Social media usage is at an all-time high. According to Meltwater’s 2026 Global Digital Report, 5.66 billion people use social media, almost a 5% increase compared to the previous year, and Gen Z continues to drive these numbers. Deloitte says 54% of them are consuming user-generated content on social media rather than watching TV and movies. Still, if you look around, you may have also realized that people are trying to ditch this digital consumption.
Reasons include mental health degrading, online exhaustion, and being charmed by analog technology — like the ’90s see-through tech making a comeback. Being born in 1995, I’m right on the cusp of Gen Z. While the millennials who came before me still seem to be diving deeper into social media, the Gen Z cohort appears to have had enough, as they’re trying to discover a new, offline world that might have escaped their childhoods.
For example, I remember a life with VHS, CDs, dial-up internet, dumb cellphones, and having to do proper research in libraries, because Google didn’t have all the answers. Gen Zs, on the other hand, were born in an iPhone world, full of touchscreen displays, and surrounded by social media. As they start to grow older, there’s a new trend emerging with them ditching these online platforms.
Mental health concerns
Prolonged use of social media and your phone are related to greater levels of anxiety and depression, and a shortened attention span. According to a Check My Insurance survey, 52% of Gen Z attempted to quit using social media in 2025, compared to 33% of respondents overall. While people said that physical health (56%), mental health (38%), and anxiety or stress (31%) were the main reasons for trying to change habits in general, 61% of Gen Z respondents said that mental health was the main concern.
More than just numbers, social media exhaustion is simply an overwhelming feeling. A couple of years ago, I quit TikTok. The algorithm kept me hooked, but after 20 minutes of doomscrolling, I was completely drained. I didn’t help myself by switching to Instagram Reels, where the feeling remained. Whenever I’m on X or Threads, the doomscrolling continues, even though all I get is angry with the flood of AI-created content. It’s exhausting.
After believing that creating a second account on Instagram would help me get closer to my friends and away from influencers, I realized that this was just another way to stay hooked on social media. Fortunately, the math is simple: The longer I spend off my phone, the better my mental health becomes.
Performing has become exhausting
Keeping up appearances and performing has become exhausting on social media. According to Common Sense Media, 81% of American teens felt negative pressure on hitting achievements, how they appear, and having life figured out. Within that, 51% felt pressured to look and present themselves in the latest trendy way or with a certain body type. While older generations largely had just TV and magazines to compare themselves with others, social media puts everybody in the same group.
After all, I can follow my friends from school, but also constant updates from supermodels, rock stars, and random influencers with seemingly perfect lives. If you have heard the phrase, “eyes eat first”, when you order food and take a photo before starting to eat, then you understand the need to keep performing. What others will say suddenly looks more important than how we actually feel at that moment. Gen Zs are feeling this pressure and 8 in 10 teens believe social media only increases the pressure of how they should act.
The fun is gone, and we don’t want ads
Ads are everywhere. Even with some countries taking measures against how ads should be displayed to young people, setting age limits on creating social media accounts, and controlling what they can see, it’s undeniable that ads are prevalent. And there’s evidence that all this advertising is a waste of time. A study from Bulbshare reveals that Gen Zs will nearly always skip an ad, and 63% are already using ad blockers. This has become easier when you consider that one of the hidden features of YouTube Premium is the ability to “Jump ahead” and avoid certain ads.
However, there’s also the nightmare of unskippable ads on Instagram to contend with. So it’s no surprise that as these companies try to increase revenue, users have gotten fed up with the onslaught of advertising. The easiest way to avoid them is simple: Ditching social media apps. While the latest Pew Research Center data says 20% of U.S. teens are frequently on social media, I’ve seen increasing users online announcing they’re getting away from social media due to advertising overload.
Analog tech feels more special
From Casetify invading your iPhone with nostalgia to old-school iPods making a Gen Z comeback and a resurgence of people buying vinyl, there’s a clear trend in favor of analog technology. There’s something unique about taking a photo on a film camera and having to wait. Used to instant gratification, Gen Z and millennials have seen that taking a moment to flip a vinyl, waiting to develop a roll of film, or plugging in wired headphones can be more engaging than taking hundreds of digital photos you might never check again.
The same way I abandoned my Kindle in favor of flipping the pages of a physical book, more people have realized that authenticity and reality are more important than social media and online experiences. There’s nothing worse than going to a restaurant or business where everything is Instagrammable and realizing everyone else is already doing it. While we may want to show others that we’re having original, unique, and one-of-a-kind experiences, reality doesn’t always line up. As a result, getting a chance to slow down has become a popular trend, and these analog technologies are playing a big part.
Touching grass is the new feed
Run clubs are more popular than ever. People are increasingly learning how to knit, and every now and then you might see someone in their 20s with a flip phone. Board game events have also seen growth and it’s not unusual to find young people doing crosswords in coffee shops, waiting in line to enter a museum, or just sitting on a bench. This is part of of a trend with people wanting to connect with real life.
Social media is still here and plenty of people are using it, but especially after the pandemic, there has been a movement among Gen Z towards spending more time outside with friends and meeting up with others in person. Supporting this notion are stats from Deloitte that say, as of 2025, 29% of Gen Zs have deleted social media apps and more than half support a social media ban for anyone under 16. All these efforts at stricter regulation on social media are fine, but the best approach on this front is to get outside and be eye-to-eye with others.
