Is 24 too young to be nostalgic about the past?

I grew up in an increasingly digital world. It’s really all I know.

I’ve had a phone since I was about 10 years old — an iPhone since 13 or so. I grew up on messaging apps, social media, streaming services, etc.

But I fear the fun of once very popular things is gone, and I miss that. Worse, I hate that I feed into it.

Growing up — and even now, to be truthful — I always loved going to the movie theater. There was the anticipation waiting for certain movies to be released and packed theaters for opening shows that just don’t see the same attendance anymore.

Now, most people are perfectly content waiting for the day those movies reach various streaming services. But by then, the hype and buzz of the movie has faded.

There used to be this sense of community as we all went to watch the same movie or stayed up-to-date on certain TV shows. Now, there are so many options made available to us that we ask, “Have you seen this or that?” and I’ve found the answer is more than likely “No.”

Speaking of TV shows, each week we waited for that one new episode of whatever series was popular at the time. When people missed last night’s episode, they always made sure the room knew not to spoil it for them.

Now, we binge-watch entire seasons over a weekend. One conversation is enough to talk about the whole thing, then we wait for whatever series might be next.

I’ll admit that I’m certainly guilty of my fair share of binge-watching shows.

But the worst part is how accustomed we’ve become to it — myself included. Now, when shows continue with a once-a-week episode release or drop the first half of a season a month before the second half, we get frustrated, often waiting until the whole thing is complete before starting to watch it.

We’ve grown impatient. We’ve grown so used to having what we need digitally almost instantly.

That applies to the news and other media outlets.

Something I often miss are magazines. I miss seeing them on coffee tables at various places, I miss the unique content they offered, I miss the art of them.

While some magazines are still in print production, a lot aren’t, and even those that are, some are monthly instead of weekly or some variation of it not being the same as it once was. They’ve become more digital as well, and I can’t blame them, seeing as they want to be where their readers are.

I still read through magazines on the News iPhone app, but it’s just not the same. But I do it for convenience, as we all do for most things. On the one platform, I have access to digital content for practically any magazine you can imagine.

But it excludes the art and graphics that make a magazine what it is. It also could never match the feeling of holding a magazine in your hands or the texture of the paper magazines use.

The same goes for the newspaper. Seeing as I lay out our pages every day, I know that someone else is laying out those magazines, and I feel bad for not seeing and appreciating their work. If anyone should know the time and energy that goes into it, it’d be me.

Despite the various digital options to read books nowadays, I still buy the physical copies and appreciate the cover art. But I fear one day I’ll get roped into the popularity of Kindles and other devices.

Seems like that’s just the way things go.

I should know, as my whole life I have watched a series of different things put their foot in the digital door, but that’s the world we live in.

Maybe I just miss being a kid, when things seemed easier and life was simpler. I had fewer worries and less stress, and the most pressing thing in my life was… well, nothing was really all that pressing.

Maybe I just want that feeling back.

But it’s the feelings we’ll never get back that I think are the most upsetting.

Sure, there will be things to come for other generations to look back on and miss, but then again, who knows? Sometimes popular things in society come back. This coming from the girl who has a growing vinyl record collection.

Torianna Marasco can be reached at 989-358-5686 or tmarasco@TheAlpenaNews.com.