Young People Want To Switch To Dumphones Soon

Gen Zers and millennials are starting to turn away from smartphones and toward simpler devices that limit their access to the attention economy.

Why It Hits: The ills of phone addiction are not news at this point, and people under 40 can hardly remember a time when they didn’t have uninhibited access to the internet. That’s had a profound impact on people’s ability to be present in their everyday lives… so it’s no surprise that some are revolting against technology that makes them easily distracted.

Behind the (Lack of) Apps: Are you planning on practicing “appstinence?”

• iPhone and Android smartphone alternatives are growing in popularity, including the cutting-edge, low-tech Light Phone (which costs as much as an iPhone) and the Cat S22 — both of which either have limited features or a small screen that makes scrolling a headache.
• Ironically, videos of unboxing dumbphones or extolling the virtues of flip phones have gone viral on TikTok, helping surge searches for the devices — a precursor for a coming trend.
• Several organizations have popped up to support the anti-smartphone lifestyle, like the APPstinence club at Harvard and the Reconnect Movement, which hosts phone-free events on college campuses.

The Future: While everyone may soon (not) be scrolling on their dumbphones, switching over could be tricky. Gabriela Nguyen, the founder of APPstinence, told Insider that she toggles between three dumbphones to accomplish necessary tasks. One couple who reviewed the Light Phone said they loved how the phone made them present during a date, but it led to them arguing about how to get home when they couldn’t order an Uber (hilarious). In other words, going analog in a digital world might take some buffering.

Prediction: Until society mass-disconnects (unlikely), we may see a trend of apps that pride themselves on helping users accomplish tasks efficiently, so they can get off of them as quickly as possible.