People are falling back in love with analog today – slimes, six-ring diaries, and vintage shops are entering the mainstream. As a sign of this phenomenon, since last year, videos and posts on analog items have exploded on the Internet, especially on YouTube and Instagram. These analog items are considered as toys for young kids. However, a surprising number of adults are joining the fun. According to Korean Instagramer “Dalming,” there were three times as many viewers aged 18 to 24 as aged 13 to 17. Also, the inni slime YouTube channel, which has reached about 30,000 followers with just 80 videos of making slime revealed that most viewers (32 percent) were aged between 18 and 24, closely followed by 35 to 44-year-olds (23 percent) and then 13 to 17-year-olds (19 percent). Why are these trends blooming among adults?
By Cho In-hyo, Lee Joo-ah, Ahn Chee-young, Shim Ha-eun
Toys loved by adults: Slime
When it comes to slimes, you might think of some oozing monster that you saw in childhood horror films or RPG cartoons. However, now this slippery item has become a toy that is trending worldwide – among adults as well as kids. The slime boom first started on YouTube in 2015 when videos of making or playing with slimes became popular. Since then, children have begun playing with slime, which then slipped upstream into adults’ hands. Now, slime has become a culture more than a trend. Slime video channels, slime cafés, and slime Instagram markets are easy to find, and the usage rate among adults is notable.
As if to reflect the rising love of slime, Ewha’s very own slime club, Ewha Slime was created this March. With eight members, the club’s main purpose is to enjoy, share and heal with slime. Visiting flea markets, making and selling slime and trying out new recipes are their main activities.
Demand for their slimes is high; the slimes they made were sold out during the dormitory festival, “Pajama party” held on Sept.12. “I first ran into the slime trend on Instagram. My current favorite part among this trend is slime ASMR, a type of video which concentrates on the sound that is made by touching slime, which gives me psychological relief,” a member of Ewha Slime said.
In contrast to the restrictions youths face in the society, playing with slimes gives them a sense of stress relief. It is a hobby that can be enjoyed easily, compared to other activities in the mainstream of the modern society. Ewha Slime’s main purpose is “healing” and its members aim to continue enjoying and producing slime with the club.
“We are still considering whether to establish our own enterprise related to slime production,” said Choe Jeong-hyeon, who is the head of Ewha Slime and majors in Kinesiology and Sports Studies. “As a newly formed club, Ewha Slime is still developing, so we hope for a lot of support from the students.”
Six-ring diaries back from the 1990s
Six-ring diaries are a blast from the past with a modern twist – more and more people are posting pictures of their retro diaries on SNS pages to share their daily lives. This trend is called Dakku, which is a short term for diary decoration in Korean. There are now more than 260,000 posts on Instagram with the hashtag #Dakku. Most posters are sharing six-ring diaries that were popular in Korea in the 1990s, bringing with them a sense of nostalgia. Ewha Voice met Meryzian, a YouTuber and Instagramer with 12,800 followers who regularly posts her diary decorations.
“More and more forms and designs of diaries are coming out,” Meryzian said. “The range in types of writing utensils has been expanded and this wide choice selection allows people to delve deep into decorating diaries.”
She explained that after starting to decorate her diary, she felt greater joy and could keep writing it throughout the year. Meryzian added that sharing her diary online reminded her of exchanging diaries with her friends in childhood.
“Posting my diary on Instagram is very similar to exchanging diaries with my friends,” Meryzian said. “I used to share my diary when I was young and this diary posting trend also has to do with our tendency to share emotions and feelings entailed in sharing diaries – sharing moments from our daily lives.”
She mentioned that the trend seems to be related to its ability to bring comfort through decorating diaries and interacting with others. “We live in a fast-paced and technological society,” she said. “We can capture our daily moments in smart phones very easily. However, putting pen to paper with my own hand creates a more lasting memory.”