From reading poetry to cracking out the vinyl, our pick of five classic pastimes that appear to be making a comeback
A passion for social issues, particularly among teens and millennials, is thought to be behind a dramatic growth in the popularity of poetry. UK sales of poetry books hit an all-time high in 2018, growing by just over 12 per cent, for the second year in a row. Some 1.3m volumes of poetry were sold in total.
Image: Sandrachile
Government statistics show that craft was the fastest-growing part of Britain’s creative industries in 2016, up 44 per cent on 2010. From mosaic to macramé, and from woodturning to weaving, could it be because crafting is the perfect, mindful antidote to our hectic modern times?
Image: Sarah Vombrack
Britain’s indie magazine scene has flourished in recent years. A smart new breed of print titles is growing fast, with numbers more than tripling in five years. “It is the sheer quantity and quality that is astonishing,” Claire Catterall, co-curator of Print! Tearing It Up, a London exhibition, told the Guardian.
Image: Simon Callaghan Photography
Sales of vinyl reached a 25-year high in 2016, with music fans young and old embracing the format. More than 3.2m LPs were sold, up 53 per cent on the previous year, the ninth consecutive rise. Vinyl charts were reintroduced in 2015 on the back of improving sales.
Image: Manuel Sardo
In 2018, more than 3 million people aged under-25 in the UK and US were expected to quit Facebook. Increased numbers of older users mean the networking site is in no danger of collapsing soon. But the mass departure among the young prompts the question: has the world reached peak Facebook?
Read more: By the book: the UK’s indie booksellers bounce back
Featured image: Ed Robertson
