CSA Online Going Offline Speaking of social media overload… Remember way back, when we suggested that you get on Facebook to keep up with the grandkids? Well, they might not be there anymore. Facebook isn’t en vogue for the younger set. They’re more likely to be on Instagram these days (which, incidentally, is owned by Facebook). Some people are abandoning social media altogether. It’s not a “sky is falling” situation for social media. Far from. Facebook, for example, claimed 2.38 billion monthly active users (MAUs) of its platforms when reporting first-quarter results this year, up eight per cent year-over-year. The point stands. Some people are dropping out. Me, for instance. There were a bunch of reasons I quit social media. The fact that it’s an echo chamber. The fact that if it’s free online, you’re not the customer you’re the product. The fact that I was comparing myself to others entirely too much, and it wasn’t helping. I confess that I still occasionally check, and even more occasionally post on Twitter, but it doesn’t hold my interest like it used to. What Goes Around, Comes Around Nostalgia can be bittersweet. There are more practical ways to listen tomusic than LPs or cassette tapes. Our smartphones take higher-fidelity photos than a point-and-shoot instant camera could ever hope to. Social media is absolutely the easiest way to keep in touch with a bunch of people and to share stories. Video games have gotten richer, better-looking and boast interactive stories that are deeper than anything we grew up with. Still, these old technologies hold our interest at least enough to make them commercially viable. The common thread that weaves together all of these retro tech resurgences is that they compel us to savour the moment. Taking a temporary step back in history lets us appreciate both where we’ve come from and where we are today. Who knows what the future holds? Or maybe it’s just that old stuff is cool and I’m way overthinking it. Instant Photography Polaroid went from household name to also-ran in the span of a few short years. It makes sense. If your whole value proposition is the ability to see your photo shortly after it’s been taken, the outlook isn’t exactly rosy as digital photography comes to the fore. The idea which Polaroid popularized − a way to capture a moment and turn it into a singular photographic record on the spot − has made something of a comeback. The brand, too. The Polaroid OneStep+ cameras take things a few steps further than the instant film cameras that you might remember. For one, it pairs to your phone via Bluetooth to unlock a bunch of filters, artistic shooting modes andmanual controls. FujiFilm’s Instax cameras are entirely analogue and have found a niche with tweens and teens. There’s also an element of artistic exploration in the online communities that are keeping this technology alive well past its sell-by date. As with vinyl, I suspect that their popularity is at least partly because of how intentional having only one shot makes us. In these days of social media information overload, a physical photo of a time when friends physically got together might take on a special significance. Old School Games There are communities of collectors online who obsess over old games. From the obscure conversation pieces to the still widely available old cartridge games from the Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Gameboy and other eras, too. This hasn’t escaped the game-makers’ notice. Over the last few years, a crop of “classic” console reboots has hit store shelves. Conveniently enough, just in time for the holidays. The NES Classic kicked off this unexpected trend. It looked just like the classic white-and-grey box which many of us will remember sitting beside the VCR atop an old console TV. The NES Classic packed in 30 old school games from the 8-bit era, and was one of those holiday items for which demand outstripped supply…by a lot. CSANews | SUMMER 2019 | 49
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