Can a dumbphone help you with excessive smartphone use?
Can a dumbphone save you from endless scrolling?
Image by Mudita
Can a dumbphone save you from endless scrolling?
Years ago, when I was in my first or second year of university, I received a call from a friend while trying to catch up with all the things I had to do that day.
Once I picked up my phone, she said, “Are you okay? You haven’t been online for 19 hours” (according to the Messenger app). I was indeed okay, just trying to keep up with life, so I didn’t check any of my social media channels or respond to messages. Once I realized I hadn’t been online for so long, I decided to test how far I would go with this.
My record was three days. At that time, I thought of it as a little game, letting my friends know I was doing what is now known as a “digital detox.”
What’s interesting is that before this, I didn’t consider myself addicted to my phone. To this day, I still turn off my WiFi connection when I know I have to focus and get some work done, and even if I’m online, I don’t rush to reply to messages once I see one pop up on my smartwatch.
I knew that smartphone addiction is a real thing, and it has evolved even further in recent years, but after stumbling upon an online discussion on how to battle this problem, I was curious to know how today’s users are addressing this issue.
There are certain ways in which a person who battles phone addiction can help themselves. One of the main tips is gradually reducing phone use by limiting the time used on social media, deleting certain apps, or putting away the device during certain activities.
One recent and perhaps more novel way to deal with phone addiction is to buy a dumbphone. This phone provides all the basic functions, such as calling or using an alarm clock, but it doesn’t have any applications installed.
A Reddit user shared their opinion on whether a dumbphone can be used as a tool to help tackle smartphone addiction.
“If you have an unhealthy relationship with your phone, switching to something like a Mudita Kompakt or Light Phone won’t magically solve the problem,” wrote the user.
They shared that, after a while, its users will probably go back to using a regular phone.
“These devices are nothing more than marketing products that exploit your struggles, making you their perfect customer,” wrote the Redditor.
The person explained that there’s no point in changing the device when what actually needs to change is the person’s habits and the restrictions they set for themselves. The Redditor finished their thought by saying that such phones are “not solving a problem – it’s just a gimmick.”
Their opinion started a discussion online, with many disagreeing with the original poster.
“Switching to a dumbphone IS part of the restrictions you set for yourself,” wrote one user.
“My issue with arguments like these is that it seems to add some sort of moral standard and 'correct' way to quit an addiction.”
Another user agreed that a “minimalist phone won’t magically solve an unhealthy relationship with your smartphone,” but it could be seen as a “technique” to improve.
“Deleting socials and detoxing from distracting apps for weeks then buying a $50 not-so-smart phone HAS helped my scrolling addiction,” shared another user, who used their time to work on expanding their hobbies and spending more time with their kid.
One Redditor shared another technique that helped them decrease their screen time: “I swapped my iPhone for an iPad and a Light Phone 2 in 2022 in an attempt to reduce my screen time, which had spiraled during lockdown. Surprise – my screen time decreased by over 70%.”
The comment made others joke about how one can go to extreme lengths to battle their addiction.
“I only use social media on a giant projector in a building that I need to walk uphill both ways to get to, takes 19 minutes to boot up, and crashes randomly every 10 minutes,” joked one Redditor.
Over recent years, interest in dumbphones seems to have grown. Statistics show that in 2024, the interest in getting a dumbphone was highest among Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) and millennials (born between 1981 and 1996).
Among the reasons why users want a phone with fewer features are concerns for their safety, battling smartphone addiction, or following the vintage trend of re-discovering older mobile phone models.