One almost remembers it as if it were yesterday: the first Nokia, the Alcatel, the Ericsson… Those mobile phones, initially from Moviline, with analog technology, barely made calls or sent messages. Then, as the years went by, experts taught us that smart phones were the real mobile phones: the arrival of the iPhone and the BlackBerry empire turned the first mobile phones into dust, which had no great pretensions: they were used to communicate and they did it very good.
The smartphone They created a need that did not exist until it was discovered: that of hyperconnectivity. First it was email, then instant messaging, and finally social media. The need to be permanently connected turned the mobile phone into a master, and its owner into a slave. This alteration in the hierarchy has not come for free: experts are already talking about an “Pandemic of poor mental health” that is sacrificing an entire generation of adolescents and pre-adolescents, not prepared for the immediacy of social networks. The phenomenon has a name: nomophobia, or in other words, when the cell phone becomes a drug, a source of pleasure. But this hyperconnectivity has caused a reaction movement: that of a growing number of users who are returning to ‘dumb’ mobile phones. In the United States, a counterculture is making its way that renounces this overdose of connection and demands a return to simplicity, to the origins of the telephone, a device that was used to talk only.
iPhone? Better a Nokia without data
“I needed time for myself,” explains the writer Jesús Terrés, after making public on social networks his intention to go on a diet. detox smart phone and return to a simple phone, if applicable, from the Swiss manufacturer Punkt. Terrés has not taken a leap into the void, but rather uses the smartphoneas his main mobile phone, but he does use the dumbphone (phone silly) on weekends and during time spent with his family. In this step he is missing Google Maps, but he has no problem having sacrificed the slavery of social networks, which he describes as “ordering that third drink at the cocktail bar: at the time it seemed like a good idea, but I almost never do it.” is”.
But this path towards disconnection is for the brave. Sergio Barranco is a music teacher at the San Sebastián conservatory who has resisted pressure for many years, clinging to his basic motive. It has been a Numantine resistance that has finally ended up being overthrown. “My environment was happy about my change,” he explains, “now they no longer had to communicate with me specifically via SMS or call; “It was much more comfortable for them.” This musician has given up, but he has left a lot of hair in his mouth and looks with nostalgia at his old man brick: “Once you get into the world of WhatsApp, things are not easy,” he says with resignation, “on the other hand, from a social point of view, you talked more with people.”
Nokia, owned by HMD, warns that basic mobile phones do not have a closed customer profile: “We are seeing that basic phones resonate with multiple demographics and generations,” Lars Silberbauer, the firm’s marketing director, explains to EL PAÍS. This manager refers to a “digital exhaustion” among young people, who “are taking a step back” in the mobile phone market and looking favorably on basic mobile phones.
Manufacturers are very reluctant to offer specific sales figures, but the Swiss Punkt confirm an increase in sales, especially among the younger audience: “there has been an increase in sales of more than 30% in 2022 compared to the previous year” , explains Adam Thomas, press officer, “and we expect this growth to increase even further with the launch of a touchscreen model at the end of the year.” HMD (manufacturer of Nokia) is along the same lines, confirming that “sales have doubled” in 2022 compared to the previous year, and they expect this growth to be sustained in 2023, as Hayley Dodd, director of company communication.
Counterpoint Research confirms these golden times for “dumb phones”, ensuring that in the United States alone 2.8 million terminals are expected to be sold in 2023. The consultancy also points out that this resurgence in sales is due to both “millennials” such as those known as ‘generation Z’, are increasingly pursuing ‘digital detoxification’.
“It’s like living in 1999”
It’s about communication, relationships, being connected… Or that’s what we believed. “Not even Christ calls me,” Terrés acknowledges after having taken the leap into the void. This writer has experienced firsthand the harshness of the dictatorship of the data plan: people no longer want to talk (at most, send audios). Voluntary ostracism has, on the other hand, a very positive derivative: “now I read many more books.” But… why voluntarily give up the pleasures of WhatsApp and TikTok?
In addition to an obvious mental health issue, the minimalist trend is contributing to more and more people looking favorably on this terrifying isolation. “It’s like living in 1999,” wrote Gregory Alvarez, describing his now—almost—definitive disconnection. As it could not be otherwise, there is an entire subforum on Reddit in which advice is shared on how to take the step towards basic mobile phones. Curiously, the first recommendation of this forum is not to change mobile phones, but to keep the smartphoneand limit its functions. Both Android and the iPhone have parental control modes that limit the functions of the devices until they become almost like old Nokia.
The other advantages of ‘dumb’ mobile phones
An undeniable aspect of this type of telephone is its robustness and reliability. Who doesn’t remember the dramatic falls of the first Nokia? Those cell phones jumped into the air, but when I put them back together, nothing, not even a scratch. A video that has more than a million views attempts to destroy an old Nokia 3310 by subjecting it to all kinds of torture, and comes out practically unscathed. The smartphonesCurrent ones, for their part, show their vulnerability with every fall: the cracked screen, the scratched chassis… And they are repairs that are not exactly cheap.
The other great advantage of this type of terminal is that, as they do not have color touch screens and very basic processors, their batteries last a long time. Charging your phone every night is a bad dream for those who have decided to make the jump to basic mobile phones: a charge can last a whole week, depending on your use. On the other hand, these terminals are less susceptible to being cyberattacked, a no small characteristic for those who are concerned about their privacy. And finally, the economic issue. A mobile phone with these characteristics can cost just over 20 euros and voice rates around 2 euros per month.
“Social networks want us to spend a lot of time on them through tactics such as scrollinfinite and short videos that encourage us to think ‘come on, just one more,'” warns psychologist Joan Salvador Villalonga, “they deprive us of healthy leisure moments, generating intolerance to boredom.” This is causing unsustainable tension for more and more people, according to this expert: “we put pressure on ourselves to please others with publications that end up having a useful life of a few hours and all these circumstances make many people choose to abandon these social networks and recover the feeling of freedom,” he maintains. Ultimately, the movement dumbphone It takes away the importance of the virtual world and returns it to the real world.
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