In an online world where content vanishes in seconds, print media feels oddly comforting. A magazine cover from 2013 will always say the same thing, no matter how the algorithm shifts. Collecting print is my way of slowing down and looking back at culture in a format that refuses to scroll past.
Lately, I’ve been circling around the idea of “dead internet theory”, the conspiracy that since 2016 we’ve been living in a digital dark age thanks to bots, algorithms, and AI. For me, it holds some merit. Are AIs just falsely celebrating each other in a spiral of worsening content? Are our attention spans wrecked by constant ad bombardment?
As a form of self-defence, I’ve gone back to print. Picking up something to read without accepting cookies or closing pop-ups feels almost rebellious.
2023 The Collection Begins.
I love the music and art of Grimes (Claire Boucher), so naturally I hunt down interviews and appearances that feature her. That’s how I stumbled across the hyper-modern CYBR magazine.
Issue 10 (April 2023) hooked me instantly. The magazine was unapologetically artsy and self-indulgent, pages of impractical futuristic fashion, essays debating AI’s self-awareness, and visuals that blend fantasy, space, and cyberpunk grit. It was wonderful (was, as I fear they have ceased print).
**2026 update: as of January 2026, Cybr ceased trading. RIP.
After that, I couldn’t stop: I started buying up the back issues, slowly building a collection that feels as satisfying as it is strange.
Early this year (2025), I discovered archival prints being sold on Vinted. These are well-cared-for time capsules of the early 2000s. A fiver here, a tenner there… “cheaper than my husband’s Warhammer,” I told myself.
These days, my favourite collectibles are oversized coffee-table magazines stuffed with designer ads and avant-garde celebs: Dazed & Confused, Another Magazine. Holding one makes you feel cooler by association. They’re art in their own right, every font, photo, and layout debated by a creative team.
The Ritual of Print
There’s also something ritualistic about magazines. We prep ourselves with them for offline spaces- trains, planes, waiting rooms. I’ve always loved browsing airport stands before a flight, grabbing something glossy and indulgent to pass the hours.
Part of the magic is sensory: the weight of the paper, the smell of ink, the satisfying flick of a page. Unlike digital feeds, there’s a start, a middle, and an end, a sense of completion that scrolling never gives you.
The pitfalls of editing your memories.
Of course, nostalgia has its risks. It’s easy to rose-tint the past and pretend the media we grew up with was always good for us. My own collection leans heavily toward glossy luxury mags and art pulp, not the cultural car crashes of Heat or OK! magazine.
Like most millennial women, I still remember the paparazzi spreads mocking Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie as they fell out of cars, the endless glorification of skinny bodies and fake tan. As far as I’m concerned, those archives can burn. Does that make me a good historian? Probably not. Does it feel gratifying as hell? Absolutely.
Quick Instagram break. Follow me for these vibes:
Why Print Still Matters
And yes, I’m aware of the hypocrisy: I’m writing about the joys of print… online… for you to read on a screen. But that’s what Second Draft Blog is, a space for nostalgia and contrast, for looking back while staying firmly here. Watching how culture changes has become an obsession, and this is where I’ll be collecting my thoughts, alongside my magazines.
It takes me back to standing in WHSmith at Glasgow’s Queen Street Station, flipping through Kerrang!, Elle, or (the Indie Sleaze bible) NME. Print media has always been allowed to be self-indulgent… and I’m pro that. In fact, I think that’s what makes it glorious.
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