Dear Quilly Girl,

If you’ve been on social media at all this year, you’ve probably come across the term “analog living”––a term that encompasses everything from cutting down on the presence of screens in your life to slowing down and removing yourself from a constant cycle of consumption and comparison. It’s becoming pretty clear that in 2026, people’s priorities are increasingly moving away from performing their lives on social media and toward intentional, doomscroll-free living. But as a busy college girl, you might feel like it’s impossible to step back from the screen. Below are three tried-and-true methods on living an analog life, even as a student with lots on your plate.

1. Use “dumb tech” you already own

As you might have guessed, the analog-living trend has sparked so many opportunities for content creators to advertise more products, from “analog bags” to fancy alarm clocks. Quilly Girl, the issue here is pretty clear: if you’re building your analog life with stuff from TikTok Shop, you’re doing something wrong! Instead of a trendy alarm clock, see if your friends or neighbors have an old one that they’re trying to give away. Instead of an aesthetic DVD player, check the boxes of ancient tech that your family hasn’t thrown away yet. Of course, there’s always a chance that you’ll have to buy something you can’t find anywhere else, but a key tenet of analog living is building community. Who knows? Maybe that old alarm clock or DVD player has a story behind it, and you’ll get to know its previous owner just a little better!

2. Make hangouts screen-free

It’s something we’ve seen all too often: what started as a fun hike or trip to the beach suddenly turns into an entire photoshoot, and the hangout ends with everybody scrambling to send the pictures to the group chat. As you’re pondering over the perfect song for your next Story, the question hits you—when did performing for your Instagram followers become more important than making memories? The next time you go out with your friends, try proposing a challenge: no phones! Have everyone place their phone in the middle of the table if you’re at a restaurant, or in a bag if you’re doing something outdoors. Bring a disposable camera if you’d like to take pictures, and notice how much more fun and authentic your hangouts become.

3. Reclaim your childhood hobbies

Think about how you passed time as a little kid when you were bored in the summer. Maybe you drew on the asphalt with chalk. Maybe you liked to read, color, or go roller skating on the sidewalk. Well, Quilly Girl, here’s a secret: there’s no reason you can’t do those things as an adult! When you’re heading somewhere yourself, you can bring your hobbies with you so you have something else to reach for instead of your phone when you get bored. Sure, reading in public might be “performative,” but then again, do you really care about what chronically online people have to say?

To recap, analog living isn't about a total overhaul of the systems you have in place. Instead, it’s an intentional, step-by-step process that involves rebuilding a sense of community in your life and slowly decreasing your dependency on screens. You can make these changes slowly or all at once. The beautiful thing about trying to live an analog life is that it looks different for everybody, and it’s up to you to decide how you want to pace it.

Happy digital detoxing,

Quilly Girls!