As tech addiction grows, more Americans are ditching smartphones in favor of simpler, quieter lives
In an age where smartphones dominate nearly every waking moment, a surprising movement is quietly gaining ground: the return of the dumb phone. Once thought extinct in the shadows of Silicon Valley innovation, these stripped-down devices are now finding new life in the hands of people seeking clarity, focus, and a break from the digital noise.
While it might sound like a fringe trend championed by artisanal beer drinkers and digital minimalists, the numbers tell a different story.
HMD Global, the company behind Nokia phones, reported that their U.S. dumb phone sales doubled between 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile, Deloitte found that roughly 1 in 10 adults under 30 are either using or considering switching to a basic phone. Add to that the surge in Google searches for terms like “dumb phone” and “minimalist phone,” and it’s clear this is more than just a passing fad.
One of the biggest players in the space is Light Phone, a company that sells sleek, distraction-free devices designed to encourage users to be present. Their waitlist reportedly hit 100,000 people in 2023, a staggering number for a product that doesn’t even support social media or email.
The driving force behind the shift? Burnout. With anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders on the rise, particularly among Gen Z and Millennials, many are blaming their always-on digital lives. The endless scroll of TikTok, the dopamine traps of Instagram, the toxic chaos of the news cycle—it’s left a growing number of people longing for peace, quiet, and real human connection.
Some are going full flip-phone, while others take a hybrid approach—using a dumb phone on weekends or for social hours and keeping a smartphone for work-related needs.
In Sacramento and the Bay Area, local vendors are starting to see an uptick in requests for basic phones, and digital wellness coaches say more clients are asking how to cut down screen time without cutting off from life entirely.
What was once considered a step backward now feels like a rebellious step forward. And in a culture addicted to speed and stimulation, slowing down might just be the most radical move of all.
