Early digital cameras had larger pixel sizes and different spectral characteristics. They often have deeper blues and such. They have some own charms. Modern CMOS images tends to be less saturated. It's definitely not as big as Instax, though, which I suspect has been effectively kept alive by maid cafe culture[1].

1: They charge $10-20 per a quick autographed shot for a parasocial irreplaceable memory with an absolutely random female cafe employee, which justifies quite a significant range of film costs. Crazy, but it means they industrially consume medium format reversal films! I'm not complaining for that.

No, I’m not. Old digital point-and-shoots, and the harsh direct flash aesthetic, have been very popular. Some specific camera models that some random popular TikToker happened to recommend have been selling at quite a mark-up.

Two-ish decades is the standard length of a trend cycle. 00s is now retro in a cool way. Gen Z/Alpha, who have grown with phone cameras, want a different look, and having a real flash is particularly attractive because it allows taking reasonable photos in night clubs etc. Just like we did back in the day. (browsing old Facebook photos)

Polaroids are much bigger but I've also seen a resurgence in crappy early digital cameras in young adult spaces. There's been a slow rise in all things Y2K in some spaces and getting a crummy digital cam from a thrift store or ebay is a sick find.