Dumbphones: A Trendy Alternative to Smartphones

The average American spends four hours on their phone, but one tries a dumbphone to reduce screen time.

### Trying Out a Dumbphone in New York City
* 📱  The average American spends about **four hours a day on their phone**, while the reviewer spends over **eight hours and 25 minutes daily**.
* 🤳  Dumbphones, which lack distracting apps like social media, are gaining popularity as a way to **reduce screen time and improve mental health**.
* 💰  The reviewer purchased a **dumbphone for $90** and paid **$55 for service**, a much cheaper alternative to high-end smartphones.
* 🚕  The lack of popular apps like **Uber and Lyft** made navigation and daily tasks more challenging.
* 📊  Despite the limitations, the reviewer found it **surprisingly easy to navigate with Google Maps and perform basic tasks**.
* 📸  The phone's camera lacked features like selfies and emojis, but the reviewer appreciated its **Y2K aesthetic**.
* 😅  While the novelty was initially fun, the reviewer missed their smartphone's **convenience after a few hours**.
* 🤔  The reviewer concluded that while dumbphones may help some people reduce screen time, there are many other ways to **achieve this without buying a second phone**.

So the average American spends roughly four hours on their phone. For me, my daily average is about eight hours and 25 minutes. Not proud of it. Maybe a dumbphone today will help me pare down a little bit and find alternatives to using my phone for so long. But, I mean, I don't really see a big problem with it. OK, here's the tea about these dumbphones. Dumbphones are cellphones that have the ability to call, text, and they might even have GPS, without all of those time-wasters like social media and other distracting apps. The medical experts have linked screen time to lack of focus, depression, lack of sleep, and I know I find it hard to go to bed after scrolling TikTok for hours. Over the last few years, smartphone users are putting away their touch screens and exchanging them for flip phones in order to cut down on screen time and just be more present in the world.

Last week, we went and got a dumbphone ourselves, and I tried it out around New York City. The phone cost us about $90 to pick up at a nearby store, and getting service was around $55. But $145 isn't too bad for service and a new phone, especially considering smartphones today can range all the way up to $1,000 for the newest iPhone, over that, actually. When it comes to getting around the city without a car, Uber and Lyft are two of the most important ride-sharing apps, so I immediately searched for those when I got this phone. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find them. There is a music app. I haven't connected to it yet. So I do think it'd be possible for me to listen to music on the subway. For me, I use Apple Music, so I wasn't really expecting to see an Apple Music app on a Nokia phone. But I looked out for my Spotify peeps.

and I was searching for Spotify and other apps that you could
maybe use, and no luck there. I did notice it has my
favorite game, Snake. I honestly had high expectations for it cutting down on my screen time. You know, I thought that I
was going to feel very healthy and empowered to not have
a smartphone in my face. Compared to other people out and about, I definitely noticed a lot
more folks on the train staring at their phone. Meanwhile, I, you know, the
only option I really had was to play Snake on my phone. Flip phones are kind of
having a comeback, you know? A little bit of Carrie
Sex and the City vibe. So I was excited to try out the phone and look a little cool and
different on the streets. But actually having it in my
hand, navigating New York, it was a lot easier than
I thought it would be. We are almost there, according to my map.

Navigation was a seamless transition for me. This phone uses Google Maps as a navigation system, so it's pretty standard. If you use Google Maps, it's really no change at all. Obviously, the typing aspect is a little tough when you're typing in where you want to go and having to click those buttons multiple times. But once you get started and you're on your route, it's really easy, really simple, and feels just like using an iPhone. So far, I feel like I'm spending just as much time on this phone, but it's probably because I'm navigating. We'll see once we sit down at the restaurant if I'm looking at it as much as I would my iPhone. Let's eat. OK, so we're here at Bubby's. They have a QR code menu. Let's see if we can scan it with this. I'm holding the phone up to the QR code, as you can see.

Doesn't look like anything's happening. I'm going to press the select button to see if anything happens. OK, no, it looks like
I just took a picture. I'm going to try to go to the app store and see if we can find
a QR code scanner app. OK, it looks like we found
some QR code reader options. Oh, wow, it works almost instantly. There we go. We have the Bubby's menu pulled up. It's kind of hard to
get through the website. It's definitely not as fast as my phone, being able to physically touch the screen, scroll, and get to what I want to get to. But, I mean, it works, sort of. There we go. It was so hard to navigate
the menu on this phone. I'm going to cheat a little
bit and get on my phone. So easy to scroll now, and then the words are so much bigger. Just going to text my
boyfriend really quick.

