What would you do if it were you? new year’s resolutions Will it fit in a tote bag? Social media users are experimenting with the “analog bag” trend, which replaces cell phones with offline activities.
This trend is widely credited to TikTok creator Sierra Campbell. She posted about her analogue bag, which contains a crossword book, a portable watercolor set, a Polaroid camera, a planner, and knitting supplies, and encouraged her followers to make their own.
In the wake of her video, many others have been inspired by magazines, Trump, paint, needlepoint And a puzzle book.
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“I created a bag of non-digital activities to occupy my hands instead of my phone,” Campbell said, adding that the habit has significantly reduced her screen time and filled her life with “creative, collaborative pursuits that don’t involve doom scrolling.”
“I created Analog Bags after learning that the only way to change a habit is to replace it with another habit,” she told Fox News Digital.
research on habit formation Dr. Daniel Amen, a California-based psychiatrist and founder of the Amen Clinic, says he supports the analog bag idea.
“The human brain is a creature of habit,” Amen said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “Neurons that fire together wire each other, and each time you repeat an action, good or bad, that action is reinforced. neural pathway This will make it easier to do it again. ”
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Doctors say research shows that habits are automatic responses to certain cues, such as boredom, stress, or free time, and usually result in some kind of reward. When alternative behaviors are not available, people tend to fall back into the same routine without realizing it.
Research shows that replacing old habits with new ones that are tied to the same cue is more effective than trying to suppress the behavior completely.
”[When] cut out coffee — In addition to quitting cold turkey, you need to drink something else. That’s how the pathways in our brains work,” Campbell said.
By replacing different routine It can still provide stimulation and engagement, allowing people to gradually weaken their old habits and build new automatic responses.
“It’s very difficult to just stop the behavior,” Amen said. “It’s much easier to replace one habit with one that’s better for your brain, and in doing so, you make lasting changes, one step at a time.”
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If alternatives were within reach, people would be more likely to use them, doctors said. “The human brain works much better with small, simple actions than with big, vague intentions.”
Instead of saying, “I’m going to stop scrolling today,” doctors recommend choosing small habits that you can do right away in specific situations, like knitting a 10-row scarf on your commute to work or reading a few pages of a book while waiting in the doctor’s office.
Mr. Campbell gave his own example of how to use an analog bag. When I went to a coffee shop with a friend, she said, crossword puzzle When there is a lull in the conversation, ask someone else to help with the answer.
Instead of taking dozens of photos with her cell phone, she instant cameralimits shots and encourages more intentional moments.
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For casual outdoor settings, such as parks or wineries, she brings along a small watercolor set and can get creative right away.
Campbell said the analog bag trend “bringed me so much joy” and “seeing how it resonated with so many people.”
