Do people still collect things? Gretel, a listener messaged in yesterday during our show asking this question and we decided to do some research, because back in the day, it felt like everyone’s parents had something they were collecting.

Maybe it was stamps, coins, postcards, fridge magnets, or those photo albums filled with pictures from every family holiday. Collecting was something you physically built over years — you had a box, a shelf, an album, and eventually an entire cupboard dedicated to it. But now, with everything becoming digital and our lives moving so quickly, do people still have that same urge to collect?
A 2023 survey found that 46% of people said they owned some kind of collection, so collecting definitely hasn't disappeared. What’s interesting is that collecting today can look very different.

You might be collecting sneakers, vinyl, trading cards, LEGO, perfumes, jerseys, figurines, books, watches or even digital items. Social media has also changed the experience — instead of keeping your collection hidden in a cupboard, you can find other collectors, discover rare pieces, show off what you’ve found and even buy and trade with people all over the world. So maybe the shift isn't from collecting to not collecting.

Maybe it's from collecting things because that's what people around us did, to collecting things that tell people something about who we are, what we're interested in and what we love.