Reevaluating your relationship with your devices? Looking to cut down on screen time? You’re not alone. According to ConsumerAffairs, 57% of people in the United States consider themselves addicted to their mobile phones.
Concerns about smartphone use are especially acute when it comes to young people. According to Pew Research, about two-thirds of parents who think it’s harder to be a teenager today than 20 years ago attribute that to social media and other technology that has risen in that time. And nearly half of US teens say they are online almost constantly each day. No wonder parent-led campaigns like Smartphone Free Childhood and Gen-Z efforts like Luddite clubs keep attracting public attention.
In this era, being “chronically online” can be a bragging point or a personal struggle depending on who you ask. Terms like “touching grass” and “digital detox” have emerged as shorthand for different kinds of intentional time offline. The tech marketplace is meeting this cultural moment with low-tech products like distraction-free writing devices and new versions of now-hip, early-00s, compact digital cameras. However, dumbphones, i.e. non-smartphones like flip phones and feature phones, have taken center stage as a potential solution for excessive smartphone use, social media addiction, and rampant doomscrolling.
We used our social listening and analytics solution to see just how much consumers are talking about these low-tech phones online. But first…
How big is the topic of doomscrolling?
Mentions of doomscrolling, binge scrolling, and related terms across all channels from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
For some context around where anxiety about smartphone use currently stands, let’s take a look at the use of the term “doomscrolling”, referring to the act of excessively scrolling through bleak online news, scathing social media comments, and other anxiety-inducing digital content.
From April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, there were about 1.41 million mentions of doomscrolling, binge scrolling, and other variations across broadcast, news, product reviews, and more than a dozen social media channels including X, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, and Bluesky. Mentions remained relatively steady in that time, increasing by 3% in the second half of that 12-month period compared to the first.
The biggest day for discussion of this compulsive scrolling behavior? November 6, 2024, the day after the US presidential election when mentions spiked by 45%. Meanwhile, engagement with content mentioning doomscrolling peaked more recently on March 17. That day, fans of K-pop star Junyin discussed and reacted to her open letter that mentioned “nights of doomscrolling through comments, knowing I shouldn’t” during a low point in her life.
As the cultural significance of doomscrolling continues, smartphones are increasingly central to widespread anxieties about personal well-being and digital control. As a result, not since flip phones first appeared on the market has there arguably been more demand for non-smartphones.
How big is the buzz about dumbphones?
Mentions of dumphones, flip phones, and related keywords across all channels from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
From April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, there were about 784,000 mentions of dumbphones, flip phones, feature phones, and related keywords across broadcast, news, product reviews, and more than a dozen social media channels including X, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, and Bluesky.
The biggest spike (a 117% surge in conversation) occurred on August 30, 2024, after Mattel and Nokia maker Human Mobile Devices announced their collaboration: a Barbie branded-flip phone.
Coming about a year after the blockbuster Barbie movie, the hot pink phone calls, texts, and takes photos, but doesn’t offer access to social media apps. And though it seamlessly taps into enduring Y2k nostalgia, its marketing emphasizes the phone as a tool to spend less time on the screen and more time in the present. “Pick up and give your smartphone a vacay,” the product page and video ad proclaim, highlighting smartphone-free time as the ultimate getaway.
That longing for digital escape is also reflected in the most engaged piece of content about dumbphones from the past year, an X post from February 22, 2025 featuring a photo of a TCL Flip Pro phone and the words “2025 boutta be so peaceful”. It generated about 451,000 engagement actions in just over a month.
So while brainrot characterizes digital discourse today, its counterbalance may very well be the desire for more agency in determining our connected habits. Dumbphones are unlikely to ever replace smartphones, but expect tech minimalism, digital mindfulness, and other intentionality around device usage and content consumption to remain in the cultural undercurrent this year and beyond.
Takeaways for marketers
Logging off is self-care. The buzz around dumbphones reflects a cultural shift around how people value their off-screen time. Smartphones aren’t wholly seen as the liberating devices they once were. Meanwhile, digital disconnectedness seems to have become the ultimate luxury. Instead of ignoring this elephant in the room, marketers should find ways to lean into the contradiction of trying to engage with audiences scrolling passively, or even guiltily, on their phones. These days, little is more relatable than wanting to escape the pressures of constant availability online. Brands that can speak to that urge authentically will inevitably stand out
Early ‘00s nostalgia is about more than aesthetics, it’s about simplicity. As the Barbie flip phone and doomscrolling discussion highlight, consumers aren’t just looking to the recent past for fashion inspiration. They are looking for an escape from our not-so-uniquely modern anxieties around technology. Brands that can tap into the freedom and technological simplicity that the ‘00s and ‘90s have come to represent (not just the pop culture references) will be able to resonate with consumers overwhelmed with digital noise.
