You are in class working with your peers talking and laughing about the experiences you all went through. You want to keep this memory forever, so you reach into your pocket searching for your phone but it’s sitting in a pouch deep into your backpack. 

Lucky for you though, you have a digital camera that allows you to capture forever memories into a photo.  

Everywhere you look digital cameras are being used to create fond memories of the school year. Whether it be in the classroom, or the cafeteria, digi cams are sweeping away CHS, and are now becoming the new phones.

Texas House Bill 1481 requires public school districts to ban the use of personal devices including phones, tablets, smartwatches and laptops. With the phone ban, students have resorted to using digital cameras as a way to entertain themselves, connect with peers and revisit sentimental times from their childhoods. 

“I feel it’s more nostalgic,” Coppell High School junior Masooma Fatima said. “Looking at a digital camera photo versus an iPhone, digital cameras capture every element. It’s the aesthetic, the vibe and you can connect with more people.”  

According to junior Rafia Noor, students also are drawn to how unique digital cameras are with not only how they look, but also how their photos turn out. 

“It’s more vintage, and I really like that vibe,” Noor said. “It’s really good quality and the vibe is just different from iPhone cameras.” 

For junior Rhea Lapiswala, using a digital camera allows her to connect and keep memories with her peers in her Anatomy and Physiology class during a dissection. Lapiswala said students enjoy carrying digital cameras around more than they do their phone. This forces students to get off their phones and participate in taking pictures with friends. 

“I like the vibe of carrying it around, having something where you don’t have to sit on your phone the whole day and you can take pictures,” Lapiswala said. “You can do a lot of things on a digital camera that you can’t with a phone.”

The trend of digital cameras is not new. It began in the early 2000s, and spread with the help of social media. As stated by sophomore Norah Moussop, students in 2025 feel inspired by trends from 2000s shows such as low rise jeans, makeup and even hair styles. Seeing these trends on popular 2000s shows grant older trends to resurface in newer generations. This influence inspires students to implement them into their own lives. Digital cameras are the next step.

“I watch a lot of 2000s stuff and so when I watched 2000’s shows and saw how teenagers were, I definitely think a lot of those things came back like digital cameras,” Moussop said.

According to Noor, digital cameras tend to be more convenient for students as well. 

“I feel a digital camera is more compact,” Noor said. “You can take it with you everywhere you go. They’re also tiny so it would be easier to carry around.” 

The nostalgia is a common factor that students want to achieve in their photos, and most of them relay back to their childhood when they first wanted a digital camera. These reminiscent moments can make students nostalgic when they snap photos. 

“When I first wanted a digital camera I pulled out the little chips from when I was younger and plugged it into a computer and then I could see all my childhood pictures,” Lapiswala said. “It was so prominent when I was born, and it’s kind of cute.” 

With the upcoming rise of digital cameras, students’ use digital cameras to capture memories, allowing them to view new perspectives through their own lenses.

“Digital cameras are such a great source because you capture life at a different glimpse,” Moussop said.

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