image source, Getty Images
- Author, Emma Vardy
- Role, LA Correspondent, BBC News
Adults and teenagers concerned about screen time are passing up their smartphones for “dumb” models.
Hidden in the settings of many smartphones is the ability to find out how much you stare at your phone on average per day.
It can bring the unpleasant realization that what should have been a useful piece of technology has become an obsession.
“Social media is built on FOMO (fear of missing out) so I felt like I couldn’t get rid of it,” 16-year-old Luke Martin from Canada told the BBC.
“I immediately got Instagram and it was a downward spiral.
According to a Harvard University study, using social media lights up the same part of the brain that is also activated when using an addictive substance. This has raised concerns about the phone habits among the youth.
Research by Ofcom in the UK estimates that around a quarter of children between the ages of five and seven now have their own smartphone.
Some studies have shown a link between social media use and a negative impact on mental health – especially in children.
His new phone only has text messages, calls, maps and a few other limited tools.
“I think my friends use four to five hours, and that’s what I used to get before I got this,” he said.
“Now mine is like 20 minutes a day, which is really good because I only use it for what I need it for.
Parents are also turning to dumbphones, not just for their children, but to be more present for their families.
Lizzy Broughton, who has a five-year-old son, recently bought an old-school Nokia ‘flip’ phone.
“It helped me recalibrate my own habits, I have much more quality time with my son,” she explained.
He says that when the time comes for him to get his own phone, he’ll opt for a similarly shortened model.
“I don’t think it’s the best idea to start with a smartphone,” she said. “It’s like we’re handing over the world, like we’re trying to figure out how to navigate it.”
Sales of dumbphones are growing in North America. At Dumbwireless in Los Angeles, store owners Daisy Krigbaum and Will Stults cater to customers looking for low-tech devices.
“We have a lot of parents who want to get their child their first phone and don’t want them drifting around on the Internet,” he said.
But giving up your smartphone is easier said than done. Mr Stults said some schools required pupils to have certain apps. And it’s hard to hold the line when kids see their friends getting expensive smartphones, Ms. Broughton said.
“It’s going to require the parent community to really be like, can we do this differently?” she said.
One solution is a device called “unpluq” that you tap on your phone to wirelessly block certain apps like social media.
“Parents can control the smartphone using this tag and also monitor usage,” Mr Stults said.
There are several phones now that have been developed specifically for users who want to avoid mindless scrolling addiction.
Chris Kaspar founded Techless to develop an “intentionally boring” but elegant device that looks similar to the iPhone. The latest version is called “Wisephone II”.
“It has no icons, just words, two colors and two fonts. He describes it as “very peaceful, very peaceful”.
It will have some limited third-party tools, such as the taxi app Uber, but no social media.
“We ask this question – what is actually good for us?” said Mr. Kaspar.
He first developed the phone with his teenage foster daughters in mind, and says that 25% of their sales are to children, but that it is marketed to adults.
“If you have a phone that’s labeled as a children’s device, there’s a certain shame attached to it. So we created a very grown-up, sophisticated, really nice Apple-style device,” he said.
With billions of dollars in revenue from apps and social media advertising, big companies have little incentive to support different habits, he said.
Meanwhile, Canadian teenager Luke says he plans to stay with his new facility, much to the amusement of friends.
“They think it’s quite weird, but at the moment I don’t think it really matters because it’s helped me a lot,” he said.
“It’s definitely put me in a better place now.