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Cellphones

Gen Z's New Fascination With Flip Phones (cnn.com) 126

Slashdot reader quonset writes: In what is becoming a recurring theme, Gen Z keeps harkening back to nostalgia. Whether low-rise jeans or disposable cameras, they can't seem to get enough of vintage technology from the past. Their latest obsession? Flip phones.

Why this fascination? Several reasons. Flip phones are far less expensive than any smart phone, easier to operate as they have few, if any, software included, there isn't the incessant need to see who messaged you or who said what and, perhaps just as important, privacy. For a generation which grew up on being tracked wherever they go via their phone, a flip phone's simplicity allows them the freedom to simply enjoy their life.

HMD Global (the company which owns Nokia) said many people like the idea being less available. "We attribute this shift to many smartphone users beginning to recognize they are spending too much time glued to their devices and having a strong desire to disconnect and 'be fully present' to improve their quality of social connections," Kates said.

CNN spoke to one influencer pushing flip phones — Sammy Palazzolo, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Palazzolo's TikTok encouraging others to purchase flip phones has more than 14 million views and over 3 million likes, with hashtags that include #BRINGBACKFLIPPHONES and #y2kaesthetic. [The video says that instead of apps, the phones will only have the phone numbers of their other friends.] "It eliminates all the bad things about college and brings all of the good things about a phone," Palazzolo said. "Which is connecting with people and taking photos and videos...."

Palozzolo wanted to use a flip phone during one high school summer because she thought it would be "cool."

"My parents said absolutely not, we need to be able to track you," she said.

"I love the photos on the flip phones because they are grainy and blurry," Palazzolo tells CNN. "And I think that captures the vibe of going out in college perfectly...."

And one 18-year-old told CNN what they think is missing from the flip phone era. "People were more involved in each other than our phones and social media. It seemed like people just were talking to each other more and everything was more genuine and spontaneous."
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Gen Z's New Fascination With Flip Phones

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  • Still being tracked (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Dummies.
  • That counts as technology? Just how weak is your thesis if you have to use that as supporting evidence of "old technology", Mr. Author?

  • by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Sunday January 15, 2023 @04:32PM (#63210902)

    When I was a teen, we were into "vintage" stuff from the 50's and 60's. My mom used to tell me vintage is all the crap her generation couldn't throw away fast enough.

    Fast forward to today. I'm the one with the reading glasses, and I'm stunned to see on Youtube channel after channel dedicated to "retro computing" - ya know, restoring C64s, Vic20s, Atari STs, collecting diskettes and drives of all kinds. The fascination this generation has for old computer shit from my youth, and the time and money they spend restoring crummy crumbling 80s plastic cases and recapping 80s boards that have essentially zero value to people my age is beyond comprehension.

    But then I recall what my mom said about the stuff we found fascinating and I understand. It's my turn to be a grumpy old fart :)

    So yeah flip phones. And cassette decks. And turntables... Have fun with those. We who actually had to use that shit because there was nothing better back then will keep our smartphones and terabyte-size solid state drives thank you very much :)

    • by NFN_NLN ( 633283 )

      > The fascination this generation has for old computer shit from my youth, and the time and money they spend restoring crummy crumbling 80s plastic cases

      If it helps you sleep better at night that group is probably were tiny. I would think adults who still collect pokemon cards probably outnumber them by several orders of magnitude. The irony is that collecting pokemon cards is probably a bigger waste of time.

      [insert comments below about how your pokemon card collection is beating some house pricing, st

      • by skam240 ( 789197 )

        I don't collect Pokemon cards or anything but I am familiar with the fact that they can be quite valuable so I thought it was funny that you basically refute your own claim that collecting Pokemon cards is a waste of time.

        I mean, I wish my hobbies involved material possessions that increased in value so readily. The material possessions required for my own hobbies typically depreciate in value if they change value at all.

    • by MrKaos ( 858439 )

      Yeah - I put all that gear in storage because I didn't know what to do with it. I looked after it, all in good condition and now I can finally sell it, I mean I never thought someone would want to buy my old Panasonic HiFi VHS VCR, now there looks like a market for it.

