hey, if you’re wondering why someone might be inclined to live with a dumbphone, checkout this post that I wrote.
there is no question that smartphones are a deeply ingrained piece of technology in modern society, with recent generations not even being aware of other types of phone. its constant connection to the internet and ability to provide us with information at a moments notice captured our collective attention, making its way into the hands of billions of people. however, in an age where the internet has become an auctionhouse of attention, it can be hard to find a moment where you arent checking your notifications or scrolling a feed.
being a new member to the dumbphone community, I wanted to share my experiences with my second-hand iphone se, as well as detail the various pros and cons of living with such a device.
in order to define a dumphone, you must first examine the qualities of a smartphone that are generally seen as harmful:
therefore a dumbphone must align with the opposite:
in other words, ‘an dumbphone’ is a device that disregards the entertainment aspects of a smartphone yet focuses on the utilitarian functionality in order to be more present and focused.
there are a lot of people who buy a fliphone/candybar and end up installing instagram/tiktok and other apps on it and say they have a dumbphone, or at the minimum a digital detox phone. this, imo, defeats the whole purpose of having a dumbphone, as the entertainment aspects of smartphones are reintroduced. an android phone with only minimal apps would be more of a dumbphone than a cat s22 with tiktok on it.
since i am a new member of the dumbphone community, i decided it would be best to implement a ‘transition’ device, or a semi-dumbphone in order to ease the switch. when deciding what device to buy, i had carrier restrictions in mind, due to the recent shutdown of 3G networks in australia, limiting my choices to recent-ish releases. price was also a factor that i had to consider, as spending $100+ on a telephone seemed too expensive.
after considering all my choices, i bought a used 2016 iphone se, where i removed most apps that were necessary or un-deleteable, leaving phone, text, camera, and itunes the only apps on the homescreen. despite this, the device still had some internet connectivity and a colourful touchscreen, re-enabling a few negative tropes of the traditional smartphone. avoiding these features was easy enough though.
i want to be more conscious of my use of digital devices, as ive started to notice the detrimental impact that constant stimulation has had on my ability to think properly. it was destroying my self-image and mental health, yet i would still spend hours everyday lying in bed, scrolling the endless treadmill of content that was served to me.
fortunately, i was able to cut the addiction and stop consuming all the short form content that i would usually spend a massive chunk of my day wasting on. almost immediately, i felt urges to reinstall my favourite apps and reconnect with my friends. to help, i decided to split the use of my technology, namely using a paper diary for organisation and dates, a separate laptop for storing and ripping cds (which i would then upload select albums to my phone), and a camera. if i want to take my camera to take a picture outside i will not be distracted by a notification on a screen of an useless app and spend 10 min on the app that sent me the notification and finally forget what i was doing in the first place.
tbc.
recommending the focused lifestyle in general is difficult, choosing to life a life disconnected can feel isolating, and explaining your choices to others is often an undertaking in itself. further, recommending any dumbphone is difficult—they can be buggy, often don’t work well globally, and are occasionally difficult to track down. however, i can wholly recommend taking the initiative to switch.
for anyone looking to join, the dumbphone finder is useful for filtering dumbphones. it has some mistakes so double check the device before purchase
dumbphones subreddit—is the largest community surrounding dumbphones online
-d. guihot. written 23/3/25