Subscriptions burned out Gen Z. They're going for analog lifestyles and physical media instead

A young man browning through a records section at a music store (Credit: Michelle Mengsu Chang/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

For the average 20-something in 2026, morning rituals might involve coffee, eggs, and an ever-spiraling digital “pit of despair.” 

That’s how James Dutton, a 24-year-old social media account manager in Cincinnati, described the feeling of waking up to a flurry of bank notifications in a video posted to YouTube last month. One day it’s $15 for a streaming service he hasn’t opened in weeks; the next, it’s $10 for a music platform that just got a price hike. A month ago, he audited his subscriptions spending, and realized he was bleeding $120 a month into the digital void.