Some weeks ago I wrote a bit about too much tech and how it has subsumed our lives into some future dystopian fantasy world, usually in exchange for something “free”. That extends into the amateur radio world where we have had perfectly suitable solutions for running our radio stations for decades, yet these are suddenly being made better by more screens and software that end users don’t understand beyond, “Ooo, shiny buttons flash on a screen, must have more of these…”

What’s worse, a large segment of ham radio enthusiasts believe the primary reason younger people are staying away from our hobby by the millions is because ham radio is too “old fashioned” and needs to come into the light of the 21st century with all the gooey goodness that technology can possibly afford it.

From where I’m sitting there are at least two problems with that analysis. The first is that amateur radio has precious little actual “high tech” to show off. But the larger problem is, this notion is likely faulty. Each passing day brings more attention to the simple fact that the tech life of the 21st century is driving most folks nuts and they are looking for some respite from it.

Gen Z leads the way when it comes to taking a much-needed ‘digital detox,’ survey shows. Look at these recent trends:

  • Despite growing up with smartphones, 63% of Gen Z now intentionally unplug, the highest rate of any generation.
  • On average, 70% of time Americans spend online leaves them feeling disconnected and lonely rather than genuinely connected, leading to feelings of being overwhelmed (25%), anxious (22%), and irritable (18%).
  • 84% of Americans have adopted analogue lifestyle choices, with 32% writing in notebooks, 31% reading printed books, and 28% using paper calendars to create boundaries screens can’t provide.
  • 70% of Americans plan to read more in 2026, with half choosing physical books specifically, citing how reading makes them feel relaxed (46%), mentally stimulated (32%), and grounded (27%).

Yet this is the generation that well-meaning, but none too astute ham radio enthusiasts are attempting to ram-rod into the hobby by showing off a cavalcade of not so impressive tech. Search online for ham shacks around the world and you will be assaulted by photos with a radio engulfed by large screens, as though the secret to true ham radio happiness is directly related to screen real estate.

I’m telling anyone who will listen, too much tech is turning off a hundred times more potential converts than it is attracting. There’s a reason why the Wall Street Journal is reporting this week, Everyone Wants a Room Where They Can Escape Their Screens.

“Weary of ‘smart’ everything, Americans are craving stylish ‘analog rooms’ free of digital distractions—and designers are making them a growing trend”.

“James and Ellen Patterson are hardly Luddites. But the couple, who both work in tech, made an unexpectedly old-timey decision during the renovation of their 1928 Washington, D.C., home last year. The Pattersons had planned to use a spacious unfinished basement room to store James’s music equipment, but noticed that their children, all under age 21, kept disappearing down there to entertain themselves for hours without the aid of tablets or TVs. 

Inspired, the duo brought a new directive to their design team. The subterranean space would become an “analog room”: a studiously screen-free zone where the family could play board games together, practice instruments, listen to records or just lounge about lazily, undistracted by devices.”

I know some hams are mortified by images and suggestions of some 80 year-old dude pounding brass on a straight key as he makes contact with another human being a thousand miles distant via Morse code. They think it portrays our hobby as pre-historic. Yet that’s precisely the kind of thing millions of a younger generation seem to be craving. Too bad. We won the screen battle and still lost the war.