforting. It reminds them of their childhood, it reminds them of simpler times.”

To me, it seems like the digital camera trend is one component of a larger counter-culture movement against the pervasiveness of social media, with the digital camera itself being a mode of accessing the techno-optimist 90s and 2000s. Similarly, when interviewed by CBC, Sofia Lee, a co-founder of @digicam.love, said: “I think it’s ironic that Gen Z is stereotyped as being the most logged-on generation, when a lot of their countercultural tech practices indicate the need to break away and create a space that is separate from the internet.”

But these nostalgic narratives are not the whole story.

How can the digital camera be an act of resistance against Big Tech if, after all, digital camera photos are trending on social media? And, how can Gen Z be nostalgic for a time that many of us did not live through?

Two potential explanations could justify the claim that Gen Z are resisting Big Tech by posting digital camera photos on social media: either Gen Z is not actually trying to resist social media, or they’re just not very good at it. In a video, Eugene Healy (@eugbrandstrat on Instagram), an educator and brand strategy consultant, has developed a theory of “the fear of becoming an NPC,” (or, if you don’t know the Gen Z slang, the fear of not having any unique opinions or interests) an explanation that can be applied to the case of digital cameras. Healy argues that social media users share a deep-seated fear that we are losing control over our identities to social media algorithms. This has been partially the result of often hearing experts lecture us on how companies use behavioural science to maximize profits. Gen Z are especially vulnerable to this because most use social media; according to a 2024 report, 84 per cent of Canadians ages 16 to 24 use Instagram, not to mention that we don’t know a world without it. The idea that by using social media we are essentially being controlled by it, undermines our understanding of ourselves as individuals. The idea that we may not be able to truly know ourselves because the algorithms are doing it for us is frightening. So, out of fear that social media will replace our unique tastes with whatever is trending, many of us try to reclaim control by engaging in what Healy calls “active, albeit algorithmic- friendly [forms] of resistance to that notion of being manipulated.”

For example, the “propaganda I’m not falling for trend” includes a list of phenomena that social media users think are false, overrated, or ridiculous. In this way, users equate social media trends with “propaganda:” a trend which has increasingly gone viral. Healy’s theory seems to fit well with this next student’s account of their relationship with their digital camera. A student at Toronto Metropolitan University told the Daily that digital camera photos were a feature of certain alternative subcultures a few years ago. By participating in this kind of photography, he separated himself from mainstream culture. He stated that “[digital camera photos] make photos [on Instagram posts] stand out far more compared to the photos that ‘normies’ were taking [on iPhones].” While digital camera photos could set us apart from others, people from both mainstream and alternative cultures are still united by posting on social media.

Therefore, to say that Gen Z is resisting Big Tech by using old technology isn’t quite right.
However, it’s also not true that Gen Z isn’t trying to resist Big Tech. In my experience, it’s just hard to say no to social media because of FOMO.

Many journalists covering the resurgence of digital cameras have argued that the trend is part of the call back to nostalgia. But how can this be true for Gen Z if so many of us grew up after the period from 1990 to the early 2000s when digital cameras were the most popular?

One answer is that digital cameras are reemerging as a result of diminishing cultural cycles. Based on historical patterns, the fashion industry came up with what they called the “20-year rule” in which trends repeat because of the renewal of a 20 to 30-year cultural cycle: the previous generation that grew up with certain cultural items now has the income and influence to shape the market. In short, what’s in style will go out of style but come back a few decades later. Nonetheless, National Public Radio (NPR) noticed that culture doesn’t really cycle so much anymore, but has exploded on social media. Rebecca Jennings, a senior correspondent for Vox who covers internet culture, told NPR that “TikTok has a weird way of making every single thing in style at once.” By this explanation, everything that was once popular is trending again on social media, including digital cameras. As Gen Z are some of social media’s most regular users, this has mostly been documented through our generation.

If any of these explanations resonate with you, I’m very glad. At the same time, it’s hard to say I can imagine all of them being applied universally. After all, a digital camera is a digital camera, and people have all sorts of reasons for taking pictures with them. Many who were interviewed insist that they simply love the way the camera captures light, creating stunning faded colours, or the way it inconveniences them just enough to slow them down and make the photo-taking process more intentional. Whatever your reason, it’s worth thinking about how your context might influence your relationship with the point-and-shoot digital camera.

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Why have so many of us rejected New Year’s resolutions? Many of us have an approach to resolutions that focuses on large-scale goals, ones that are so distant from our starting points that we struggle to draw the path that will get us there. Yet, we only consider as having reached our final goal, not by the arduous process that we were already brave for committing to. With this one-track mindset, resolutions become daunting tasks. It is no wonder that so many of us reject making them before we have the chance to see them through, if we expect to fail.

There is something about the beginning of a new year that makes me think that something radical ought to be achieved now. When I think “New Year,” I think of big fireworks, big lights, the big ball dropping in Times Square, big cheers, and big hugs; think massive change ought to occur urgently. I reflect on how I often hear, “This year is going to be my year, I swear” from my friends, peers, social media creators, and those sitcom characters who just cannot seem to get their act together. This high-stakes approach to resolutions implicitly puts pressure on us and others to have a “successful year,” in which we get everything we want by the end of the year. These sky-high expectations have made me feel helpless in the new year because I feel as if I have to adopt an attitude of “all or nothing.” Since I want to start playing the jazz saxophone, I should maximize my time and effort to be a “good player” as soon as possible, but then I am paralysed. I cannot feasibly imagine achieving these goals at this pace, given that I am already trying to best in everything I am doing now – classes, sports, relationships, food blogging, writing articles – not to mention the assumptions that will be made about my willpower if I fail to follow through.

In schools and workplaces, we often hear that we need “SMART” goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant/Realistic, and Time-bound. SMART goals might work in some contexts, such as meeting short-term deadlines for work and school. However, when it comes to making progress on a task over the course of a year, most people lack the foresight to tell if New Year’s resolutions are truly achievable. A 2015 Ipsos survey found that 73 per cent of Canadians break their resolutions. It is beautiful that we are ambitious creatures, but many of us bite off much more than we can chew. Instead, I propose we do the opposite of what the SMART framework advises: stay flexible. Throughout the year, unforeseen circumstances arise, and our goals evolve. Life can be busy, so strict consistency is often unrealistic. Maintaining flexibility allows us to make progress on the things we care about without the additional stress that can lead to failure and resentment of resolutions.

“Your Theme” by YouTube creator CGP Grey has transformed how I view New Year’s resolutions. He presents the idea of centering your resolutions on a general theme. You choose a broad word or phrase and orient yourself around it. For example, instead of reading one book a week, he proposes a “year of reading,” where the theme stays in the back of your mind. Then, in instances when you might want to habitually scroll through social media on your phone, you can reflect on your goal, and make the choice to pull up an article instead. CGP Grey redefines what we tend to think of as “progress” and lowers the stakes; we only need to “be a little different in little moments, sometimes.” I want to draw attention to this idea rather than focusing on attempts to make radical changes in the new year. Further, the changes we seek can happen in a “little moment” or in the process, as opposed to culminating in one achievement. Making our goals more flexible increases our chances of success, because it lets us make steady progress, without the pressure of reaching a single large end goal. With this mindset, we can stay motivated and avoid the kind of cynicism about New Year resolutions that discourages us from pursuing what we want.

I invite you to reflect on your theme for the year, month, or season. While the date can be arbitrary, consider using a theme as the first step towards reaching your ambitions, however slow the process is. Change can start any time, so why not begin now? It may not always feel like we are making progress in the moment, but that might be how we achieve our New Year’s resolutions.

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