      Thank you Gen Z's - I hope you enjoy the gear as much as I did.

    • So yeah flip phones. And cassette decks. And turntables... Have fun with those. We who actually had to use that shit because there was nothing better back then will keep our smartphones and terabyte-size solid state drives thank you very much :)

      Yeah, Ima keep my smartphone and digital audio. Still like mechanical watches, muscle cars, and furniture made out of real wood instead of MDF though. Might even hook up my old turntable one day myself. Old and new can coexist just fine.

      • Old and new can coexist just fine.

        Yep.I have a collection of tapes and records, but also have CDs and a lot of files in my file server. I can use digital video and VHS just fine. Some things are better for some uses.

    • We who actually had to use that shit because there was nothing better back then will keep our smartphones and terabyte-size solid state drives thank you very much :)

      I used cassettes, records and R2R tapes when I was a kid and I never stopped using them, but got better equipment, stuff that I could not afford when I was a kid.
      A file server with terabytes of storage is great, but playing an old DOS game that I played when I was a kid on an old PC is also cool.

      I dislike touch screens (and the smartphone OSs) so I do not use a smartphone and I try to avoid subscriptions whenever possible.

      I have a lot of tapes and records. Could I spend a lot of time to digitize them all to

    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 ) <[ten.frow] [ta] [todhsals]> on Sunday January 15, 2023 @05:55PM (#63211088)

      Fast forward to today. I'm the one with the reading glasses, and I'm stunned to see on Youtube channel after channel dedicated to "retro computing" - ya know, restoring C64s, Vic20s, Atari STs, collecting diskettes and drives of all kinds. The fascination this generation has for old computer shit from my youth, and the time and money they spend restoring crummy crumbling 80s plastic cases and recapping 80s boards that have essentially zero value to people my age is beyond comprehension.

      I'm fascinated by computers of the 90s. I grew up in the 80s and was in my teens in the 90s.

      You know why that is? Because I couldn't afford any of the 90s computers. As a teen with no money, and dependent on parents for technology, you had maybe a PC and if you were lucky, it was decent. But if you wanted an Amiga, or a Mac from that era, it was usually off limits and restricted in use by whoever owned them.

      And your PC at home, maybe you were lucky to have a sound card, a real Sound Blaster if you got really lucky. If not, PC bleeps and bloops.

      Today's PCs run circles around anything from the 90s, and I can certainly play the games on my modern Core i7 with 32GB of RAM using DOSBox (X/ECE/etc) with virtual hardware and sound cards that would make younger me green with envy to have $10,000 worth of PC now reduced down to free software running on a $500 PC.

      And no, I'm not giving up my Steam Deck. But I also find it fascinating to do it on vintage hardware as well. To have the PC of your dreams of the 90s realized in physical form on your desk, to actually touch it, well, it's a thrill.

      Granted, it's not going to be a daily driver - I'm not going to boot the 486 up just to play a game - doing it in DOSBox is way easier, quicker and everything else. But it's nice to have the physical object to touch and appreciate and fire up.

      Same goes with say, a Commodore 64. You can fire up an emulator trivially enough and load it up much more easily than trying to keep old hardware working. But hey, it's fascinating to play with technology you can understand now when you're an adult that you couldn't when you were a kid.

      I suppose the difference is like why bother to fly to Paris, France and get to the Louvre and pay all the money to get in to see the Mona Lisa, when you can view it on your PC at home via the Internet? I mean, why visit a museum when most museums are online and you can see the artifacts via the Internet? Why visit the Smithsonian?

      Owning a retro something or other is basically the same - except unlike in a museum, you can actually have the object in your house because there were so many made.'

      I do understand the feeling - I mean, in the 90s I recycled a few computers I didn't see the need to keep (including my old Commodore 64 and associated equipment plus a few old PCs) - they were crap to me. Of course, 20 years later, I regret having tossed them because I would like to experience them again. On the other hand, I was glad I didn't toss other bits of equipment away - I still have the laptops I had from the era. Funny enough, that stuff I kept relatively complete as I still have the disks and documentation it all came with, I just tossed the boxes.

