Gen Z Media Fatigue – Why the platform is changing
If we’re going to talk about why and how generation Z is forging a movement to find new outlets of online communication, away from the standard social media practices, then we have to first understand why such a movement would be so pertinent in the first place. Why would a generation, like Lucifer himself, disown the god that made them, and willingly walk into the Hell of radio silence? Why would the generation that built their cultural communication on social media suddenly crave a new face?
If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it, right? Well, if you ask many people of generation Z, social media is broken, and has been broken for a very long time. It feels like it started when many of our beloved platforms became far more “corporate”. The term “corporate” is often used flippantly, without much meaning, But if you look at what attributes are being ascribed to this idea of a “corporate” social media platform, it is often attributing the actions that can be described solely as “Best for the company and its shareholders”. When YouTube began to censor work for advertisement purposes, that was a “corporate” move. When Elon Musk bought Twitter, “corporate” move. AI being shoved places where it doesn’t belong to the point where opting out of the function is basically unavoidable, massive “corporate” move.
When genZ was growing up, social media often read as “We are indifferent to you”; shady behavior can happen on a platform, but the platform is only responsible in a legal sense. However, what has been described above reads less like indifference, and more like an active display of dislike or degradation that reads as “We only care about you as cogs in a machine; we don’t mind making your experience worse because the people that pay us matter more than you”.
Because of the current state of social media, the immediate functions of social media have primarily left the average user’s experience. Connecting with friends doesn’t happen, viewing entertainment only partially happens, and many people are starting to realize that the most important aspects of an individual’s life is, more often than not, happening offline.
Social media has ultimately become a business, and it is stupid to think that young people are stupid enough to not see it. As a result, a massive movement towards shaking up the nature of communication methods used has become a movement in itself. From going analog to finding indie websites, younger generations are forging a new means of communication in order to take back the digital space.
Dumbphones – What Are They?
What is a dumbphone? Why are we being so mean to this phone by calling it dumb? And most importantly, is this the new face of phones?
No, it’s actually the old one!
“Dumbphone” has become the colloquial term for phones that are the opposite of smartphones in the most basic sense, they lack connection to the almighty internet!
This may seem like it would be harder to get one’s hands on, but in reality, it is incredibly easy. Not only are they still available with many modern retailers, but they are also still being made by old brands like Nokia, and new brands like Sunbeam Wireless.
Sunbeam Wireless is a small, independent company that is making new models of dumbphones that have varying features depending on the model, but the ultimate feature of all of them is no internet. The move that Sunbeam is making here makes their product far more functional, and by nature, holds a statement in their design. Many people feel scared to not have a smartphone out of fear of losing several functions, such as email, group text, music and other features. Sunbeam is creating models of phones that can still hold all of the functionality and minimal to none of the distractions.
But why? Why would people not only be making new dumbphones in 2026, but have a market for people to sell to?
This is a part of a larger consumer trend on the whole related to “going analog” that is being carried by younger people. Younger people are feeling a recorded discontent with their relationships with their phones, and, as a result, think it’s time to break up.
Many generation Z individuals in adulthood feel like a large amount of their childhood was taken by social media, or just simply believe that social media no longer holds the same function that it once did in their lives. As social media becomes far more of a business, people are opting out of being a consumer in their daily lives.
There have been many critiques of the analog trend, in the sense that it is being perceived as that, simply a trend, one that will fade as tech continues to be a necessity, but what is being seen here with dumbphones, is that innovation is still happening in analog. If there is a desire for a more convenient product, someone will come forth and produce that product. In the case of Sunbeam Wireless, or the very popular “Light Phone”, companies actively developed dumbphones meant to make the dumbphone experience more accessible. This can give analog fans hope that more merging of tech and analog will come through to make getting offline daily a more functional feat.
Neocities – The Future of the Web
Do you remember the very specific look of websites in the early 2000s? The way they looked was built on an older system of programming that has since become obsolete. But what if I told you there was a website bringing this old style back?
Neocities is a website hosting platform that was designed with old website coding in mind, giving an updated approach to a bygone system for a new age audience.
This is built on a growing trend based around indie, or independent web design. Many people have noticed that the internet has become heavily bought out by major companies and shareholders, making many websites obsolete or hard to find, inherently snipping the stems of connection.
Neocities is a platform in which that connection is building back up, as many people are using this platform to create websites that feel personal, and akin to a place that is less of a nostalgic exploration of the past, and more of an expansion and revamp of old practices that can bring us into the future.
One of my favorite sites is Monastery of St. Blamensir, a point and click adventure website that is just absolutely fun and based on middle ages artwork. But I also could just spend hours exploring the personal websites made online.
Many of these websites are personal ones, centered around sharing hobbies, interests, and personal works. As I explore these websites, I have noticed some massive differences between these blogs, as opposed to other blogs.
Firstly, the content is secondary to the orchestrator of the blog. As opposed to a platform like Tumblr, where you primarily engage with a user for their content, the blogs on Neocities are about sharing oneself, we are the content, or more appropriately, we are the art.
Secondly, there is a strong lack of fandom, but a large amount of community. Hypothetically, I can find websites based on tags, and some shows, games or movies might be searchable tags, but the primary use of tags is not to show you what the blog will be about, but rather the interests of the person making the blog. This de-centering of fandom feels innovative, and potentially progressive. While we all love our interests, the desire for more fandom, more spaces for official or fan work, and more of a desire to wrap ourselves up in content for our interests has cut out the connection we can have with someone based off of those interests. Also, that love for content has been a key reason why we have welcomed more corporate involvement in social media to begin with, because fandom became priority over community.
Lastly, these sites have such love woven into their code. They have such dedicated features, backdrops and content. These websites are proof that the digital space can hold room for art.
These websites hold such potential to be a new space for deeper communication in an impactful way. If you have a love for art, community or web design, I urge you to check out Neocities.
Tech Dawn 