Gen Z enthusiasts have been swapping smartphones for digital cameras since the early 2000s because they love blurry photos

They’ve embraced the questionable Y2K trends of low-rise jeans and Uggs – and now Gen-Z are turning their attention to vintage digital cameras from the early 2000s.

You remember those — the blurry photos, the ugly metal camera frames with the wrist strap, and the inability to instantly edit every photo to be Instagram-perfect.

This is precisely the trend among the younger generation, who are rebelling against the slick, edited photos on their iPhones to seek more authenticity in their images.

Gen Z’s favorite app, TikTok, has more than 184 million views with the hashtag #digitalcamera, and the most popular fashion magazine, Vogue, has even featured the device on its glossy pages.

Anthony Tabarez, 18, brought his Olympus FE-230 – a camera from 2007 – to the prom to snap pictures of him and his friends waving their arms and doing their best moves on the dance floor.

Tabarez finds digital cameras “more exciting” than taking photos with his smartphone.

Zounia Rabotson (pictured), who is now a model in New York City, recalls standing in front of monuments and tourist spots as her mother took pictures of her with a digital camera. She now uses the same camera to take pictures for her Instagram

Digital cameras have become Gen Z’s latest Y2K obsession

The blurry, overexposed photos are taking over social media with 184 million views on TikTok and many more on Instagram feeds

“When you have something else to photograph, it’s more exciting,” the freshman at California State University at Northridge told the New York Times. “We’re so used to our phones.”

Mark Hunter, 37, a photographer who photographed celebrity nightlife with digital cameras in the early 2000s, told the Times: “People are realizing that it’s fun to have something that’s not connected to their phone.

“You get a different result than what you are used to. There is a bit of delay in gratification.’

And it’s not just the high school and college crowd who are jumping on the bandwagon, but celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid were also spotted in the early 2000s.

Many of today’s teens and young celebrities are posting these blurry, immature pics on their Instagram pages rather than in their parents’ scrapbooks — unlike their own childhood photos that sit dusty on shelves — and are enjoying the new trend.

Among them is Zounia Rabotson, who is now a model in New York City and recalls standing in front of monuments and tourist spots as her mother photographed her with a digital camera.

The devices were popular in the early 2000s and were often seen in the hands of celebrities like Carrie Underwood

Tom Cruise snapped a photo with fans ahead of the Rome Film Festival in 2007

Rabotson now uses this camera to capture moments of her adult life, posting the overexposed images to Instagram while sporting other 2000s trends like denim skirts and tiny handbags.

“I feel like we’re getting a little too tech-savvy,” she told the Times. “Going back in time is just a great idea.”

According to a study by the Pew Research Center, more than 35 percent of teens have admitted to spending too much time on their phones, and some have taken it upon themselves to distance themselves from the soul-sucking, mentally depressing devices.

To live a freer life, teenagers are now rummaging through their parents’ old boxes and pulling out Canon Powershot and Kodak EasyShare cameras — and if they can’t find them at home, they head to eBay and other second-hand sites.

Digital camera searches on eBay increased 10 percent from 2021 to 2022, Davina Ramnarine, a company spokeswoman, told the Times.

Teenagers say taking photos with digital cameras is “more exciting” and captures a moment differently than with an iPhone

Digital camera searches on eBay increased by 10% between 2021 and 2022

Also, searches for Nikon COOLPIX have skyrocketed by 90 percent, Ramnarine said.

However, the means to living a more authentic life may not be as clear as Gen-Z would like to make it out to be.

Brielle Saggese, a lifestyle strategist, told the Times that some Gen-Z are using the cameras to look more authentic online and give their accounts “a layer of personality that most iPhone content doesn’t have.”

“We want our devices to blend in quietly with our surroundings and not be visible. The Y2K aesthetic turned that on its head,” she said.

However, some just want a different way to characterize a special moment.

“When I look back at my digital photos, I associate very specific memories with them,” said Rudra Sondhi, an undergraduate student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. “When I go through the camera roll on my phone, I kind of remember the moment and it’s nothing special.”