      • Yep. I have several C64s and C128s in various states of assembly/disrepair in my house, and I watch most of the YT channels that Rosco is describing. I had both a C64 and C128 when I was a kid in the late 80s/early 90s, but pre-internet the availability of documentation or just opportunities to learn about the design of the machine was lacking, especially for a kid.

        Today, I can easily find a YT video explaining just about any feature, component, repair, trick, flaw or just interesting tidbit about the machi

      • Well if that's your jam...

        Try some modern DooM 2. I personally think the best experience is with the boom series of limit removing source ports. They're basically original DooM2, but with the fixed length buffers replaced with malloc, so they allow much much much larger everything. Also they have a few extra features which are in the spirit of the original, and of course render at full res.

        Basically it's DooM 2 but the levels are far, far beyond what the best (never mind average) machines of the day could h

      • by skam240 ( 789197 )

        You know why that is? Because I couldn't afford any of the 90s computers. As a teen with no money, and dependent on parents for technology, you had maybe a PC and if you were lucky, it was decent. But if you wanted an Amiga, or a Mac from that era, it was usually off limits and restricted in use by whoever owned them.

        You and I had very different adolescents. We had a shitty Mac in our house as the family computer. I saved up and built my first PC when I was 15 at my first job so I could play PC games with my friends and have a computer with an actual modem in it.

    • This isn't just tech, it happens in clothing, computers, audio too. Youth joins the fad of collecting "retro" junk.

      i.e. Every 20 years bell bottoms come back briefly before disappearing for another 19 years.

    • Fast forward to today. I'm the one with the reading glasses, and I'm stunned to see on Youtube channel after channel dedicated to "retro computing" - ya know, restoring C64s, Vic20s, Atari STs, collecting diskettes and drives of all kinds.

      Why? There's youtube channels dedicated to almost everything. I don't see why trying to keep alive some recent, important but rapidly fading history from 30-40 years ago is weirder than any other hobby.

      I have a few bits, never got round to discarding them first time round

    • I think it's like, you can go into a museum and among the exhibits see, let's say a scythe or a hoe as used by a 13th century peasant. Now, to an actual 13th century peasant this would be the most mundane uninteresting shit ever and if they were told people pay money to see these things they'd think these people completely insane. On the other hand the 13th century peasant would probably completely lose their shit on seeing a tractor. But to us it's interesting to get a glimpse of a life very different from

  • by bjoast ( 1310293 ) on Sunday January 15, 2023 @04:39PM (#63210914)
    The simplest explanation is that they have seen them in movies and think they are cool gadgets from the past.
    • I can't see them trying to get some Filofaxes, though...

    • Corollary: They have no idea how inadequate those devices were, and that there was a reason we transitioned from them to something better. And it wasn't just because of marketing.

      I'm not a slave to my phone by any means, but being a teen of the late 70s and 80s, I can't imagine how we got through those years without being able to multimedia text people (show a picture of the thing we were sent to the store for, rather than buy the wrong item and have to take it back), google things as we went along, and
      • I can't imagine how we got through those years without being able to multimedia text people (show a picture of the thing we were sent to the store for, rather than buy the wrong item and have to take it back), google things as we went along, and bring up a map to show us where we were at any given time, especially in unfamiliar cities.

        We would use those two fleshy appendages which attach below your torso to "walk" to what we used to call a "shop". At such venues, you could exchange rectangles made of cotton

        • I lived through maps. I like maps. I still have some maps laying around somewhere. I have memories of Mum, in the passenger seat reading a map, telling Dad how to get through strange cities while he was driving. But having one in your pocket that gives you active updates is way better than guessing, "What road did we just pass?" And then quickly triangulating where you are so you can figure out where you need to go - all while in rush hour traffic.
          • But you said they were "inadequate". We got around before GPS. It was a bit slower and sometimes we got lost and had to use the index in the back, but we still got everywhere we needed to go using them. That's pretty much the definition of adequate.

