A few summers ago, culture handed us Hot Girl Summer. Then came Brat Summer. Somewhere in between, we drifted into the era of Luxe Summer with its displays of wealth, ease, and effortlessness.
Summer, at this point, has become its own kind of personality test.
Hot Girl Summer sold liberation. The look mattered. The body mattered. The photo mattered. It was all bronzed skin, tiny sunglasses, rooftops, and the performance of being carefree enough to stay out until two in the morning on a Tuesday.
Brat Summer arrived with a messier energy. Smudged eyeliner. Cigarettes outside bars. Chaotic group chats. Partying as identity. Recklessness instead of self awareness. A kind of glamorized emotional demolition wrapped in neon green and irony.
Then came Luxe Summer. Coastal Europe content. Butter yellow linen sets. Infinity pools. Tomatoes flown in from somewhere expensive. Wealth became aestheticized as wellness. Even relaxation started to feel aspirational and curated for consumption.
And now?
Honestly, I think we are entering what could become Analog Summer.
Not because people suddenly want to churn butter or live without WiFi. The longing feels more specific than that. People seem exhausted by how performative life has become. Exhausted by constant documentation. Exhausted by algorithmic living. Exhausted by the feeling that every experience asks to become content.
An Analog Summer feels like a response to that exhaustion.
It feels tactile.
Human.
Imperfect.
A little sun faded around the edges.
The signs are already everywhere. Young people buying digital cameras from 2007 so their photos look grainy and real. Vinyl records continuing to outsell expectations. Craft nights selling out. Gardening becoming aspirational. People hosting dinner parties where phones stay stacked in another room. Flip phones showing up again. Book clubs packed with people desperate to talk to each other face to face.
Even the fantasy of summer itself seems to be shifting.
Instead of bottle service and packed clubs, people are fantasizing about:
- floating in lakes with friends for six straight hours
- coolers packed with cherries, pasta salad, and cans of sparkling water
- gazpacho eaten on back porches
- card games in beach rentals during thunderstorms
- paperback novels with cracked spines
- peaches eaten standing over the kitchen sink
- night swims
- local baseball games
- old motels with scratchy towels
- neighborhood cookouts
- citronella candles burning beside folding chairs
- friendship bracelets tied onto sunburned wrists
- laying on docks watching satellites move across the sky
Even fashion is starting to reflect this shift. Less polished. Less “yacht chic.” More personality. More humor. More things that look found, worn, inherited, traded, and loved.
I also think people are hungry for experiences they can actually remember.
For years, so much of summer culture has revolved around alcohol. Hard seltzer branding turned drinking into a lifestyle identity. Rosé became a personality trait. Vacation marketing convinced people that rest required intoxication. Entire summers disappeared into blurry nights people were told were the pinnacle of freedom.
But there is a growing tension there, especially as conversations around burnout, mental health, nervous system exhaustion, and sobriety become more mainstream.
People want presence now.
People want mornings.
People want energy.
People want to wake up and actually go to the farmer’s market instead of recovering from the night before.
They want lake days they can remember clearly.
They want conversations that deepen instead of dissolve.
They want pleasure that does not leave them feeling hollowed out the next day.
I think that is part of why sobriety and sober curiosity fit so naturally into the idea of an Analog Summer. Sobriety returns people to their senses. Taste sharpens. Memory sharpens. Attention sharpens. Summer becomes more vivid when you are actually inside of it.
Cold watermelon tastes colder.
Music sounds fuller drifting from somebody’s porch speaker at dusk.
You notice the humidity rolling in before a storm.
You remember the conversation.
You remember the stars.
An Analog Summer also requires something many people have lost tolerance for.
Boredom.
Waiting.
Unstructured time.
A long afternoon without scrolling.
A walk without a podcast filling every second of silence.
Sitting outside long enough for fireflies to appear.
