New York —
With our homes and lives swarming with AI-powered devices, assistants and chatbots, a backlash is brewing.
Pitched as “analog lifestyles,” it’s different than a short-term digital detox. Instead, it’s an effort to slow down and find tangible ways to complete daily tasks and find entertainment, especially as generative AI platforms increasingly do the thinking and doing for us.
It’s hard to quantify just how widespread the phenomenon is, but certain notably offline hobbies are exploding in popularity. Arts and crafts company Michael’s has seen the effects: Searches for “analog hobbies” on its site increased by 136% in the past six months, according to the company, which operates over 1,300 stores in North America. Sales for guided craft kits increased 86% in 2025, and it expects that number to go up another 30% to 40% this year.
Searches for yarn kits, one of the most popular “grandma hobbies,” increased 1,200 % in 2025.
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