Amid rising concerns over the mental health impacts of social media, a growing number of Gen Z consumers are abandoning smartphones in favor of basic “dumb phones.” Startups like Dumb.co are capitalizing on this trend by offering simplified devices that block social media access while still enabling essential functions like calls, texts, and music streaming.
What Happened
Gen Z consumers such as 23-year-old Kendall Schrohe from Washington, D.C., have started replacing their smartphones with flip phones or pared-down devices that limit social media use. Schrohe purchased her phone from Dumb.co, a startup that provides phones equipped with practical apps like Uber and Spotify but excludes social platforms. According to Dumb.co, the average customer is a 24-year-old woman, and the company currently has more than 5,000 active users. Other providers in this niche include The Light Phone and Brick, which sells companion devices to smartphones that block social media.
Key Facts
Research highlights the scope of social media usage: a 2025 Pew Research report indicated nearly half of U.S. adults access platforms like YouTube and Facebook daily, while data from the American Psychological Association reported that U.S. teens spend an average of almost five hours per day on social media. Legally, platforms like Meta and YouTube faced liability rulings for creating addictive products harmful to youth, marking a significant judicial precedent.
Medical experts, such as Dr. Jason Nagata of UCSF, link social media habits to patterns analogous to substance abuse, citing impaired control, withdrawal, tolerance, and relapse. Long-term reduction in use has been found to improve sleep, concentration, and reduce stress.
What This Means
The shift by younger consumers toward dumb phones reflects a broader cultural and market pushback against the pervasive presence of social media in daily life. For startups like Dumb.co, this trend presents a burgeoning business opportunity to serve customers seeking digital minimalism and mental health improvement. For consumers, particularly young people, simpler phones offer a way to reclaim time and attention otherwise consumed by addictive app designs. This movement also signals increasing awareness and rejection of the addictive design features engineered into mainstream social media platforms.
On a societal level, this trend could influence how technology companies approach product design if demand grows for devices that prioritize well-being over engagement metrics. Meanwhile, the legal scrutiny faced by major platforms underscores the growing accountability pressures on tech firms regarding their role in social media addiction.
Background
The popularity of dumb phones harks back to pre-smartphone mobile devices, popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which only facilitated calls and texts. Today’s versions, however, blend nostalgia with selective digital functionality, allowing users to access practical tools without social media distractions. Programs like “Month Offline,” partnering with Dumb.co, encourage users to commit to screen-free habits over a 30-day period.
Sources
This article is based on reporting and publicly available information from the following sources:
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