There is something deeply hopeful to me about the possibility of this shift. After years of optimization and branding and self performance, people seem hungry for lives that feel textured again. Lives with fingerprints on them – preferably stained from blackberries. Lives that smell like sunscreen and cut grass and basil and chlorine. Lives where somebody forgets to take pictures because they are too busy laughing.
Maybe that is what Analog Summer really is.
A small rebellion against disappearing from our own lives. A season that asks us to stay long enough to actually feel it while it is happening.
Looking for more things to do sober? 75+ Things to Do Sober (That Are Actually Fun), and don’t forget to check out the Sober Events calendar to see if there are any cool activities in your neck of the sober woods.
Looking for summer reading options? Sober Celebrity Memoirs Worth Reading: Books Written by People Who’ve Actually Been There
Also – in case you didn’t hear… JELLY SANDALS are back!
THIRSTY FOR WONDER: at The Sober Curator, led by Anne Marie Cribben—a passionate recovery coach and spiritual companion based in Washington, DC—offers 1:1 coaching, spiritual guidance, and recovery support rooted in compassion and empowerment. As the creator of The Wellspring: A Celtic Recovery Journey, Anne Marie blends the Celtic calendar with sobriety, connecting participants to ancient wisdom and the rhythms of nature.
A fierce advocate for sobriety as liberation and self-love, she challenges the targeted marketing of alcohol to women and champions authentic, joyful living. Her work goes beyond addiction recovery, fostering a life of vibrancy, purpose, and connection.
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What is Analog Summer?
Analog Summer is the idea of spending summer with more presence, fewer screens, less performance, and more real-life connection. It emphasizes tactile, memorable experiences like lake days, paperback books, dinner parties, card games, farmers markets, night swims, and unstructured time.
Why are people talking about Analog Summer?
People are talking about Analog Summer because many are exhausted by constant content creation, social media performance, burnout, and algorithm-driven living. Analog Summer offers a return to slower, more human experiences that do not have to be curated, posted, or optimized.
How is Analog Summer different from Hot Girl Summer or Brat Summer?
Hot Girl Summer celebrated confidence and visibility, while Brat Summer leaned into chaos, nightlife, and messy self-expression. Analog Summer is quieter and more grounded. It is less about being seen and more about being present.
Is Analog Summer connected to sober curiosity?
Yes. Analog Summer fits naturally with sober curiosity because both center presence, memory, energy, and intentional pleasure. Instead of building summer around alcohol, Analog Summer invites people to enjoy experiences they can actually remember.
What are some Analog Summer activities?
Analog Summer activities include swimming in lakes, reading paperbacks, hosting phone-free dinner parties, going to farmers markets, playing cards, gardening, attending local baseball games, making friendship bracelets, listening to vinyl records, having neighborhood cookouts, and watching stars from a dock.
Can you have an Analog Summer without being sober?
Yes. Analog Summer does not require sobriety, but it does invite more mindful choices. For many people, drinking less or skipping alcohol altogether makes summer feel more vivid, memorable, and connected.
Why does sobriety make summer feel different?
Sobriety can make summer feel different because it sharpens memory, energy, attention, and the senses. Without hangovers or blurry nights, people may feel more present for simple pleasures like cold watermelon, porch music, night swims, and long conversations.
What does offline living mean?
Offline living means creating more space away from constant scrolling, notifications, and digital performance. It can include phone-free meals, walks without podcasts, reading physical books, using film or digital cameras, and spending time with people face to face.
How can I create my own Analog Summer?
You can create your own Analog Summer by choosing simple, sensory, low-pressure experiences. Put your phone away more often, make plans that do not revolve around alcohol, invite friends over, spend time outside, read real books, cook seasonal food, and leave room for boredom.
Why is boredom important for Analog Summer?
Boredom creates space for imagination, rest, and real presence. In a culture that fills every quiet moment with scrolling, podcasts, or productivity, boredom can help people reconnect with themselves, their surroundings, and the people around them.
