Americans are ditching smartphones for ‘dumb’ devices that only call and text to avoid ‘zombie mode’

A growing number of people are trading in their smartphones for ‘dumbphones’ that only make calls and send text messages to avoid entering ‘zombie mode’.

The popularity of these simple devices has skyrocketed, with 2.8 million sold in the US last year. and proclaim that they feel calmer and more present in their regular lives.

A California woman told DailyMail.com that she made the switch after realizing she had spent the entire summer on her smartphone. She said she could barely remember what time it was. She had even forgotten where she had walked her dog.

Caroline Cadwell explained that switching to a dumbphone was initially impractical but then became liberating.

‘Space and time, that’s how I would describe it. It’s amazing how much your relationships can gain by giving up,” she said.

Companies like Dumbwireless are marketing the simple devices to addicted smartphone users, and a growing number of anti-smartphone organizations are trying to curb the use of the devices, especially among children.

Activists point to statistics such as the fact that the advent of smartphones seems to coincide with an increase in cases of depression and anxiety, which rose by more than 50 percent between 2010 and 2019.

Cadwell spent 15 years working at fast-growing startups in Barcelona and San Francisco before leaving a job due to burnout — and realizing her smartphone was the problem.

“I left a job because I was burned out and spent almost three months in what I would describe as zombie mode,” she said.

“It was summer and I can barely remember — I did nothing. It wasn’t until I was almost done with this time and feeling better that I started thinking about what I could control about my burnout, and the biggest contributing factor was a lack of boundaries with work.”

Previously, she found it important to always be available, even for phone calls at 11 p.m.

But Cadwell realized the depth of her addiction when she couldn’t remember where she walked her dog because she was constantly replying to Slack messages.

She said switching to a dumbphone was impractical at first, but then became liberating.

“Space and time, that’s how I would describe it. It’s amazing how much your relationships can gain by giving it up,” Cadwell said.

She has launched a product called Unpluq, which locks apps on smartphones so people can use them in a healthier way.

Cadwell said users are spending an average of 72 fewer minutes per day on their phones.

“I think people are starting to wake up to the dangers of social media and smartphones in a big way – very few people would argue that they are 100% GOOD for us, or that social media is ONLY good,” she continued.

‘Is there room for more people to take more action? Absolutely, and we’re starting to see that, but I think the younger generations will lead the way from the start when it comes to a different relationship with their smartphones.”

Stay-at-home mom and freelance editor Christina Dinur switched to a “dumbphone” after being inspired by a friend who gave up her smartphone because it distracted her from her kids.

‘I had the same feeling for a while, but I didn’t really know what to do about it. I failed to set healthy boundaries around my smartphone use, but getting a dumbphone seemed so radical,” says Dinur, a Milwaukee woman.

“Talking to my friend about her experiences gave me the courage I needed to finally make this change.”

Dinur further explained that she was inspired by reading Jonathan Haidt’s book ‘The Anxious Generation’, which links the advent of smartphones to an increase in anxiety among young people.

“The book convinced me that children shouldn’t have smartphones or social media, but the elephant in the room was my own smartphone addiction,” she said.

“I didn’t see how I would have any leverage to say ‘no’ when my kids started asking for a smartphone if they saw me glued to my smartphone all the time.” Buying a dumbphone solved that.’

Not having a smartphone turned out to be easier than expected, says Dinur. She hasn’t regretted it for a moment, not even when she had to write down the route on a notepad before leaving the house.

‘I feel so unburdened. I really struggled with self-control around my smartphone. I would constantly pick up my phone to check my email and social media, even though there was rarely anything interesting to see,” the mother explained.

‘With the dumbphone I no longer have that option and it is a relief. I feel much calmer and more present in the physical world around me, especially with my children.’

Dinur said she still uses social media on a laptop, but only checks it a few times a day rather than constantly.

“Even when I log in for the first time in many hours, there’s still rarely anything interesting to see there, which really drives home what a waste of time it was when I checked it on my smartphone dozens of times a day,” she continued.

Dinur explained that giving up her smartphone has increased her attention span and she is reading more books – and spending more time with her family.

Now part of the Smartphone Free Childhood US movement, she makes sure her three- and five-year-olds don’t grow up with unhealthy digital habits.

Smartphone Free Childhood operates in many US states through WhatsApp groups and works with local governments and school boards to limit children’s smartphone use.

“Many adults don’t have the healthiest relationships with their smartphones, so why would we think these devices would be useful for children, whose brains and impulse control are still developing,” says Dinur.

Stephen Kurczy, author of The Quiet Zone, traveled to Green Bank, Virginia — a town with no cell phone coverage because of nearby radio telescopes — and realized it was clear that many people were experiencing “withdrawal symptoms.”

The book examines our relationship with smartphones from the perspective of a city where wireless transmission is tightly controlled.

“While working on ‘The Quiet Zone,’ I talked to many people and heard stories of so many more experiencing withdrawal symptoms while visiting Green Bank, West Virginia, where there is legally no cell service,” he said .

“Younger people seem to get confused when they realize their phone isn’t working,” one local resident told me.

“Even after visitors are told there is no cell service in the Quiet Zone, they tend to instinctively keep checking their devices, like an uncontrollable tick.

“And there is research to support this idea: people touch their smartphones more than 2,600 times a day.”

While writing the book, Kurczy said his wife was constantly checking her iPhone until, after about a week, she began to adjust to the slower pace of life.

“It was liberating for her,” he said.

Kurczy hasn’t personally given up owning a smartphone because he’s never owned one.

“It’s a way to create a little bit of peace in my life. A lot of research now shows that people are happier and more productive when we’re not online all the time. I understand that a lot of people need smartphones for work or whatever,” the author explained.

“But I’ve found a way to live without it, and I want others to have that option too. I have two kids now, I’ll be damned if they get phones anytime soon.”

He chose never to buy a smartphone because he had a hard enough time setting limits on his laptop use.

“I know I wouldn’t have the willpower to not overuse a smartphone,” Kurczy said.

“For example, today I was cooling off at a pond with my two kids and decided it would be fun to buy a new beach rake.

“If I had had a smartphone at that moment, I would have logged into Amazon and started scrolling for the best rake, and I would have quickly lost myself in a wormhole of rakes, texts, emails, news alerts… Luckily, I was able to stay in the moment with my kids. In general, it’s so hard to be in the moment.”

“Smartphones make it so much harder.”