How do you do a space? Oh, zero, OK. What the heck? This seems very counterintuitive
as a way to text. It's a little bit different. There are definitely no emojis here or sending GIFs and memes
and things like that. My God, it's going to
take me like five minutes to send one text. So I am loyal to 0.5
selfies on my iPhone camera. I would definitely miss that feature, but I do love the fuzzy
Y2K digital camera look, and I feel like the flip phone kind of gives me a little bit of that. So I think I would learn to enjoy the camera quality on this phone, and, like, the quirkiness
of it a little bit. I mean, the buttons are
cute, they're aesthetic. I love the color of the phone. So far, everything is going pretty well. No disasters yet. The novelty of it was nice
for like the first hour,

but then, like, by hour like
three, I was kind of like, OK, I just want my buttons back. I am already back on Instagram. I mean, my daily use
average is eight hours. Did you guys really expect me to go the whole time without
pulling out my phone? I feel like I've missed so much already. Thank you. So usually with a great meal like this, my first instinct is to pull out my camera and snap a picture for my Instagram story. There's no Instagram story right now. So, I mean, we can take a picture just for memories maybe. Usually when I'm out
to dinner with friends, now would be the time
that we're using Venmo or Zelle or Cash App to
send each other money. On this phone, there is no Venmo, there's no Apple Pay or tap-to-pay, so we'll have to do it
the old-fashioned way and get my card out to pay the bill.

So I can't say I've seen this trend much out in the wild. I've seen it on TikTok. I've read about it in articles. I've even written about it myself. I think it's a trend right now for people who are trying to be different a little bit. I mean, good on you for trying to cut down on your screen time. Can't knock you for that at all. For me, spending $90 on a dumbphone didn't guarantee me more sleep or make me happier all of a sudden. And there are different ways that you can cut down on your screen time, if that's something that you need to do. There's a lot of reasons why someone might choose to switch to a dumbphone, and they're very valid. But in today's age, I think there are a lot of tools to cut down on smartphone usage without going and buying a second phone to do that. I just feel like it's more of a novelty.

This is something that would be a talking point when you're out and about, something people would ask you about and point at maybe and start a conversation. But for me, personally, the only pro I really had was it made me more present of my surrounding. Outside of that, everything else that I got from the phone, I could get with my iPhone, and even more. I'm like, it is cute though. If you want to look edgy and different. Hold on, I'm getting a call. I'm just kidding.

I Tried To Kill My Smartphone Addiction With A Dumb Phone. Here's How It Went. | Business Insider

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The Rise of Dumbphones: A Solution to Excessive Screen Time

The average American spends four hours a day on their phone, but some are switching to dumbphones to reduce screen time.

Dumbphones offer basic functions like calling and texting without social media or other distracting apps, aiming to improve focus and mental health.

With a much lower cost than smartphones, dumbphones are becoming a popular choice for those seeking a simpler and more present lifestyle.

Embracing the Flip Phone: A New York Experience

Using a flip phone in New York was easier than expected, with seamless navigation using Google Maps.

The experience of not having smartphone apps was not as challenging as anticipated, and the phone's use for basic tasks felt similar to an iPhone.

The individual noticed a resurgence of flip phones and was excited to embrace a different, more retro vibe in a world dominated by smartphones.

Struggling with the slow and cumbersome navigation of the flip phone while trying to access the Bubby's menu.

The lack of modern features like emojis, GIFs, and a quick camera function was frustrating when attempting to text and take photos.

Despite the novelty and aesthetic appeal of the flip phone, the user ultimately found it difficult to adjust to the outdated technology.

Switching to a "dumbphone" is a current trend for reducing screen time and being different, often driven by a desire to cut down on smartphone usage.

Despite the trend, spending on a "dumbphone" may not guarantee improved sleep or happiness, and there are other effective tools available for reducing screen time in the modern age.

The trend is seen as more of a novelty, with many alternative ways to reduce smartphone usage.

Minimal Benefits of the Unique Phone Design

The unique phone design may increase the user's awareness of their surroundings, but it doesn't offer much additional value compared to an iPhone.

The phone's main appeal may lie in its aesthetic and edgy look, rather than its functionality.