Digital world fatigue: Half of U.S. Zoomers dream of returning to the technological past

Today’s young generation, which grew up with smartphones in their hands, is starting to feel serious fatigue from the digital world. According to an NBC News poll, nearly half of Americans aged 18 to 29 are willing to trade modern life for the past. The main reason for such a mood was not only economic pessimism, but also a deep disillusionment with how technology affects everyday life and personal freedom.

Survey results

The study included 32,433 American adults, including 3,009 members of the youngest generation (Gen Z). The results were surprising: 47% of respondents in the 18-29 age group expressed a desire to live in the past if they had the opportunity. Among them:

• 33% would choose the period less than 50 years ago (the analog era and the dawn of the Internet);
• 14% would prefer to live more than 50 years ago.

At the same time, 38% of young people are satisfied with the present time, 10% would like to look into the near future (up to the age of 50), and only 5% dream of life in half a century.

Peculiarities of technology perception by Generation Z

During conversations with researchers, young people justified their desire to return to the past by the negative impact of modern gadgets. Among the key problems stand out dependence on digital technologies, excessive influence of social networks and total surveillance on the Internet.

“Now there is so much Internet and so much nonsense connected with it. Kids today have so many things on their minds that just don’t apply to the world around them,” shares Skyler Barnett, 28, who works in the construction industry in Missouri. His position is shared by many of his peers, who believe that technology should have a clear purpose, and not turn into ubiquitous supercomputers.

Social causes and pessimism about the future

In addition to technological fatigue, the results of the survey were influenced by socio-economic factors. A large majority of young Americans (80%) believe the US is on the wrong track, and 62% expect their lives to be worse than their parents’.

Interestingly, views of life in the past vary depending on ethnicity. Among black youth, only 33% would like to live in the past, compared to 52% of white Americans and 47% of Hispanics.

Should we expect mass abandonment of technology?

Although almost half of young people express nostalgia for a time they have only partially lost (or not lost at all), a real abandonment of technology seems unlikely. However, the growth of “digital annoyance” indicates a brewing crisis of trust in current forms of social interaction and the dominance of large IT corporations in private life.