If you're a trend watcher existing on the internet, it's hard to miss the sudden revival of cyberdecks; custom, hand-built computers that live inside subversive vessels. Instagram is overflowing with pictures of highly decorated variants and TikTok is filled with how-to tutorials.
A hallmark of 80s cyberpunk culture, cyberdecks were originally an anti-establishment tool that allowed individuals democratic access to technology outside of the parameters set by corporations. Now, this tech trend has reemerged with the same sentiment but a different practice.
What is particularly interesting, the cyberdeck resurgence is largely driven by women – particularly Gen Z cool girls. You would have seen it yourself. Girls with screens built into pearlescent minaudieres, women installing wires into Hello Kitty makeup cases, others using nostalgic kid's toys from the 90s.
It raises the question, what exactly is driving women – everyone from curated aesthetes to e-girls – to revert to this seemingly old-school tech? And how can you get involved?
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So, what exactly is a cyberdeck?
In essence, a cyberdeck is just a small computer. But one that has been built and set up by a regular person. They tend to look deconstructed, with visible wires and memory boards. They're typically much smaller than what initially comes to mind when you think of a computer.
The concept of a cyberdeck emerged in the 1980s as computers began to go mainstream. In an era where laptops were bulky and limiting, cyberdecks were traditionally the tool of "hackers" or those who wanted a portable, unrestricted device. They were built using spare parts, or by ripping apart existing devices to create new ones, offering users a level of personalisation and access you couldn't get from existing, manufactured computing devices.
Why build a portable computer when you can buy one?
So why now in the era of options – tablets, smart phones and ultra slim laptops – would people actively choose to make their own device? The appeal of Cyberdecks is that they are and can be whatever you want them to be. No rules, no restrictions.
As technology evolved, becoming faster and more accessible, in the late 90s and early 2000s, it also became a statement. Mobile phones flipped, laptops were pink, keyboards and mice came in interesting shapes and shades and you could add charms and stickers to just about anything. 20 years on, everything is now just a flat, black rectangle. Nothing flips, nothing is pink, there's no space for charms.
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The cyberdeck trend is about inviting personality back into tech – think of it a bit like junk journaling for computers. The coolest girls you know are creating devices that suit their unique, vibrant worlds, and they're not building anything that's plain or boring. Cyberdecks by design are supposed to look unique and unpolished. They're often hacked together with a sustainable mindset, using recycled parts and scraps, making use of material that might otherwise go to landfill. Many of the cyberdecks flooding your feed are girly-pop driven and barbiecore inspired. Plaid, pinked and finished with flowers and glitter, then built into everything from vintage Polly Pocket shells to Nintendo-themed lunch boxes.
Minimalism is out, maximalism reigns supreme
Cyberdecks began as anti-establishment, punk resistance. That sentiment is still there today. This time, they are a way to push back against design norms, a further rejection of hyper-polished, minimalism.
It's no secret that the overproduced, heavily filtered, ultra clean aesthetic that dominated everything from brand campaigns, interior design and Instagram behaviour during the 2010s has run its course. In doing so, it made way for something that was more authentic, lo-fi and undone. An aesthetic driven by personality, and one that celebrated imperfection.
It's this return to personality-driven design that helped resurface Y2K fashion and push colour back into our homes; ending the reign of terror that was 'Millennial grey'. This principle that has been slowly trickling its way into the tech world. It's undeniable that slightly messy analogue tech has never been cooler. A-listers from Jacob Elordi to Bella Hadid have been snapped with wired headphones. Addison Rae is using an iPod colour again. And almost every tech brand has brought back the flip phone after realising Gen Zs were hunting down old brightly-hued Nokias on eBay.
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Opting out of systems that don't serve you
It is deeper than just looks. The gentle curves, clean lines and palatable colours of the current big players in tech also represent something more sinister. Store-bought computers require you to engage with systems that are becoming increasingly unethical. Mega-corporations with CEOs hoarding wealth, non-consensual surveillance, in-built and planet-destroying gen-AI tools that no one asked for, murky manufacturing processes and unethical labour. In this way, cyberdecks are a way to engage and remain online while not participating in harmful systems that were previously a requirement to stay involved in society.
The hardware pushes back on tech conglomerates, and the software does too. It's popular for cyberdeck users to install open-sourced options like Linux, rejecting traditional systems like Windows or iOS which can restrict how you use your computer. Then there's the data and privacy concerns that come with popular operating system. Faceless corporates scanning and stealing your data to sell to other corporates. When you build and use a cyberdeck, you untangle yourself from a system designed against you.
What do you actually do with a cyberdeck?
While you can use a cyberdeck as a pocket laptop if you set it up correctly, the most common way to build a cyberdeck is to give it a sole purpose. Initially, one of the most popular uses creating end-of-the-world resources. A way to offline download important Wikipedia articles, music, maps and books that you don't want to lose if you need to live off-grid. Turning your cyberdeck into a survival tool.
But most cyberdeck users are not that pessimistic. Instead, many women online are using them as almost an arts-and-crafts, hobby resource. Some are using them as a digital photo album, others are turning them into e-books, some are audio journals that store voice notes and transcripts or maybe they're being used as dashboard that can control your smart home devices. Some of the coolest examples come courtesy of creators createdbyeo, miskina______ and valeruteart – all of whom are excellent deserve a follow.
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Just this morning I came across a video of someone who built a cyberdeck that reports the water content of the soil in her house plants so she knows when to water them. I saw another of a woman who built the cutest photo booth.
As for making your own, the parts can be 3D printed, they can be pulled out of old, existing computers or you can base kits like Raspberry Pi modules and construct from there. Tutorials are all over TikTok and reddit and the sky is limited only by your own imagination.
Images:
createdbyeo
miskina______
valeruteart
