Do Dumbphones Cure Smartphone Addiction?

After realizing that I was addicted to my smartphone, I did the only logical thing: I googled, "How do I cure my smartphone addiction?" This search returned multiple pages and different sites offering advice on reducing screen time or, more extreme, ditching the phone altogether.

Eventually, I came across the concept of "dumbphones." At this point, I hadn’t heard of digital minimalism, but I stumbled upon a Reddit post about dumbphones. I liked the idea of using a device that wasn’t tempting to waste hours on but still functioned as a phone. I was in such a poor mental state that I jumped into my dumbphone journey without much research and bought the Nokia 6300 4G.

That was the first of many devices I would try. I went back to older smartphones like the BlackBerry Q10 and even a Motorola Razr V3. I experimented with minimalist dumbphones like the Punkt MP01 and MP02. I also tried "dumbing down" smartphones by using minimalist launchers and removing any apps that tempted me to waste time. Recently, I’ve been using the HMD Barbie Phone. Despite my love for dumbphones, I eventually realized that these devices had not cured my smartphone addiction.

Dumbphones are tools, but they didn’t address the underlying issues causing my addiction. I believe most addictions stem from unresolved issues that need to be worked through with medical guidance or therapy. I noticed that when my mental health started to decline, my screen time and need for a smartphone would drastically increase. This self-awareness has helped me monitor my relationship with technology and how quickly my usage can go from normal to unhealthy.

Dumbphones haven’t cured my addiction, but digital minimalism has helped me become more aware of and manage it by developing tools and strategies to deal with smartphone dependency. Dumbphones were my gateway into the philosophy and lifestyle of digital minimalism. Everyone’s relationship with technology is different, and the reasons for it are as varied as the apps that suck us in for hours, days, months—and in my case, years. If you’re thinking a dumbphone will cure your smartphone addiction, I suggest also examining why you’re spending so much time on your device in the first place. Is it just a habit? Is it boredom? Are you anxious or experiencing FOMO? Or are you, like me, trying to escape the reality that life isn’t what you expected, and you're avoiding dealing with it?