The 'slow technology' movement

Entering the subway station in New York City, Tony Fadell, a former Apple engineer, suddenly saw an advertising poster for a product he designed more than 20 years ago. The 1.5 x 1.2 m poster features an image of an iPod Shuffle music player, attracting passersby with the promise of "no need to look at the screen".

In the early 2000s, the iPod attracted great attention with the introduction of helping users carry "1,000 songs in their pocket". However, this is no longer impressive. At the station where Fadell stood, there were many people around wearing wireless Bluetooth headphones, accessing the online music store on their smartphones with more than 100 million songs.

The iPod Shuffle was about as small as a postage stamp, played mostly on shuffle mode, and offered very little customization compared to today's music streaming apps. But in a world of over-reliance on screens and tiresome constant connectivity, this device from the past is attracting many buyers.

Joy Howard, Marketing Director at Back Market, an online platform for buying and selling refurbished devices, was in charge of the iPod Shuffle advertising poster that Tony Fadell encountered. She confirmed that demand for this seemingly outdated equipment is increasing.

For the younger generation who have never known a world without social networks and smartphones, devices such as wired headphones, classic game consoles, CDs, compact digital cameras, hold a magical attraction. They are passionate about experiencing things without trying to be "addictive". Old-fashioned cameras can't upload photos to Instagram, classic games don't bother you with gambling ads, iPods don't automatically play songs that the algorithm assigns specifically to each user.

These devices are what Howard calls "slow technology". "Agile technology was originally focused on eliminating 'drag'. But now, people see resistance as a way of setting limits for themselves. I was surprised to see them wanting to bring resistance back, seeing it as a feature instead of a flaw," she told Tech Crunch.

A survey by market research company YouGov in the US late last year showed that 53% of adults want to reduce screen time. The group under 30 years old spends more time looking at screens than the older group: goes to bed with their phone next to them, uses the phone as soon as they wake up but believes that it is negatively affecting their sleeping habits and ability to concentrate.

Austin Murray, founder of Jamdat, one of the world's first mobile game companies, is developing an application called Moqa to help users reduce screen time. Just like when he introduced mobile games more than two decades ago, he also faced skepticism from investors when presenting Moqa.

Regarding the reason for developing the application against the very trend he helped create, Murray shared that witnessing what happened to his children and everyone around him made him heartbroken. "When everyone acts the same - using the phone screen for an average of about 5 hours a day, it's not a matter of will anymore but a matter of product design," he explained.

Meanwhile, to reduce screen time, writer Dean Jamieson in Brooklyn writes using an old typewriter that his girlfriend gave him for his birthday last year. Jamieson loves the feeling of seeing words on a page, editing by hand on paper instead of looking at a blinking cursor. "The most important thing is that there is no Internet connection. When trying to write on the computer, I easily get distracted and my work is interrupted," he shared.

According to Jamieson, many people are returning to old technology, and his friends are also starting to actively read books and go to the cinema instead of using their phones. "It feels liberating, really nice and comfortable," he said.

The trend of favoring "slow technology" items is shown through shopping data. According to the New York Post, in 2025, e-commerce platform eBay recorded "strong signals showing growing interest in old music devices such as iPods and other offline music tools". The platform said that the keyword iPod is searched on average more than 1,300 times per hour globally, with prices also increasing by 40-60%, depending on the model.

About a year ago, Sonya Saydakova, a graduate student at New York University, switched from an iPhone to a simple Nokia 2780 flip phone. "The feeling of being separate and not having to be online all the time is hard to describe," she shared with the New York Post.

Saydakova bought a digital camera, a CD player and canceled her subscription to the Spotify music app. She actively asks for directions instead of relying entirely on Google Maps, and says interacting with people on the street enriches her life. After reducing her screen time, she felt more focused, less anxious, and more free and happy.

Key Production, a company specializing in CD production, vinyl pressing and CD duplication in the UK, said it conducted a survey of more than 2,000 people of all ages late last year. "In the previous 12 months, Gen Z bought more CDs than all other generations combined," CEO Neil Gibbons, told the Guardian.

Last April, nearly 30 years after launching the Instax instant camera, Fujifilm announced that this camera line had surpassed the 100 million mark sold globally, achieving record sales for four consecutive years. Jaron Schneider, editor-in-chief of PetaPixel, believes that Gen Z and Gen Alpha love instant cameras to escape the screen, looking back at the world before digitalization like today. "Constantly being online is very tiring and honestly not as interesting as moments with friends," he commented.

Besides the need to "unplug", another reason why many people buy refurbished old technology devices is the increase in electronic waste. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this is the fastest growing type of solid waste in the world. In 2022, WHO estimates there will be 62 million tons of electronic waste generated globally, of which many devices such as old phones and laptops contain toxic substances such as lead and mercury.

"I feel insecure about the amount of trash people create," said Rachel Reich, an American Gen Z. Last May, when his smartphone was about to fail, Reich decided to switch to an older device.

According to an eBay spokesperson, used and refurbished devices are "an affordable alternative as digital storage costs and registration fees increase."

Thu Thao compiled