By having my friends and family take selfies with their digital devices that are known to be out dated yet are still cherished and used today, shows that despite having more convenient ways of using their media they still hold a special place for that traditional device of nostalgia. This included people from the digital generation (1995 plus) choosing to use devices created well before their birth, this continuing to solidify that the relationship between a person and a particular device is unique. Thus why I wanted to present the pictures as a collage of selfies, because it depicts an intimate way of displaying memories through a modern concept.

 

An article posted by Adweek (2013) tells it’s readers of how powerful the tool of nostalgia is with advertising, even though a company may be promoting a new product, they get the attention of long time customers by taking them back in time to when they first fell in love with the brand. Adweek use the example of when Sony was launching their Playstation 4 in 2013, they encouraged fans to tweet their #PlaystationMemory resulting in a 19 precent gain in sales.

 

Goran Bolin (2015) suggests that the concept of nostalgia is triggered by not only passion but also pain as someone is yearning for a moment in the past connected to a device; Bolin quotes Dr Johannes Hofer (17th century medicine doctor known to first define ‘nostalgia’) “The desire to return to one’s native homeland”. People are drawn to past media devices because they bring back certain memories to life when being used or even just held.

 

Moving to a less psychological view, Paul Grainge (2000) argues that nostalgia has become so popular due to an exhaust in creativeness and a craving for continuity in technology, up until the 21st century there has been such a fast progression in technology that people are either constantly wanting bigger and better inventions and updates or can’t keep up with the speed electronic devices are moving at. This connects back to why today’s younger generation seem to be so interested in polaroid cameras, vinyl records and shooting video on VHS cameras. It seems that people are bored of simplicity and convenience, wanting to be more spontaneous and intimate with a device that stimulates their brain.

 

An article written by Emily Chivers Yochim and Megan Biddinger (2008) further explains these concepts stating that the main reasons for the resurrection of Vinyl are that because people feel a strong connection with not just the music being played but with the tradition of setting up the player, how the records looks as it spins and changes tracks, the feeling of the material on your fingers, and the distinct crisp sound that a vinyl gives off. It seems to be about the experience that comes from using a device rather than media that can be used through updated and ever changing mediums.

 

 

Bibliography

 

Anonymous 2013. Here’s to the Good Old Days, Adweek, New York U.S.

 

Bolin, G 2015. Passion and Nostalgia in generational media experiences, European Journal of Cultural Studies, Sweden.

 

Grainge, P 2000. Nostalgia and style in retro America: Moods, and, Modes, and Media Recycling, Journal of American and Comparative Cultures, U.S.

 

Yochim, E & Biddinger 2008. It kind of gives you that vintage feel’: vinyl records and the trope of death, SAGE Publications, Michigan, U.S.