Flip phones are becoming more and more popular.
It’s true: People are snapping up those basic clamshell throwbacks from the early 2000s faster than you can buy a bag of discounted Reese’s the day after Halloween.
The reason is simple: we’re so consumed by smartphones and social media that we waste years of our lives mindlessly glued to our screens.
According to the latest statistics, the average person spends around five hours per day on their smartphone, which equates to six days per month and a staggering 12 years over their lifetime.
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Quick fixes like human willpower or built-in social media app limits won’t help.
“If you accept someone who’s an alcoholic and can’t control it, the best thing to do is get alcohol out of the house, right? That’s how I thought about it,” Will Brawley, 49, a technology entrepreneur, said from his home office in Waxhaw, North Carolina.
Brawley, who founded and co-owns the popular restaurant management software company Schedulefly, traded in his iPhone 11 for a Verizon flip phone exactly four years ago this month, and he says he doesn’t miss the iPhone 11 at all.
“I didn’t like who I was when I had an iPhone,” he says, “I wasn’t with other people. I was constantly checking emails and texts, looking at my phone at traffic lights, constantly picking up my phone, distracted. Even when I was with my wife and kids, I was distracted.”
Now, he says, just having a flip phone has been a “mental health benefit,” adding, “The minor inconvenience is far outweighed by the positive results on my existence, my mental health, and my anxiety, all of which have improved dramatically.”
I’m tired of using my iPhone for 9 hours a day
This is a sentiment many of us can relate to. Lately, the time I spend on my phone has felt like a never-ending loop of wasted time, like a hamster wheel. I hate it. I want to change. But I just can’t… change.
Recently, tired of spending nearly nine hours a day on my iPhone between email, texting, social media, watching consecutive episodes of the movie “Baby Reindeer,” and listening to podcasts and audiobooks, I switched to using a prepaid Total by Verizon Nokia 2760 Flip during my “off-work” hours in the evenings and on weekends.
I’ve already cut my smartphone usage time in half, which according to the Screen Time Calculator has saved me about six years of life overall, and I have my friends and family members’ phone numbers available in case of emergencies.
Searches and sales for flip phones surge
Sales of simple foldable “feature phones,” rather than flashy new smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy Flip5 and Fold5, have increased for the second consecutive year in the U.S. According to tech news site ZDNet, searches for foldable phones have also skyrocketed, “up 15,369% over the past year among young people in Gen Z and millennials,” writes contributor Artie Beatty.
Some credit Gen Z TikTok influencers like Sammie Palazzolo (@skzzolno), who garnered more than 17 million views in 2022 after posting about why she only takes a flip phone with her when she’s a college student on a night out. The gist, she wrote, is that a flip phone allows her and her friends to be more together, eliminates “drunk texts” and bad hookups, and eliminates “all the bad parts of college and all the good parts of a phone for connecting and taking photos and videos.”
Others point to nostalgia for retro things, such as the resurgence of Sony’s Walkman and instant cameras last year.
But the biggest reason for this surge in digital downgrades seems similar to the reason I bought a flip phone: I wanted to avoid feeling powerless, like a $1,000 gadget was stealing my time, focus, and energy.
Wyatt Olson, 20, a Williams College student, echoed the sentiment: He said spending too much time on his smartphone took a toll on him in the second half of 2023.
“It felt like every free moment I had, walking between classes, after classes were over, I was on my phone. … And then I would look up and look around and everyone else was on their phones, too,” he said.
Olson tried many of the methods for reducing his phone usage that I’ve been talking about since 2018—setting his phone to grayscale, setting time limits on apps. But it wasn’t enough. On January 1, 2024, he left his iPhone at his mother and sister’s house in Maryland and took his Nokia 2760 Flip for his first semester of “personal development time.”
“I love it. I’ve always been a phone person, but this app makes it easier to talk to friends than texting. I don’t feel like taking two minutes to reply, so I have a legitimate excuse,” Olson says. She misses being able to stream music from her phone; now she streams on her laptop. And navigating without Waze or Google Maps is a struggle. “But honestly, it feels empowering,” Olson says.
Doomscrolling Dumb phones are out of fashion, digital detox is in vogue
The subreddit r/Dumbphones ranks in the top 2% of the most active communities on the platform, with around 60,000 members, making it the best place to find out about “dumbphones” online.
Moderator Jose Briones, a 28-year-old church pastor, took over the role in early 2020 after switching to a Lightphone (a simple e-ink-screen phone that can make and receive calls and text messages) in 2019. Before the switch, Briones said, “I was looking at screens 12, 13 hours a day. I was online almost every waking moment,” he said. “But I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to change how I interact with the world. I didn’t want to miss out on richer real-life experiences because of all the online stuff.”
Briones also created a handy tool called the “Dumbphone Finder” to help people figure out how much they can and can’t live without.
After taking a short quiz with questions and options like “Do you want smart apps?” and “Choose your preferred style” (flip phone, candy bar, touchscreen), the company may recommend the Cat S22 Flip or the TCL Flip 2.
Since taking the helm of r/Dumbphones, Briones says he’s been surprised by how widespread the problem of people’s addiction to smartphones has become. “Most people think this is about devices, but this is about lifestyles,” Briones says. “Technology is designed to amplify our vulnerabilities and grab as much of our attention as possible. I want to choose what I pay attention to, not let a device force me to do that.”
Is a digital downgrade right for you?
Before switching over completely, Briones recommends taking small steps, like using a $49 3D printing device called Brick.
It’s a small plastic magnet about the size of an AirPod case. Download the corresponding app (iOS, Android), select the apps and features you want to block, like calls, messages, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and then tap the little block like you would when making a payment with your phone. All of these features will remain blocked until you physically tap the block again.
I bought this about 2 months ago and would highly recommend it, as long as you can put it in another room so the slightest movement doesn’t disable it.
The Minimalist Phone app works well with many Android phones, turning flashy app icons and backgrounds into boring grayscale drab. Another useful resource for checking out digital downgrade options is the website Dumbwireless, which showcases everything from the more expensive Lightphone II ($299) to the AGM M9 ($50).
If you’re considering buying a “dumb phone,” I recommend starting out, as I did, with a device that uses a very cheap, prepaid wireless plan, so that if it works, great, and if it doesn’t, you’ll lose less than the price of a fancy dinner.
However, if you want the broadest overview, head to Briones and r/Dumphones. In addition to basic information, the forums are also a great place to ask specific questions and get advice on your particular needs. You’ll also find a lot of helpful feedback and honest reviews from people at the forefront of the “dumb phone” movement, including the newest, most talked about, and most expensive stripped down devices.
- Light Phone III (Preorder for $399 through July 15, $799 thereafter): Dubbed the ultimate digital detox phone, this ultra-slim candy-bar phone has an e-ink display and dual cameras on the front and back. There’s also a hardware shutter button like a point-and-shoot camera. Other extra features include a USB-C port, a flashlight, a fingerprint sensor, and support for 5G. It won’t start shipping until January 2025, though.
- Punkt MP02 ($255.20): Candybar looks like an early 2000s cell phone with 4G capabilities.
- F1 Horizon (Bluebird) From Sunbeam Wireless ($249): A classic flip phone with hotspot and Waze.
- Techless Wisephone II ($399): Now shipping. A smartphone-like dumb phone with a great camera and a custom OS.
The bottom line? You don’t have to spend a fortune to save yourself. Another benefit of owning less stuff is that it saves you money — about $3,000 over two years.
Jennifer Jolie Emmy Award-winning consumer technology columnist and on-air correspondent. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY. ContactJJ@Techish.com.
