Can dumbphones help with social media addiction? Minimalist tech tester has the answer

But you should ask yourself whether you’re making a trade-off. For every hour you’re spending researching hotels or managing your savings, how many are you spending doomscrolling or otherwise wasting time? And for every useful notification you get about your boiler or the status of your Waitrose order, how many adverts or spam messages are interrupting your life? How often do work emails harsh your vibe on a Friday or Sunday night? A dumbphone can help you omit some of these stress-inducing influences, albeit at a cost that only you can know is worth it or not.

Are these being created to prevent teenagers and young people from becoming dependent on smartphones?

Lisa, South East

Some dumb devices like the Karri Messenger and Xplora One are overtly aimed at and marketed towards parents of young children. Some dumbed-down smartphones like the HMD Fuse are designed for older kids.

The majority of dumbphones I review either cater to adults who want a basic device for whatever reason, or are primarily sold to people where long battery life, rugged build quality and selected practical features are more important than full-featured smartphone capabilities.

There is limited research into how dumbphones can meaningfully help reduce smartphone addiction and other digital horrors in young people, with serious proactive concern about young people’s screen time being a relatively niche concern.

It’s also true that many young people face the same obstacles as adults do when attempting a dumbphone lifestyle. As an example, WhatsApp is baked into British life, and will only run on smartphones. With growing interest from Gen Z and Gen Alpha in digital detoxing, these demographics will certainly continue to fuel the dumb device resurgence.

Can a dumbphone run banking apps?

Konstantinos, London

A traditional dumbphone won’t run any apps, even if it does have a 4G connection. The Barbie Phone, Nokia 3310, Motorola FW410 and IMO Dash are all examples of basic phones that won’t run banking or navigation apps, instead offering only phones and SMS messages, alongside a handful of basic tools like calculators and memos.