Do you need an analog bag?

A woman who visited my art gallery last week was carrying a crocheted tote bag. When I inquired about it, she proudly said she made it. It was roomy, not too big, and made of durable fibers about the width of twine. She asked me, “Have you heard of an analog bag?” I had not. Her Gen Z  daughter had told her about this trend. Many in her daughter’s generation are realizing they have a phone addiction and they are trying to break free from it. (Hint: it is not only their generation.)

An analog bag is a place to carry things to do throughout your day. The idea is to stop idly picking up your cell phone and scrolling during every free moment. We spend an inordinate amount of time seeing the world through a screen. Consuming news, hype and items called “clickbait” raises our stress level. You often see people walking around looking at their phones instead of at their surroundings. Just watch tourists in downtown Fernandina Beach. People in restaurants look at their phones instead of talking to each other. Families look at phones at the dinner table at home and at restaurants. Babies in carriages are given devices to keep them occupied.

Like with any addiction, it takes recognition that there is a problem before anything can be done about it. Some members of Gen Z are already at step 2. The spread of the idea began, of all places, on the social media site, TikTok. It was started by influencer Sarah Campbell last January and quickly spread to other social media platforms. The idea relates not only to that generation, but also to all of us. It does not naively assume we will give up scrolling or getting news online. Instead, it provides a ready activity for us to put brackets around screen time and do something else and not squander in-between moments. The analog bag is not just for women. Men can benefit from this trend. Any kind of pouch or backpack can be used. Nor is it just for people who are still in the working world. Do you spend time in waiting rooms for medical appointments for yourself or a loved one?  Are you mostly at home? This type of bag can be placed by your favorite chair.

What goes into an analog bag? That depends on what you like to do that does not involve a screen. For instance, it could be a book. A real book. I attended an event at Story & Song Bookstore Bistro last week. In her opening remarks, Donna Paz Kaufman told of a recent incident where she gave a hardcover book as a gift to someone. The person cradled it in her hands for a few moments and said, “I mostly listen to audiobooks. I forgot how good it feels to hold a real book in my hands.”

Other suggestions for what to include in an analog bag are: a notebook and pens and pencils, colored pencils, a small paint set and paper, any portable handicraft like knitting or crochet or embroidery, books of crossword puzzles or word search games. The point is not so much what is in the bag, but that you choose an activity that you like to do. The bag is the medium to have the ingredients readily available.

Artists know the value of having a small sketchbook in their pockets. Writers and poets carry notebooks to capture words or phrases that could be part of a story.

While I was attending a preaching conference quite a while ago, I found myself riding in an elevator with the featured speaker. I asked him how he had so many wonderful, relatable examples for his sermons. He patted his shirt pocket and pulled out a stack of index cards and a pen. This was obviously long before we had cell phones with a “notes” app. He used the cards to write down interactions that spoke to him of the depth of human experience, or to capture a snippet of conversation or to write the seed of an idea to explore for a future sermon. When he returned to his office, he categorized his cards so he could retrieve the notes he had written. I could only admire his system of organization.

Generations coming after me call the use of an analog bag a return to “slow living.” Other generations like mine might call it “the good old days” before cell phones dominated our everyday lives. Here is an irony: I spend a good number of hours per week at my gallery, which is also my art studio. As I get ready to leave in the morning with my packed lunch, I usually also pick up my cell phone and my iPad to take with me. I work inside a big analog bag, full of all kinds of supplies for creativity. Why do I need not one, but two electronic devices with me? Since my encounter with the person who introduced me to the idea of an analog bag, I have become more aware of how often I interrupt my own creative flow by checking my phone or responding to a notification.

Whatever form an analog bag might take for you, I hope you give yourself the gift of having activities that you enjoy close at hand.