Should you get a 'dumb phone' for your mental health?

Sara Kuburic, an existential psychotherapist and author known on social media as “the Millennial Therapist,” told her 1.7 million Instagram followers last fall that she’d bought an “old-school” flip phone to use instead of her standard smartphone on weekends and outside of work hours. This basic model — known as a “dumb phone” these days — could only be used for calls and texts. No apps, no internet, no (or, at least, fewer) distractions.

“I became overwhelmed and overstimulated, feeling obligated to always stay plugged in,” Kuburic, author of It’s On Me: Accepting Hard Truths, Discover Your Self, and Change Your Life, tells Yahoo Life, of the digitally dependent lifestyle that led her to seek out low-tech options during her free time. “Even when I didn’t need to be, it became a habit to pick up my phone and keep scrolling or answering emails. Between working online, trying to keep in touch with friends and occasionally Googling random things like ‘world record for biggest pizza’ at 2 a.m., I realized it was time to find a way to limit the time on my phone.”

She rattles off her reasons for downgrading to a dumb phone: “My work-life boundaries were blurred; managing my stress became harder; I was less present in everything I did; I was wasting time (and losing sleep); and I felt disconnected from myself and others.”

The dumb phone appeal

What Kuburic is describing is something psychologist Thijs Launspach refers to as “techno stress.” Launspach, author of Crazy Busy: Keeping Sane in a Stressful World, tells Yahoo Life that along with the other demands of life (work, relationships, etc.), “the devices that we're using — whether they are tablets or smartphones or laptops — also give us a bit of stress.”

That’s partly due, he explains, to the dopamine hit we receive when, say, we get a text or Instagram like, or see that our favorite celebrity has shared a new post. “[This] is what your smartphone is wired to do,” Launspach says. “These apps and these games and these social media apps are designed to impact our dopamine system. It’s incredibly addictive … [and] one of the consequences is that we’re always on. Even when we’re a little bit sleepy or tired or doing different things, these devices, specifically our smartphones, just demand our attention. So it's an added stressor on top of all the other things that give us stress.”

Enter the dumb phone (aka, just how cell phones used to be before smartphones ushered in all the bells and whistles that have kept users glued to them ever since). In recent years these simple, no-frills devices have emerged as a viable option for parents who want their kids to have the advantages of a phone (a safe point of contact) without getting sucked into social media or online games. Within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, “kosher phones” with no web browsing capabilities have proven popular. “Make the most of advanced technology without the distractions and temptations of a smartphone,” one retailer, KosherCell, tells shoppers.

But flip phones have also found new fans among Gen Z-ers — a generation known for their Y2K nostalgia — who see the value in being a little less online. Launspach says he’s noticed a small trend of young adults who, like Kuburic, are “looking for a solution for all of the stress that the phone gets us.”

Kuburic, for one, saw a big rush of support when she announced her flip phone purchase, and as a mental health professional who herself feels overly attached to the online world, she understands why. “Most people are struggling,” she says. “We use our phones to navigate, stay in touch, date, entertain, self-soothe, etc. A lot of people feel like their life happens more inside the phone than outside of it. Social media often makes breakups harder, intensifies self-image issues and causes us to lose perspective. Phones consume so much of our time and energy, leaving very little space to be present and in the moment.”

What it’s like to actually own one

While Kuburic still has her flip phone, it hasn’t quite been the answer to all of her techno stress prayers. For starters, the lack of convenience is an annoyance. “Using a flip phone sounds simple in theory, but it’s a complicated commitment while I’m traveling and rely on Google Maps, restaurant recommendations and Google Translate,” she says, adding that during her recent trip she just left the device at home.

And because texting on her flip phone is “so painfully slow” and cumbersome, she mostly doesn’t bother — though the silver lining is that she’s pivoted to making plans with loved ones ahead of time so a text isn’t necessary, and feels better off for it. “I became much more present when spending time with others or being alone,” she says. “In fact, I think it deepened my relationships because people had my undivided attention.”

After her Instagram post, Kuburic heard from others who had also made the dumb phone switch. Some told her that the absence of a distracting device was initially “confrontational and unnerving,” she shares. “Without the ability to deflect or disconnect by scrolling, they found it challenging to sit with themselves.” But “most people who overcame the restlessness said it was the best thing they have ever done,” she adds.

In her experience, the hardest part of using a flip phone was learning to relinquish the illusion of control, Kuburic says. “When I’m plugged in, I can jump on calls, respond to emails quickly and monitor my social media. When I’m not, it feels like I’m giving up control — the ability to act, fix and engage immediately.”

But there’s also an upside to that. “I had to remind myself that ‘not everything is an emergency’ and that ‘the world will keep spinning, even if you’re not online.’” Similarly, she says making the decision to only give her new number out to a handful of close friends and family members provided a “valuable lesson.” Says Kuburic: “I didn’t need to be constantly available for everyone.”

How to set better tech boundaries

Even with our best intentions, 21st-century life doesn’t make reliance on a flip phone easy. You may get lost. You may get FOMO (fear of missing out). But that drastic approach to dealing with techno stress may be a more sustainable solution for someone who struggles with self-control when it comes to their devices.

And that’s perfectly normal, says Launspach. He likens trying to stick to tech boundaries to dieting while knowing there’s a bag of potato chips in the pantry; sooner or later, we’re going to feel that urge to snack or scroll. “It's way easier to eat healthily when there's no bag of chips” — or in this case, a smartphone — ”in your kitchen, right?”

“Overly relying on self-control and discipline to change our digital behaviors,” he adds, is an uphill battle considering the intentionally addictive nature of these devices and apps. A dumb phone, therefore, might be more effective at stopping mindless scrolling — simply because that’s not an option.

For those who prefer a middle ground, however, there are ways to use our smartphones more wisely. Launspach suggests removing particularly addicting apps off your phone’s home screen so it’s harder to access them. Some people also set their phones to “do not disturb” when they need a break, mute alerts and group chats or use apps that kick them off social media and other distracting sites once their time limit has been met. Launspach also advocates for working with others to hold each other accountable, whether that’s instituting a no-phones-in-the-bedroom policy or agreeing to put your devices away when meeting pals for lunch.

Kuburic says her own tech boundaries aren’t limited to owning a dumb phone: “My rules are pretty simple: No electronics in bed, no checking emails or work texts first thing in the morning — I allow myself time to make my bed, get ready, journal or at the very least have a cup of warm water with lemon — and no scrolling or working on my computer while eating lunch or dinner.”