Gen Z likes "brick" phones

The Boring Phone is a flip phone created by a collaboration between beer brand Heineken and fashion retailer Bodega. It is said to meet the needs of people who want to remove smartphones from their lives.

The product was first introduced at Milan Design Week (Italy), opening a new trend. Not only fashion is likely to make a comeback, technology consumption trends may also follow this spiral.

One of the main reasons why "brick" phones are popular among young people is because of concerns that smart products have the function of collecting data and revealing personal information. Not onlyThe Boring Phone, vintage electronic products such as vinyl records, cassette tapes and old-fashioned mobile phones are also in high demand.

Nostalgia for the Nokia 3310, which was considered to have the longest battery life, brought the device back to market in 2017. But it wasn't until last year that demand for foldable phones exploded in the US.

Hashtag#bringbackflipphones(bringing back the flip phone) is all over TikTok. HMD Global, the company behind the legendary Nokia brand, also saw its foldable phone sales double by April 2024.

Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, said that in the North American market, sales of "brick" phones are increasing steadily. "Over the next five years, sales of these devices could increase by 5% due to health concerns caused by smartphones," Moorhead predicted.

However, according to technology analyst Joe Birch, Apple and Samsung products are unlikely to be replaced. "But today's young generation is changing their consumer behavior. They fear the negative impact of the digital world on their lives," Birch said, adding that statistics show that three out of five Gen Zers say they want to be less connected to the digital world.

Research firm GWI reports that a portion of Gen Z is starting to reduce the amount of time they spend on social media. The generation's online time is set to decline starting in 2021.

Lars Silberbauer, chief marketing officer at HMD, said that for the first four hours of the internet detox, users felt anxious and restless. But then they noticed an increase in their ability to concentrate and returned to other activities.

According to technology analysts at the Portulans Institute (USA), consumers in their 20s are very concerned about privacy. They believe that their actions on the Internet today are monitored by brands, governments and scammers. This makes it difficult for young people to freely pursue their personal interests on digital platforms.

Older technology can also create more freedom, such as enjoying music. “Brick” phones may prevent users from accessing digital music stores on Spotify or YouTube, but artists continue to release records for their fans.

However, the downside of leaving the digital world is losing access to public services.

Hannah Whelan, data coordinator at the charity Good Things Foundation, said around 2.4 million households in the UK cannot afford to own a smartphone, and two million young people in the country lack access to services, materials and educational tools on the internet.

“Most essential services now exist online, including education, healthcare and credit,” said Hannah Whelan, who said people who can’t scan QR codes to fill out forms or order food could be at a disadvantage.

Petter Neby, founder of vintage electronics supplier Punkt, said a group of students in New York (USA) have announced to give up iPhones and switch to flip phones from the end of 2022.

But weaning children off smartphones is no easy task. As the UK school system has been implementing activities such as planning education, assigning and checking homework online, it is impossible to ban children from using smartphones.

Unable to completely eliminate smartphones, technology sales director Piers Garett is looking for ways to limit the negative impact of the digital world on daily life.

The 27-year-old said he only uses banking and education apps, and actively turns off all unnecessary notifications. Every morning when he wakes up, Piers will drink coffee and read a book instead of checking his phone messages.

“This habit helps clear my mind,” says Piers.