- TikTokers are packing "analog bags" as a way to curb doomscrolling.
- Their bags are packed with portable activities like books, crossword puzzles, and watercolors.
- People who participate in the trend say it's part of a wider effort to use tech more intentionally.
Sierra Campbell has four key necessities she won't leave home without: her phone, her keys, her wallet, and a small tote bag.
The first three she uses only for practicalities, like paying for things and looking up directions. The bag is the source of all her entertainment: Loaded with portable activities like crossword puzzles, knitting needles, and watercolor paints, it's a deliberately screen-free way for Campbell to spend her in-between moments.
The 31-year-old has dubbed this her "analog bag," and considers it a key weapon in her constant battle against doomscrolling and brain rot.
"I firmly believe you cannot live a full life while unknowingly addicted to your phone," Campbell told me. "You might be missing really wonderful opportunities to have a fun and deep life. The analog piece is such a cornerstone of that."
When Campbell introduced the analog bag concept to her TikTok followers in August, she said the video's views and likes spiked well beyond her norm.
"It struck a nerve," she said.
In the two months since, a flock of young women have followed her example, with many showing off their own versions of Campbell's whimsical packing list: Disposable camera? Check. Needlepoint set? Check. Puzzle book? Check.
It may seem counterintuitive for a trend that celebrates screen-free life to resonate on TikTok, a platform that feeds on the exact habit these bags are fighting against. But all the women I spoke to for this piece said the appeal of the analog bag isn't anti-technology or anti-social media. Rather, it's part of a wider effort to use modern tools with care and intention — especially during the in-between moments of life, like when you're taking the train to work or waiting for a friend at a restaurant.
Too often, these analog bag carriers say, we squander this time by ceding our attention to the algorithm.
"My parents would always say, 'Count the cost,' and they were never talking about money," Campbell said. "The cost for the convenience of our phones has gotten too high."
Analog bags are all about habit stacking
Emily Karst, a 32-year-old school principal in Ohio, saw Campbell's video and instantly felt inspired. She, too, believes the key to using technology is moderation, and was looking for small ways to make that middle ground more attainable.
"What can I do to make it just as easy to pick up something that isn't my phone?" she said. "Sometimes it's because I want to check the time or I need to look at my directions or whatever. But more often, it's because there's been some sort of break in the action, and I've conditioned myself. I'm so uncomfortable being bored that I'm just going to instantly get that dopamine hit and watch a couple of TikToks real quick."
"Instead, if there's something else that we can grab," she continued, "it allows us to make a better decision."
Since she began carrying her own analog bag, which she loaded with a watercolor kit, "memory collecting" book, and needlepoint set, Karst sa the number of times she picks up her phone every day has plummeted.
"I've been so serious about this, mostly because I was alarming myself," Karst said. "I don't want to live my whole adult life losing my ability to engage with good art and long books and novels and movies because I'm ruining my attention."
Campbell cites "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg as a major inspiration for the concept of an analog bag. The popular self-help book, published in 2012, argues that replacing one habit with another is more effective than quitting cold turkey.
As someone with a self-described "addictive personality," Campbell brings her analog bag everywhere because it ensures that phone alternatives are always within reach; the bag's contents offer easy substitutes when she feels that instinctive itch to pick up her phone, like a cigarette smoker who's trying to cut back might reach instead for a stick of gum.
Digital content is designed to be addictive, so Campbell's precautions are carefully considered. She packs a physical planner in her analog bag so she doesn't feel tempted to scroll if she needs to check her calendar. She even carries a Polaroid camera so she can interrogate whether she really needs a photo of something, or if it's just going to be snapped and then lost in the cloud, never to be seen again.
"If it's you versus your phone, the phone's going to win," Campbell said. "Willpower alone won't work."
Phone usage has become instinctive and detrimental to our health
Plenty of tech insiders and researchers have echoed Campbell's observations. The psychological concept of "technostress" has been in the public lexicon since at least 2018. Tim Kendall, a former executive at Facebook and Pinterest, told Yahoo Finance in 2020 that phone overuse is a stealthy phenomenon, describing it as a serious health issue.
"Most people think they spend two hours a day on their phone," Kendall said. "When we look at the data, it's four and a half. So there's a disconnect between reality and your awareness."
Indeed, recent studies have found that heavy consumption of short-form media is bad for your brain — it's linked to anxiety, depression, and shorter attention spans — and that even AI models can deteriorate when exposed to low-quality internet junk.
Still, the internet has become embedded in our daily routines and work lives. Being totally offline is a lofty and, for many, unappealing goal. Instead, those who carry analog bags or romanticize their #AnalogLife on TikTok simply strive to be mindful about their screen time — actively choosing when and why to engage with their devices, rather than scrolling mindlessly.
"We reach for our phones without really thinking first," Hannah Hofstetter, a 23-year-old healthcare worker based in Alabama, told me. "A lot of times, it's because we're thinking we want to rest. We want it to give our brains a moment to rest. Well, that is the opposite of what's happening."
When Hofstetter first saw an analog bag on her feed, she said she was struck with sudden clarity. Why had she even picked up her phone in the first place? Why had she opened the TikTok app? She couldn't remember the answers.
Now, when she's out with friends and she feels a lull in the conversation, Hofstetter doesn't reach for her phone — she reaches for her handy analog bag and pulls out a stack of Tarot cards.
"My first reaction was kind of an 'aha' moment," Hofstetter said. "Like, wow, I'm not using my free will like I could be."
