Gen Z’s enthusiasm for all things touchable is resurrecting the analog economy—and costing parents

Generation Z has unexpectedly become the primary driver behind the rapidly growing analog music and print book economies in the U.S. and U.K. While buying record and CD players, vinyl, CDs, and print books may be an act of nostalgia or an old habit for Gen Xers and those before them, it is an act of identity assertion, innovation, and a point of differentiation for the under-25s. It is also an act of defiance in the face of the formless digital world and a cry for respite from the enormous noise perpetuated by the 24/7 social media cycle.