Dumb Phone, Smart Choice

Let’s be honest — all college students are addicted to their smartphones. Morning Consult reports that 38 percent of Gen Z spend over four hours a day on social media. Other sources report our average screen time is anywhere between seven and nine hours per day per person. Technology is designed to be addictive, and with AI on the rise and products like Apple’s Vision Pro encouraging augmented reality, we’re worried. For that reason, we’re here to report on the latest trend and the next best tool for taking your life back: dumb phones.

Meet dumb phones — minimal phones created to be used as little as possible. With no data mining, app store or distractions, this phone limits cheap hits of dopamine from endless scrolling and time-wasting tendencies. With a growing small-but-mighty market looking to unplug from the addictive smartphone world, simple phones are on the rise.

Light, one of the leading companies in the simple-phone movement, has two phones on the market. One makes and receives phone calls. That’s it. The other, Light Phone II, is a bit more advanced. The Light Phone ll has an alarm clock, calculator, calendar, notes app, navigation app, music/podcast player and voice memo app. Light says their phones will never have social media, clickbait news, email, an internet browser or any other anxiety-inducing infinite feed. Their phones are simple.

Whether you’re looking to unplug on weekend camping trips and swap your SIM card between a “lighter phone” and your smartphone or fully commit, this company is all about unplugging and stepping away in a way that benefits you.

Photos courtesy of Mike George on Behance.net

Designer Mike George is on a mission to create the most attractive simple-phone possible. His latest concept, Halcyon, has been labeled a reality-phone rather than a dumb-phone, fully reshaping the way we think about technology and our human experience. While this phone is not currently on the market, it is a trending design project that has garnered a lot of interest and online attention, which speaks to our innate urge to unplug.

Technology giant Nokia has also rebranded a collection of their phones as dumb phones. With the catchphrase “dumb phone, smart choice” they are drawing in lots of Gen-Z users who are looking to unplug and live without social media.

We at The Edge urge you to be intentional about your technology consumption. Tag us at @theedgemag and share your favorite ways to unplug!