Do You Need A ‘Dumb Phone’?

Do You Need A ‘Dumb Phone’?

Gen-Z and millennials are resorting to dumb phones to reconnect with real life and not keep up with the doom scrolling. What are dumb phones?

Mobile phones with limited features and no social media connections are called ‘dumb phones’. These are basic cell phones, mostly flip phones that prioritize fundamental services like texting, calling, and GPS. They have keypads instead of touch screens. Dumbphones resemble the ones from the 90s.

But why are we looking backward? Why are ‘dumb phones’ being chosen over ‘smartphones’? 

This is because a whole generation has grown up with smartphones and internet access at their fingertips. The consequences of this are finally visible. Continuous exposure to social media, long scrolling hours, and overwhelming information availability are causing mental health problems, attention deficits, and isolation. 

TikTok trend #BringBackFlipPhones had a whopping 59.8 billion views confirming the interest of this generation in flipphones. 

We have enough scientific experiments proving how excessive use of social media can lead to sleep deprivation, anxiety, unrealistic expectations, and unnecessary comparisons and symptoms of depression and ADHD. Individuals deprive themselves and their families of company. Humans are losing touch with reality and real life is becoming their world. 

Humans have an in-depth understanding of how these issues and smartphones are co-related. And they wish to solve the problem. People are craving for simpler and happier times. And dumb phones will help them achieve that. They are lighter in weight, have small screens, no games, and their batteries don’t drain quickly. They use less data, so one can save money there as well. No social media will allow us to spend time with family members and the issue of isolation would be solved.  

Also, they are sustainable and pocket-friendly. And buying earphones, chargers, and various other gadgets with it will not be a necessity.

Concerned parents can use these phones to make sure their children are away from the distractions of a smartphone.

With apps like TikTok and Omegle, parents were constantly witnessing incidents of their children being unsafe online. These sites hook their children with personalized ads and content worsening their attention span, leading to concentration deficit and worse mental health. 

Not only this, incidents of catfishing and child pornography have been reported as well, which makes the internet extremely unsafe for children. 

Individuals who need to focus for long hours without hundreds of tons of notifications should consider this option. And the ones who mindlessly scroll and procrastinate followed by long hours of laziness and no productivity should book their phones as soon as possible.

However, such a lifestyle change is not so easy to follow. One would be tempted to return to their smartphone as it has become a part of our lives. From significant to trivial and personal to professional, smartphones have an important role in each sphere of our lives.

Keeping in touch with this generation is mostly possible through social media. A dumb phone user might get awkward when asked for their social media handles after meetups. It gives them second thoughts about their lifestyle change of digital minimalism.

There are limited options available in the market for dumbphone buyers. 

Market economics also has a role to play. There are not enough tech giants interested in manufacturing Dumb phones as this will affect their business.

Tech giants mostly generate revenue from reliable high-performance software and specialized hardware.

 Also, dumb phones are much lower when compared to fancy smartphones. The money made by tech giants by selling smartphones at such high rates won’t allow them to prioritize the manufacturing of dumbphones. They would prefer keeping us in the cycle of cheap dopamine, keeping people stuck to their screens. 

Dumbphones use 2g or 3g  networks which are becoming outdated with the arrival of the 5g network. It may further decrease the already small production of dumbphones. 

Also, there can be no one fixed and single solution for dumbphones. Different people are addicted to various features in unique ways. Therefore personalized solutions would work wonders if one can tap into that market gap.  

These companies might survive only when they create an economically feasible option and a niche market, where they market their products as premium. There exist some startups which are trying to do the same with a modern twist. Feature phones had a market revenue of 11 billion US dollars in 2023, with the average price being 48 US dollars.

Light phone founders Kaiwei Tang and Joe Hollier, founded their company in 2017 and sold tens of thousands of phones. Tang said, “The point is to create a useful utility that does not have the attention economy built in it”.

Lightphones have been in demand from 2022 and 2023 and they are receiving orders and inquiries even in 2024. They found that most of their users are Gen -z ers. Lightphone founders began a partnership in 2022 with a private school in Williamstown, Massachusetts. They gave these phones to staff members and students prohibiting smartphones on campus. It was beneficial for the productivity in the classroom and the kind of atmosphere it created on the campus. This experiment has been repeated in other schools as well and the results were fruitful.

So, after realizing the benefits of dumb and the consequences of smart, which one will you opt for? Can this be the solution to your problems or would you stick to your older addictions? If you change your mind, we have a few suggestions for you.

Nokia 2780 Flip – Mid-range flip phone

Punkt.MP02 – Designer dummy

Nokia 110 4G –  Basic cell Phone 

Wisephone II – Best iPhone touchscreen replacement

Light Phone II – Original minimalistic brick

Light Phone III – Recently upgraded light phone 

Nokia 6300 – A beautiful trip of nostalgia

Unplug – The commitment phobics can use this

Uniherzt Jelly Star – World’s smallest Android 13 smartphone

Consider phones with low-resolution cameras, simple interfaces, and fewer unnecessary options. Check if you wish to have navigation features. Keep the objective in mind when you purchase.

So, when are you getting your dumb phone?