For a while now, I’ve felt the desire to return to simpler times. A standard job, local friends, TV nights; that kind of thing. As a kid, if I wanted to watch TV, I had to rely on the afternoon programmes after school. Even when YouTube was released, you had to search for things as opposed to having endless suggestions.

Now we’ve been hit with the news that PlayStation are going to stop releasing disc versions of games from 2028. It’s one in a long list of movements into the digital world

All of the big companies are pushing for us to “own” things digitally which is not actually owning it.

Spotify allows us to stream music, so the cars remove the CD players as they are redundant.

Amazon Kindles encourage us to “buy” books for cheap which can be edited or removed at any time.

Of course, there are benefits to digital media – storage and accessibility being the main ones. You don’t have a cluttered home (although that has led to the homes with a lack of personality), and you don’t have to get up to change discs or rummage through your entire collection.

But this is where the nostalgia kicks in.

Think about certain traditional rituals in various cultures. For example, my grandparents used to have an afternoon coffee which was the time when the whole family would gather around the table for a moment in the day. It was always special to me because it was the time we focused on one another.

The coffee that was prepared was like a Turkish coffee which meant it took a few minutes and then they would get out the various sweet treats to accompany it like a home-made fruit preserve or Turkish Delight. Obviously, I wanted to join in on the tradition but was too young for coffee so I would have chocolate milk in an espresso cup.

I couldn’t tell you the conversations we had but I can tell you that those are some of the most fond memories I have with my grandparents. Other ones include sitting on the porch on a summer’s night, listening to the crickets in the long grass.

In my younger teenage years, I used to love browsing through the DVDs, Blu Rays and CDs in HMV. It was a wonderful time for discovering artists or new films and consuming art as it was intended.

The amount of media that is pushed to us now through streaming services has left us with not enough time. In fact, one of the most common feelings the majority have is running out of time. It’s one of the reasons we are always rushing to the next best thing and to hit those milestones.

One of the best things to have happened to me is that I broke my foot. It forced me to slow down. I couldn’t go anywhere or do anything and to my upmost surprise, I wasn’t bored. It was the first time in years that I felt I had time and finally, a weight was lifted off of my shoulders.

I think it’s about time that we force ourselves to slow down and enjoy the journey. Let’s go back to physical media and enjoy the process of browsing. Let’s get away from the screens that are constantly reminding us that we are missing out on something.

Instead, let’s appreciate the little things. Let’s sit outside to just enjoy the sounds. Go to a cafe with friends just to talk. Make little rituals to help you relax at home whether it’s cooking dinner with your family, or getting ready for bed and doing your skincare.

It’s in the moments of stillness that we realise we have the fondest memories. Of course the exciting stuff is great, but think about someone that you’ve lost in your life. Are the best memories the big events, or are they in moments of regular life?