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Zines Are Back. And Now They’re on Instagram.
Out of quarantine rises a wealth of teen-created art, writing, and activism on online zines and publications.
In a 1990 article in Whole Earth Review, notable zine-creator Mike Gunderloy said of the zine world: “This is where the action is, where information (and disinformation) is free, where things are happening.” He excitedly claimed that the publishers and readers of zines were “at the cutting age of social change” and would help define the future.
Zines, which are independently printed booklets or “mini magazines,” have been an important, and perhaps overlooked, cultural current since the late 1920s — when the first zines were created by science fiction communities so they could talk about things the mainstream wasn’t interested in.
In the 1960s, zines were widely used in political subculture movements, and they became increasingly popular in the 70s and 80s due to both the rise of the punk scene and copy machines. In the 90s, zines played a key role in the Riot grrl punk feminist movements.
While they had previously stayed mostly underground, zines were now exploding in popularity and were finally being recognized by the mainstream.
But in 1996 the web browser was widely adopted, and as people gravitated towards digital communities, zines began to fall out of fashion (although they continued to be popular in some DIY communities, and some even created “webzines”).
But now zines are back — and they’re better than ever. Oh, and now they’re online.
A New Age of Zinemaking
In the past few months, perhaps hundreds of zines have popped up on social media. They’re most often on Instagram, which has historically been used for only the most social of social media — pics of brunches with friends, vacations, parties — but is now increasingly being used for news, activism, and creative and informative purposes.
