A direct passage into nostalgia

I’m not afraid to say that not only are older adults using cell phones with basic features (whether for accessibility or another reason), but in my own experience, walking away from my mobile device with unlimited features for a few days cleared up my mind of its effects of what happens in the human body without so many notifications.

What I experienced was a connection with nature and what happens if there is not something that can trigger an alert in me. I also felt what it was like to have time available, to be able to read a book without distractions, enjoy a meal, and so many things that one cannot see because we are blindfolded by so much information, often unnecessary.

According to global data shared by Semrush, a company that provides online visibility and marketing content management services, searches on Google – Alphabet INC (NASDAQ: GOOGL) on these devices increased by 89% between 2018 and 2021. Why in a hyperconnected world, more and more people turn to these types of phones?

We have the world in our hands, but at the same time, we lose what is happening around us, which is our own life. Perhaps it is time to return to the sources and get bored again or perhaps reset ourselves so that the mind, finally, recreates different ideas away from everyday stress and anxiety due to a message not received or one to be sent.

I think this is one of the reasons why many people turn their attention to devices with more limited functionalities. They are devices to make and receive calls, send text messages and, in some cases, listen to the radio and take very basic photos, but most do not connect to the Internet, and it is not possible to download applications; perhaps they only include games like the well-known Snake.

Who would not want to escape from the dozens of WhatsApp groups – Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) in which we are involved, right? Going back to basic cell phones is the possibility of closing doors, of not getting into your head or your privacy, of not receiving so many stimuli from outside. Thinking of it this way, we could say that it is a way to say goodbye to these groups and a very intelligent decision to curb the amount of communications that we ourselves have opened and now we understand that it is time to restrict ourselves.

I consider myself a nostalgic consumer like many other consumers who want an object that reminds them of the past. And there are brands that are very attentive to that. Motorola Solutions Inc. (NYSE: MSI), for example, launched its Razr 5G model in 2020, a remake of the V3, a device with a cap that the brand had been selling for years and reached 130 million units sold. That means that in this case the two worlds can be united and there is that possibility, that the evolution comes from the hand of a product with innovations but with the characteristic feature of something from the past. Perhaps evolution is not removing everything that belonged to the past.

Such is the case of the consoles as another artifact that returns but in this case nostalgically in a mini version, being smaller in size than the original console, but with the same appearance. Among them, SONY Corp.’s (NYSE: SONY) first console, which caused a stir around the world, also released a mini-console, being 45% smaller than the original. I could still enjoy playing a game of the 1998 FIFA World Cup on the legendary Playstation and “teleport” to that magical moment, like someone who plays in pinball or arcades.

Currently, there are food products that have revolutionized the marketing of nostalgia and have become the trend of many globally; some of the food and beverage brands that have been successful in reviving the past are Pepsico Inc (NASDAQ: PEP), Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO), Mayonnaise McCormick & co Inc (NYSE: MKC), McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD), and Danone SA (BATS EU: BN).

In the film industry movies such as: “Planet of the Apes” by the Twenty-First Century Fox studio (NASDAQ: FOXA), “Star Wars” by the Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) and more recently “Top Gun” by Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA) continue to cause a stir and remain among the favorites despite the years that have passed.

Other products from companies such as Converse from Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE), producers of tennis-style shoes, are also part of the brand revolution because despite the fact that their design has hardly changed over the years; people continue to use them and are even willing to pay more for them since they have become a symbol within the culture of several generations.

Analysts assure that the consumption of items with the essence of the past gains strength at times when there are strong economic crises, social transformations, technological development or changes in the way of relating and new ways of thinking. Toys of yesteryear, vintage clothing, film remakes, video game consoles, drinks, music, television series and automobiles are some of the products that have returned from the past to adapt to the tastes of the present. Which items will be next to invoke nostalgia and new ways of thinking for generations to come? What is certain is that they have left a deep mark on us, and that we will continue to want to relive them regardless of progress, since, in addition to the benefits they can provide, the memories and memories tied to them last forever.