'It’s been worth it': Why switching to a dumbphone was a smart move for this Gen Zer

Historically, my New Year’s resolutions have not been very serious. In 2022 I vowed to watch and review 100 movies. In 2023 I wanted to drink an entire beer without grimacing. In 2024 I set out to learn how to play the drums.

These were pretty easy goals. Last year, I was ready for a challenge.

So I made a huge lifestyle change. I gave up my ability to call an Uber, read Yelp reviews, mobile order coffee and check my email away from my computer.

I got a dumbphone.

I was 5 when the first iPhone came out. A smartphone has been practically glued to my palm for half of my life. By 2025, I’d become accustomed to narrating my days through near-constant posts on the app of the moment Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter. Hours would go by in an instant.

It’s too much. I want to have time to pursue my hobbies — to read books and go on walks and play music without stopping to check who viewed my story or commented on my post.

I started with some of the standard tips. At night I plugged my phone into an outlet across the room rather than by my bedside table. I changed the screen colors to black and white. I set app time limits. I tried to exhibit a little more self-control. But after six months, nothing seemed to be making a difference.

How unfair, I thought, that I never got the chance to exist in the world on my own without a tiny powerful computer at my fingertips.

Then it clicked. No one is forcing me to have a smartphone.

In July, I started researching the experiences of people who switched to dumbphones ranging from traditional flip phones to modified smart phones with limited apps. I noticed a lot of people in the dumbphone community were clamoring to get one specific device: the Light Phone III. There’s a long waitlist to get one directly from the company that makes them; I’m inpatient so I found mine on eBay. I paid less than half of what a new iPhone costs.

The Light Phone III is a small, thick black box. My friends call it my brick. You can send texts and make calls, get directions, take photos, listen to music and podcasts, set alarms and write notes. It also has a flashlight, a calendar and a hotspot.

The only thing it doesn’t have is access to the internet — no social media, Google or email.

Going from iPhone to Light Phone was not a smooth transition. My friends complained they couldn’t track my location. Without Apple Pay I had to get back into the habit of bringing my wallet and cash everywhere.

For a while I still reached for my phone whenever I had a thought I wanted to share on Instagram. And I felt like I was missing out on what others were sharing.

But it’s been worth it. My days feel longer. I cancelled my Spotify subscription and figured out how to download CDs. I spend hours reading books instead of doomscrolling. I talk to my friends and family on the phone. I have no clue what my long lost high school classmates are up to, which is OK.

I won’t be switching back anytime soon. In fact, I’ve resolved that this year I’ll be devoting some of my newfound free time to a classic January cliche: the gym membership I bought last week.