Remember the days when you would be in the grocery store, and there was an aisle full of magazines? Not just the ones in front of the register. But when we Millennials… and Gen Zs on the cusp of Millennials would beg our parents to buy us teen magazines? We were obsessed with the posters inside and pulled them out to post our celebrity crush from a boy band or girl band on the wall in our rooms.
Back in the day, society looked forward to weekly magazine pick-ups or deliveries such as Jet Magazine, Teen People, VIBE, The Source, Seventeen Magazine and CosmoGirl. (Those truly were the days.)
This generation and era are the most connected they’ve ever been. Between social media platforms, livestreaming, and the 24-hour news cycle, society today doesn’t get a chance to avoid being consumed by what’s happening in the world. Earlier this year, influencers decided that 2026 would be the year for the “analog trend,” a lifestyle that reduces digital connectivity amid the dominance of smart tech and screen time over people’s attention spans.
And magazines are now a part of the analog lifestyle and are making a comeback.
The Draw of Magazines in the Greater Media Landscape
Gen Alpha is the group of children and teenagers who are growing up and were raised with iPads rather than educational devices like LeapFrogs. Having access to too much (even with parental controls) taught them how to find things and solutions quickly, without being taught how to look for an answer. Which ultimately cut down their attention spans. And the media has only encouraged it by shifting to this format for audiences, rather than maintaining a standard of intentionality in connecting with the world.
And that’s what magazines did.
Instead of a curated feed of information connected by an algorithm. Magazines enabled curated connections around a theme. There would be several pieces that might seem random, but they would complete an experience. Such as a fashion column on styling your outfits to reflect a better mood. Or a relationship advice column where you’d get inspiration or guidance on how to navigate relationships for a better you. Even celebrity interviews were a source because celebrities’ “truths” weren’t measured by how they presented themselves visually on camera but by their words of wisdom, which were appreciated and studied for application to their personal lives.
People these days wonder why they can’t stop endlessly scrolling on TikTok but are getting tired of it.
How Magazines Are Making Their Mark Within the Analog Trend
Magazine culture isn’t the same as social media. Social media recirculates the same content across various platforms. You see so much that you can no longer form your own thoughts or opinions after sifting through comment section after comment section.
Magazines have a way of making you slow down, digest and carefully choose which information to access and apply to your life. I think people are used to society guiding their lives in an unhealthy way, based on trends, rather than taking the time to assess information long enough to decide whether it works for their lives.
Sometimes people want to hold something in their hands. They want to sit with a story longer than a swipe allows. They also want experiences that feel less disposable.
The beauty of magazines is stumbling across a new topic that you now want to become immersed in. Social media has become one big game of reacting to news rather than curating it. I think the goal for print magazine editors and publishers has always been to curate experiences that help readers gain perspective. Not compete to be the fastest outlet with the latest news, or just post content for the sake of it. And that was done by framing.
Magazines are a curated snapshot of a specific moment in time that not only shows but is designed to be taken in. I’ll go out on a limb and say magazines produced originality, and that’s why people are yearning for them once again.
Featured image credit: Shuttercraftsman via Pexels
