News Update

Flip phones may be making a comeback as some try to limit screen time

Dumb phones may be on the rise in the U.S. as Gen Z looks to limit screen time, CNBC reported, partly responding to mental health concerns.

“I think you can see it with certain Gen Z populations — they’re tired of the screens,” said Jose Briones, dumb phone influencer and moderator of the subreddit, “r/dumbphones.” “They don’t know what is going on with mental health and they’re trying to make cutbacks.”

In the U.S., flip phone sales were up in 2022, with tens of thousands sold each month. Companies like Punkt and Light are catering to this market, selling devices geared toward trying to cut back on screen time. You can now find influencers on YouTube touting this retro-flip phone trend.

“What we’re trying to do with the Light phone isn’t to create a dumb phone, but to create a more intentional phone — a premium, minimal phone — which isn’t inherently anti-technology,” said Joe Hollier, co-founder of Light, CNBC reported. “But it’s about consciously choosing how and when to use which aspects of technology that add to my quality of life.”

Some suggest a connection between the rise in intensive social media engagement and the escalating youth mental health crisis. According to the CDC, nearly 3 in 5 teen girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021. 

“In North America, the market for dumb phones is pretty much flatlined,” said Patrick Moorhead, an industry analyst. “But I could see it getting up to a 5% increase in the next five years if nothing else, based on the public health concerns that are out there.”

 


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