The Rise of Dumb Co: Trading Smartphones for Flip Phones
When Lydia Peabody saw her friend pull out a flip phone at a party last year, she burst out laughing.
“I was like, ‘Girl, what are you doing with this thing? This must be a joke!'” Peabody told TechCrunch. But it wasn’t just a prop: Her friend was participating in Month Offline, a community challenge where participants swapped their smartphones for flip phones.
A Journey from Skepticism to Advocacy
Peabody couldn’t imagine giving up her smartphone, but her friend’s experience intrigued her. A year later, Peabody’s life took a turn. She left her career as a licensed therapist to become the founding marketing director of Dumb Co, a company that evolved from Month Offline, and she is now happier.
“I did Month Offline and I was like, ‘Whoa, why am I suddenly not anxious anymore? Do I feel okay?” she said. “I didn’t even know this was what I needed and that spending so much time on my screen after work made me feel so gross.”
Introducing Dumb Co’s Innovative Flip Phone
Dumb Co sells flip phones that sync with your smartphone, rather than replacing it, creating a happy medium between the infinite connectivity of the iPhone and the limitations of an early 2000s relic. Funded by friends and family, the company is run by a small team in their 20s and 30s who, like their peers, are dissatisfied with the fast pace of a plugged-in life. They grew up with iPads and Instagram but now seek simplicity.
Into the humble shell of a $20 TCL flip phone, Dumb Co loads its own software so users can access apps like WhatsApp, Spotify, Apple Music, and Uber. You can even access iMessage through a third-party app (shh, don’t tell Apple). By packing familiar comforts like streaming music, maps, and blue bubble text into a flip phone, Dumb Co is creating something for people who want to reduce their screen time and be more present but struggle to completely unplug in a world designed for the smartphone.
Image credits: Dumb Co.
Navigating a New Digital Landscape
“We’re trying to create something where you can leave your smartphone at home and literally live your life and interact with other people,” Dumb Co communications director Afreka Ebanks told TechCrunch. “And when you want to use your smartphone and go home, you can use it because the call forwarding and SMS forwarding functions can be turned off.”
I spent over a month testing the device – which Dumb Co calls the Dumb Phone – knowing that in case of emergency, I always had my iPhone within reach. I didn’t use the Dumb Phone much at first, but as I carried it around to show my friends, I noticed that they weren’t confused by my flip phone – they envied it.
“I’ve had a lot of interesting conversations with people while I’m walking and someone sees me at a red light and asks, ‘What do you have?'” said Ebanks, who flashed his flip phone. “I think it’s a great conversation starter, and I think it’s amazing to see people – myself included – overcome the difficulty of socializing with others, because I’m no longer distracted because I’m looking at my phone.”
The author uses an iPhone and a Dumb Phone.Image credits:Sam Rizer (opens in a new window)
Challenges and Rewards of Downshifting
The Dumb Phone is sometimes clunky. It’s slower than usual and I end up spending more time typing T9 texts than if I was just using my iPhone (what I really want is a stupid sidekick with a QWERTY keyboard). Yet there’s something undeniably refreshing about knowing that if you want to open social media, take a photo you’ll never look at again, or check your email, you can’t.
When I spoke to Peabody near the end of my month of dual iPhone/flip phone ownership, she asked me if I’d ever left the house with just my flip phone. I admitted no. I explained that I sometimes need to check public transportation schedules or follow Slack if I’m heading to an appointment during the day.
“The truth is, when you say the word need, it almost gives the same meaning as ‘I need food or shelter,'” Peabody told me. “Yes, of course, it’s useful to know when the buses are coming, but if you don’t have that information, you turn to your neighbor and say, ‘Do you know when the next bus is coming?’ »
Image credits:Lucy Mauries / Dumb Co.
Experiencing Life Offline
Peabody dared me to leave my iPhone at home. On the day of our conversation, I had already planned to report on an event at a library across town. I tried to explain that I had never been to this library and didn’t know which metro station to get off at. She told me to just write down the instructions before leaving. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to record interviews at the event. She told me the Dumb Phone could record audio.
“I really, really want you to do this, because I know it’s something that’s better to experience,” Peabody said. “When I upgraded to a Dumb Phone last summer, I didn’t use my smartphone for seven weeks and took a cross-country road trip to New Mexico. I didn’t think I could do that, but I’m telling you you can.”
I was running out of excuses. Peabody has traveled thousands of miles without a smartphone. How could I tell him that I needed my iPhone so I could check that Tasker-Morris was the correct train stop?
Smartphones and social media are not a one-sided evil. It’s very useful to connect with friends online, send photos of your dog to your grandmother, and use Apple Pay when you forget your wallet. Although researchers don’t categorize smartphone addiction the way they would substance addiction, there are certainly parallels. Not everyone has a conflicted relationship with their phone, but for people like me, spending more time in front of a screen often makes me more anxious, unfocused, and less grounded. Peabody even compared his relationship with his phone to getting addicted to Juul in college.
“It was really, really hard, but I totally broke that addiction, and now when I see a vape or something, I hate it — I’m like, ‘Oh no, I don’t want that,'” she said. “When I turned off my smartphone for seven weeks, I thought about using it again, and I felt the same revulsion. I actually didn’t look at it or touch it.”
The author uses an iPhone and a Dumb Phone.Image credits:Sam Rizer (opens in a new window)
I was nervous about leaving my iPhone at home, but I trusted my knowledge of the public transit system and managed to get across town without my iPhone (I admit, I texted someone just to be extra sure that the library is at the Tasker-Morris stop). When I needed to send a text that was too long to type in T9, I sent a voice message. I felt more connected with the world around me and nothing went wrong.
Balancing Digital Needs with Offline Experiences
I don’t see myself switching exclusively to the Dumb Phone, but I find it valuable as a tool to help me pay more attention to how and when I use my smartphone. The Dumb Phone comes with a black velvet pouch, which you’re supposed to put your smartphone in when you leave it at home. I can’t give up the iPhone all at once, but I threw the velvet pouch in my bag on a trip to the beach, just in case. I used it for several things, like ordering food and checking train schedules. But while I was enjoying a day at the beach, I didn’t take out my phone. I had a book, a sandwich, two bottles of water, sunscreen – what else would I need?
For more about this journey into the world of flip phones, visit the original source Here.
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