A snapshot into Gen Z’s latest fixation: digicams. Beginning around Summer 2023, digital camera photos began to reappear all over social media, indicating a longing for simpler times, a disconnect from the digital age and to capture life-long memories.
Point-and-shoot cameras, or “digicams” have been around since the ‘90s, decreasing in popularity after the invention of cellphones with built-in cameras, which made photography more convenient and easy to navigate. Digital cameras peaked in popularity in 2010, as they were smaller and easier to use than film cameras, then declined around 2013. The ability to capture memories with a click of a button on a hyper-mechanized, portable computer made cameras obsolete among regular folk. A camera’s only purpose — taking pictures — was one of the cell phone’s many! The cell phone also allowed people to share their photos and videos quickly.
So why is everyone purchasing and romanticizing digicams again all of a sudden? Gen Z is becoming increasingly aware of the fatalities of a hyper-digitized world. With everyone rushing to buy the latest iPhone and trendiest technology, along with AI taking over every aspect of our lives, we begin to feel more and more isolated from the real world. A wave of nostalgia is taking a hit on Gen Z as we long for simpler times. We tend to associate vintage technology like digicams with our childhood, before we were exposed to the ruins of the modern world.
Social media has been the largest contributor to the digital photography renaissance, with teens posting their digicam “flicks” all over Instagram and on their Tiktok dumps. People posting their pictures from their digicams highlight an idealized version of social life — full of beaches, parties, vacations, friends smiling and hugging, and displaying an overall positive attitude towards life. Cameras add a nostalgic feeling to memories; it’s not just about the camera, but the life that comes with it. This trend has also proven to be more long-lasting than most, which is a huge relief from the regular micro trend.
There’s almost always at least one “digicam friend” in every friend group. We get used to waking up to an invite to a new shared photo album after every event. Mass amounts of photos create a need for a new Finsta account for their photo dumps – “yournamecam” or “yournameflicks,” seeing these accounts inspires others to get a digicam for themselves. The trend is characterized by peer pressure as much as it is by nostalgia. It’s almost cult-like, but in a good way as young people are encouraged to post raw, idyllic photos of everyday life that still appear aesthetic.
Another reason for the resurgence is due to better quality images. With the ease of new technology, we have slowly sacrificed the quality of products or art for convenience in our daily lives. Though iPhone images offer instant results and may look great at a glance, compared to the sheer detail and clarity that a camera offers, they seem incomplete. Cameras have larger sensors with more megapixels than those in cell phones; you can see a distinct difference in resolution and color. Cameras are also extremely long-lasting, which is why people opt for second-hand ones because they are almost always just as good as brand-new ones.
If you’re looking to join the cult of digicam owners, curate your social media accounts, or submit your application to be the digicam friend, I have a few recommendations. If you’re not worried about money, the Fujifilm X100V is the camera that sparked the internet’s obsession with retro-style cameras. With an extremely sharp vintage-style lens, durable build, wonderful colors, and small size, it’s a modern classic (and the best one). A slightly cheaper and underrated alternative that produces almost the same results is the one I own — the Ricoh GRIII (only a little biased). Another high performance point-and-shoot is the Canon G7X Mark II. More affordable but still high-quality digicams include the Sony Cybershot RX100 series, Kodak Pixpro FZ55/FZ45 and the Canon PowerShot series. All of these options can be found second-hand for cheaper.
Gen Z has created a place for vintage technology in modern society. The digicam trend is characterized by nostalgia, peer pressure, longing for connection and social media, and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere in the near future.
