Dumbphones Less smartphone, more time?
The good old bone - first frowned upon, then in everyone's hands, then the most normal thing in the world, then outdated and forgotten and now suddenly back again? Indeed. Like colorful little phoenixes, they emerge from the dusty drawers of time. But what exactly is this strange trend all about?
It was excitingly new when the small displays of the first cell phones opened many small, green or even blue gates to the world for us. With the advent of cell phones, we had finally arrived in the future. And these useful gadgets continued to develop rapidly. First they became smaller and smaller, then foldable, then larger and flatter, then the keypad disappeared to make way for ever larger touchscreens. A constant race of innovation that continues to this day - the competition never sleeps!
Almost every year, technological achievements are presented in almost church-like processions and celebrated by the tech community. And anyone who doesn't always have the latest XY smartphone is quickly considered to be out of touch - at least that's the impression that might arise.
For almost two decades now, we have been conditioned to collectively celebrate - and of course buy - every new feature, no matter how insignificant, every slightly improved new model.
And now this: more and more people, especially young people, are consciously choosing to take a step backwards and suddenly prefer cell phones with severely limited functions? How come?
Those fiddly, colorful bones from the early noughties: Nokia 3310, Motorola Razr V3, Sony Ericsson T610 and what they were all called. Just the thought of these tiny keyboards makes many of the people involved break out in a sweat.
But what was simply a "normal" cell phone back then is now affectionately known as a dumbphone, in contrast to the (supposedly) smart smartphone, and is enjoying growing popularity. A deliberate "downgrade", so to speak.
But why should you put up with this artificial complication in your everyday life?
Digital detox instead of doomscrolling
A dumbphone provides you with the absolute minimum of communication: making phone calls, writing text messages and maybe a round of "Snake" to combat boredom.
Just google something? Keep an eye on the weather radar for upcoming thunderstorms? Be able to take high-resolution photos at any time? Follow world events every minute and envy the dream vacations of others on social media? No way!
But that's exactly the point. It's a rejection of an industry that has turned our attention into a currency. Sure, we could simply stop watching hundreds of videos on TikTok for hours on end without remembering a single one of them. But it's hard to compete with cleverly designed apps and social media platforms. This works because we humans are the way we are and is no reason to be hard on ourselves.
But if you've ever wondered why you never have time - that could be the reason.
By the way: The average time spent on TikTok per day is 91 minutes and the average length of a TikTok video is around 43 seconds. Do the math.
Finally time for the really important things again
A bit like a protective collar for pets or blinkers for horses, the conscious decision to use a dumbphone can bring us relief in the long term, even if we would sooo much like to "scratch" in the short term. In any case, the trend promises more peace and quiet and more consciously used time that is not wasted on our cell phones. And that actually sounds pretty good.
It may seem a little paradoxical at first to buy an additional device and then use it less. Especially as most of us would probably keep the sophisticated smartphone with all its tempting possibilities in the drawer, at least for the time being. And there might even be an old original lying around somewhere.
And so, by the law of nature, there would seemingly always be at least one cell phone in this ominous drawer, whether it's the new or the old one. You can find out why this is not only unnecessary but also not very sustainable in our #WirsindZukunft guide.
Great design - small, light and minimalist
The Light Phone has perfected the idea of the dumbphone with its third model, the Light Phone 3 - the elegant, minimalist design celebrates "less is more" in an impressive way. It provides everything you need without distracting you unnecessarily. Unfortunately, it is currently only available in English and with the English QWERTY keyboard.
But HMD Global has also been bringing new editions of classic Nokia phones back onto the market for several years now. And here, too, the focus is on "less" with telephony and texting.
Regardless of which device you are using, the final conclusion is that a conscious approach to screen time is good for your health. After all, we don't have unlimited time, and a little reflection on how we spend it certainly doesn't hurt.
If you really want to switch to a minimalist cell phone now, you should definitely take advantage of our buyback offer. Or you can collect Karma points and donate your cell phone, new or old, to Mobile Aid. That would of course be a great move.
We would of course be delighted if you used your smartphone to browse through our Swisscom online store. And with our Mobile subscription and our Internet subscription, you'll always be connected to the best network in Switzerland.
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Your opinion counts
What about your screen time and do you already use a dumbphone? Tell the community! We look forward to your opinion.
