Is Britain pulling plug on gadgets?
As we spend more time shopping for fishing rods, board games, jigsaws, colouring books and plastic model kits ... When we do go high-tech, we prefer retro
‘Cluedo and snakes and ladders’
WITH a constant stream of hightech entertainment at our disposal via smartphones and tablets, many fear the simpler pursuits of the past are doomed to the attic.
But it seems board games, jigsaws, colouring books, fishing rods and plastic model kits are proving an antidote to the computer games, streaming box sets and social media competing for our attention.
A study of eBay sales over the past year suggests many of us – particularly parents – are increasingly turning our backs on so-called ‘always-on’ technology. The auction website’s UK Retail Report said: ‘Searches for adult and kids’ fishing rods peaked in April and May, rising nearly threefold on the same period in 2017, as families sought safe places to fish on our rivers and coastlines.
‘This was part of a wider trend towards ds family outings and staycations, as eBay y saw rising sales of four-person tents.
‘Amid concerns over the amount of f screen time our children are exposed d to, parents are also adopting a “back to o basics” approach to extricate their kids ds from their tablets, with sales of outdoor or activity sets like rounders bats, tennis nis rackets and boules all up by a quarter er year on year.’
It added: ‘In the era of computer game me phenomena such as Fortnite, Candy dy Crush and Clash of Clans, fears that at board games belong in the attic appear ar to be misguided. ‘In fact, board games es have enjoyed something of a renaissance ce and have become a regular fixture in pubs and cafes.’ Sales of classic games es like Cluedo and snakes and ladders rose se
by 50 per cent in December compared to the same month in 2016, with Jumanji – based on the hit film – was the most popular board game for children. Monopoly and Scrabble, popular with families for decades, are still proving a hit – with more than 1,000 daily searches during peak shopping periods.
The average Briton now spends six ix hours a day looking at screens, which is thought to affect our ability to concentrate. nay It may be one of the reasons eBay noticed a rise in interest in the concept pt of ‘mindfulness’ – meditative practices es designed to boost mental stimulation on and relaxation.
The report said: ‘Searches for mindfulness ulhe have increased 25 per cent over the past two years as we’ve sought to declutter utes our heads… [and] detach ourselves from the connected world. There are over er 100,000 listings for adult colouring books ks on eBay UK, with animals a particularly rly popular colouring-in theme. Over threequarters eernay of buyers are women.’
There has also been a revival of interest in painting, with sales of blank canvasses up by a third on last year.
There were more than 500 eBay searches a day for jigsaw puzzles last st year – double the number for 2014 and nd 2015. The website said model kits – of everything from Spitfires to Star Wars spaceships – are also popular.
There are more than 325,000 listings, with 400 searches every day. The UK vicepresident of eBay, Rob Hattrell, said: ‘It’s fascinating to see that we’re increasingly investing in products that help us to enjoy quality time without technology.’
WE’VE already learned to embrace turntables once more, fuelling a revival in vinyl records. Now a range of other retro technologies, from Polaroid cameras to pagers and MP3 players, is joining the list of must-have gadgets in homes.
Even manual typewriters appear to be making a comeback as a nostalgic style statement, figures reveal.
They reveal a boom in sales of many older devices that were overtaken by
faster, shinier, more expensive products.
The renewed interest in these supposedly obsolete items suggests many people’s cupboards, lofts and cellars could turn out to be a goldmine. The trend was identified in eBay’s UK Retail Report, which said it has mainly been driven by millennials and the so-called Generation Z – those aged under 22 raised in an era of widespread digital technology.
Older millennials tended to seek out the gadgets that were the latest tech during their childhoods – such as the Nokia 3310,
MP3s and boomboxes. The report said the surprise revival of the typewriter may have been inspired by Steven Spielberg’s movie The Post, based in the newsroom of The Washington Post in 1971. Weekly searches for typewriters peaked at 2,000 in January when the film was nominated for two Oscars.
Rob Hattrell, of eBay UK, said: ‘Customers love retro tech. Households with previously loved tech hidden away in attics could be sitting on a tidy sum as we’re seeing the growth of nostalgic buyers.’