海角大神

Nestled just blocks between Harvard and MIT, Faro Cafe has become a watering hole for college students who chatter excitedly,聽and at one table near some leafy plants, discuss聽the latest in the mobile phones. This development, they say, would help them work with increased productivity and focus on priorities.

The students aren鈥檛 discussing Apple鈥檚 new artificial intelligence program.聽 In this cafe, where Zoom conferences take a back seat to face-to-face chats, they鈥檙e talking about the Light Phone III, a phone designed to be used less, not more. And it鈥檚 just one example of the quietly growing, countercultural 鈥渄umbphone鈥� industry.

Visvajit Sriramrajan, a 23-year-old college grad from Massachusetts,聽 began the move from smartphone to dumbphone in 2021聽 after realizing that he was on his phone more than five hours a day.

鈥淥ver the course of a week of seven days, that鈥檚 35 hours,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淥ver the course of a month, that鈥檚 140 hours. Over the course of a year, that鈥檚 1,680 hours. If someone asked me, 鈥楧o you want 1,680 hours of your life back?鈥� I think most people would say 鈥榶es.鈥欌��

These new low-tech phones offer a way to reclaim that time, market experts say.

Often devoid of internet browsers, social media, and email, these dumbphones allow the user to take more control of their time. Companies such as Light, Techless, and Boringphone, which produce the low-tech phones, are reporting strong year-over-year growth, with figures as high as 200%, and thousands of sales in cities across the country, from New York to Seattle. Meanwhile, while it continues to show steady growth overall, during the first quarter of 2024, Apple faced a 13% decline in year-over-year sales, hitting a six-year low in new smartphone activations, according to researchers.

Google searches for the term 鈥渄umbphone鈥� have increased more than 300% over the past year, while TikTok hashtags like 鈥�#bringbackflipphones鈥� and 鈥�#dumbphones鈥� have tens of millions of views each.

Smartphones may still be largely ascendant in society. But these trends, along with interviews for this article, suggest that many young adults who grew up with smartphones and social media are now seeking tech-free ways to protect their mental health, productivity, and free time.聽

鈥淪ocial media can be good if you're very intentional about your usage,鈥欌�� says Laura Marciano, a researcher at the Harvard Chan T.H. School of Public Health who studies the connection between technology and mental health. She said she is not surprised that young people are noticing the link between the two and trying to find ways to unplug. 鈥淚f you're using it to call people and you're using it to really develop relationships鈥欌�� then it can be positive. 鈥淏ut if you're not intentional, it can lead to doomscrolling.鈥欌��

For young adults who have lower impulse control, she says, extensive social media and phone use often result in negative effects on mental health.聽

Samantha Tillett, a 21-year-old medical secretary from Virginia, switched to a dumbphone after finding her mental health and college grades declining as she became dependent on her smartphone.

鈥淸The] alarm goes off and, immediately, I鈥檓 on my phone,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淎nd that could go anywhere from just being on my phone for 20 minutes to being on my phone for the first three or four hours of my day.鈥欌��

Sometimes, the distraction went unchecked. 鈥淚 would log into my school and sit on Zoom with no face screen on and just scroll, not listening to what was going on in class. My grades definitely struggled, and it was because I could not disconnect,鈥� Ms. Tillet said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a sort of addiction.鈥�

Ms. Tillet has since switched to a flip phone, and her average screen time has dropped from 11 hours a day to just three or four. With newfound free time she鈥檚 begun to paint, crochet, and read.聽

Still, the switch to a dumbphone is not always easy, says Mr. Sriramrajan. Without Spotify on his phone, he can no longer play songs on the fly. Now, he has to wait to download the music.聽

鈥淒o I want to mindlessly adopt the most convenient way to do something, knowing that, as a result, I am losing my ability to remember things, to be in the moment, to be present, to cherish what I have?鈥� he asks.

Matthew Meyers, a 36-year-old neuropsychiatrist, describes having both kinds of phones and desperately hoping for something with more functionality than his Lightphone but less addictive than his iPhone.聽

鈥淭he important thing is that we, as a society, are aware of the costs and benefits of this technology and don鈥檛 just mindlessly engage,鈥� says Mr. Meyers. 鈥淭here is a place in our brains just for recognizing faces. We are deeply wired for connection with other humans.鈥