When you think of 2026, chances are the word ‘new’ comes to mind. Maybe you think of the new year, or a new self, or technology or movies. However, a large number of people thought ‘old’ instead, about twenty years old, to be exact.

This is due to an ongoing movement whose goal is to bring back 2000s culture, and the current target is media and the way we consume it.

Many people have become disillusioned with the multitude of streaming services and social media platforms which have shot up over the past two decades.

Several people on social media platforms such as Instagram have shared their reasons for disliking streaming services. Some cited the monthly prices while others cited problematic companies and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and even how little the creators/producers/actors/crew get paid for their work on these platforms.

The widely accepted combatant to this issue has been to return to physical media such as CDs, vinyls and DVDs. When you purchase a CD or DVD, the money goes directly to the creators and their company, so you never have to renew subscriptions to have access to that media.

By using physical forms of media you also don’t have to worry about your favorite content getting changed or removed; once you buy a CD, vinyl or DVD, you own it unless you choose to sell it.

Bringing back physical media also solves the big problem of items such as these ending up in landfills due to not being ‘up to date’ because people often choose to look for physical media items in thrift stores or keep the ones they already have in their homes.

While some people are choosing to completely cut out streaming services from their lives and revert back to only using physical media, don’t feel like you have to. This trend is about bringing something many people liked back for reasons such as sustainability and happiness. If balancing your use of physical media and streaming services makes you happy, that’s perfectly acceptable and you should give it a try.