Talk about a full-circle moment. According to TechCrunch, iPod creator Tony Fadell recently spotted a vintage iPod Shuffle advertisement at a New York City subway station.
"For somebody like me who knows that thing intimately, it's like seeing your kid's picture," Fadell told the publication. He was surprised to see his early 2000s invention on a premium ad placement in Manhattan. The ad sells these devices by promising "zero screen time."
Welcome to the "slowtech" revolution.
Back Market, an online marketplace for refurbished tech, is capitalizing on what they're calling a cultural shift. Their CMO Joy Howard said demand for old-school gadgets — wired headphones, retro gaming consoles, CDs, and digital cameras — is high. "People are very oversaturated and overstimulated," Howard said. "They want a more mindful approach to what they're doing with their tech."
The trend is taking off with Gen Z, who've never known a world without Instagram notifications and endless scrolling. For them, the appeal is clear: these retro devices can't algorithmically manipulate your mood, won't spam you with ads, and won't steal hours of your day without you noticing.
An old-school camera can't auto-upload to your Instagram Story. A retro gaming console won't bombard you with in-app purchases. An iPod plays music. That's it.
We built smartphones that can do everything, only to discover we're tired and crave devices that do almost nothing. The fatigue of optimizing every aspect of life through apps and algorithms is real — and it's driving a movement that's surprisingly profitable.
Fadell's surprise at seeing his 20-year-old invention advertised as the antidote to modern anxiety probably says it all. Sometimes the future is the past, minus the constant dopamine hits.
