What is a ‘dumb phone’? And why is it cool to be offline now?
Ditch the smartphone and introduce a new era of mindfulness and wellbeing with retro, OG phones that force you to embrace a digital detox and enter an offline utopia.
So Gen Z are all about ‘dumb phones’ right now. Also known as a feature or basic phone, a ‘dumb phone’ is a device that lacks any advanced features, including an internet connection. That’s right, no touchscreen, no App Store, no social media. You can just call and text, perhaps indulge in a camera and some pre-installed games. Snakes and ladders, anyone?
Flip phones and OG ‘brick phones’ by the likes of Nokia were popular decades ago, but are now rising in the market thanks to Gen Zers who are trying to curb their technology addictions. Whilst the beautiful invention of the smartphone may have improved our lives and connected us to everyone and all knowledge ever available to some degree, it has also disconnected us from ourselves.
‘Digital detoxes’ have been a thing for a hot minute, whether that be a physical (expensive) retreat, or putting your phone in the other room whilst you itch to see who just posted on Insta or updated their TikTok. But people are realising that they just don’t work.
The exact figure of ‘dumb phone’ sales isn’t consistently reported, but it can be seen that in the UK and other Western countries that sales are significantly increasing. Punkt (a preferred brand of ‘dumb phone’ by a lot of Gen Zers) have analysts who have predicted feature phones could reach 5% of the overall market.
Gen Z are so burnt out and suffering from paying for expensive smartphones that are hindering their wellbeing, that they are spreading the word on how to live happily with a brick phone. Budget-friendly, mindful, and still does the job… It’s kind of hard to fight against the new offline revolution. Plus, a lot of individuals like the retro vibe, and the mystery it instils into daily life as you have to take each person you meet at face value – no Insta stalking or LinkedIn research allowed.
#BringBackFlipPhones on TikTok has 50 million views and counting, with Google Trends data reporting an increase in ‘dumb phone’ searches. For the price (typically £40 to £200), durability and battery, and life (they last nearly 10 hours longer), privacy and security, sustainability, wellbeing and human connection, the case to go back to brick phones is a pretty sturdy one.
So, how do you do it? Make the switch, buy that ‘dumb phone’ and go offline for good? Well, you can purchase a feature phone and try it out. The Nokia 3210 and 2660 Flip are a popular choice, with the Barbie Phone giving that vintage 00s vibe for the style-conscious. Many praise the Doro 6820 too, as well as the holy grail of the Punkt model. But if you aren’t sold on going for the OG cellular device just yet, we have compiled a list on how to stay offline in the meantime, and microdose that digital detox until you are ready to make the switch.
‘Dumb Phone’ apps
Many TikTok users are opting for apps that turn their smartphone into a feature phone for a period of time. Androids have a ‘Dumphone Homescreen’ option, whilst iPhones can download apps like ‘Minimalist’, ‘Dumbify’, or ‘Smile’ apps. They reduce your phone to a clock and alarm, as well as calls and messages.
Screentime Control
Your smartphone will have screentime statistics, as well as the option to cap your time after a number of hours. You can opt for this to switch on in the evenings, and try out your offline time in small chunks, until you work towards a few hours a day.
Notice your posture
It might sound like a strange one, but sitting on your phone or in front of a screen can cause all sorts of angles in your back and neck. TikTok users have started posting videos that say stop scrolling, and fix your posture. ‘Tech Neck’ is a big one right now, which causes stiffness and pain in the upper spine, and just noticing it can help you put down that screen, stretch, and fix your posture before it gets too late!
Go old school
Some of the weirder (yet apparently effective) pieces of advice right now is to treat the internet like it sits in one spot. Your phone is simply a phone booth that you go to when making calls; it can’t follow you around the house. Your access to the internet is also confined to one spot in one room, like a monitor in an internet café. This helps you leave the digital world where it is, and not let it invade other moments of your day.
Substitute it
A big one is to substitute your screentime with an offline activity, and we are not short on the amount of activities that can peel us away from our screens. Read a book, watch a movie, colour, write, listen to music, crochet, cook. Start with small and quick activities like having a cup of coffee outside with no screens to rewire your brain and those fried dopamine receptors, and move up to watching a film series with no screen breaks.
Get an IRL journal
For those Notes app lovers out there, ditch it! Get an IRL journal, with real pages and a real pen. No more scribbling nonsensical rants into your Notes app, it’s time to have mindful moments and journal with intention. Start it like a diary, or perhaps do your shopping lists on paper instead of in your phone, and work towards reducing your Notes app content little by little.
Flip the switch
Ask yourself, why are you online right now? Perhaps because you feel like you are missing out on something important happening in the digital world. Then, flip this answer around and ask yourself, what are you missing out on offline, in the real world?
Join an offline club!
Yes – they exist. The Offline Club in London offers events to meet new people, and they lock away your device (in very safe keeping) until the event is over. They just did an Offline Sunset on Primrose Hill, attempting to break a world record with 1000 Londoners all watching the sun go down with their phones nowhere to be seen. Unplugged also do cabins across the UK where you can go for a phone-free getaway, giving you a radio for music, an actual alarm clock, maps and trails for walks and pub finds. You know, the real stuff.
So why not give it a go. Trade your iPhone for IRL, and see where mindfulness, intention, and your newfound wellbeing can take you.