            A map on a phone with GPS is much better (until it doesn't load. Har de har fuck you google for assuming there is very fast internet everywhere), but a paper map is adequate.

      • by nasch ( 598556 )

        Things I would have with me or in my car that I no longer do:

        - notepad
        - pens
        - maps
        - phone book
        - camera

        A smart phone is much more convenient but other than looking up information away from home, I could do anything I needed to.

  • by hackertourist ( 2202674 ) on Sunday January 15, 2023 @04:39PM (#63210916)

    whole swaths of society now require a smartphone for you to access them. I'm running into this now with my phone, an iPhone 5s that is starting to be no longer supported by various apps (as they are updated and now require a newer OS than can be installed on the 5s). It's had a good run (bought it secondhand in 2016). I still kinda resent that this is happening. Why do I need a smartphone to access my local gym? Why do websites that I access on my computer require me to have a smartphone as well, while phone apps don't have 2FA that requires a computer?

    • So far I have not encountered problems for not having an app-compatible phone. Some of the 2FA schemes can run on a PC. Some websites just send a text message as 2FA.

      • Some of the 2FA schemes can run on a PC.

        Like Authy [authy.com] that, for those unfamiliar, is compatible with Google Authenticator, supports syncing across multiple devices, including Windows, Linux and iOS, and supports encrypted cloud backups.

    • My work installed a new security system which requires an App on my phone so I can get into the office. Then you have 2FA for everything. Besides that, the older phones will be phased out over time by the telco's as they constantly move to newer network technology and retire the older ones as they do.

    • Really? I've never encountered any service or website I couldn't access using a web browser or a phone call instead of a phone app. What kind of stuff are you using?
      • I can give you one: Virgin Money in the UK is app only. Attempting to login to the website tells you to use the app and the website doesn't exist anymore. Once the 0% period ends I shan't be keeping it, I have no love for apps. But I am aware I'm a statistic in some asshole's excel sheet that he's using to demonstrate the popularity of apps and in turn convince other companies to do the same. I get the impression what happened was that their security and authentication for using the credit card online was s
  • What is a flip phone? Did they mean a feature phone?

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by quonset ( 4839537 )

      What is a flip phone? Did they mean a feature phone?

      Nope. A phone that flips open and closed [lolnein.com]. I have the Cingular Flip 4. Does exactly what I need: make and receive calls. No extra shit involved.

      • What is a flip phone? Did they mean a feature phone?

        Nope. A phone that flips open and closed [lolnein.com]. I have the Cingular Flip 4. Does exactly what I need: make and receive calls. No extra shit involved.

        From what I've seen, yes. A "flip phone" is usually a feature phone (opposed to a smart phone) that opens/closes like clam-shell.

    • Yes. A "flip phone" is usually a feature phone that opens/closes like clam-shell.

  • by VonSkippy ( 892467 ) on Sunday January 15, 2023 @04:49PM (#63210942) Homepage

    So in other words, Gen Z has no self control and can only limit things if they physically remove devices that have more features then they think they can handle. The human race is doomed.

    • So in other words, Gen Z has no self control and can only limit things if they physically remove devices that have more features then they think they can handle. The human race is doomed.

      Is this any different than an alcoholic removing all alcohol fom their home?

      • Is this any different than an alcoholic removing all alcohol fom their home?

        No, and maybe that's the point. Someone having to resort to a method used by alcoholics to stay away of the object of addiction, it says a lot about their lack of self-control.

        • Agreed. However, it also shows them recognizing their lack of self-control and taking action. Which is still far better than all those celebrities who kick off because of drug use despite having the world by the balls and able to pay others to keep them in line.

          • Yeah... that was the boomer in me talking. I put a little more thought on it and reached the same conclusion of yours.
            What's the problem if they want to use flip-phones? Whatever floats their boat on helping self-control, give them a break.

        • Or maybe they just don't want the "features". Using your analogy I don't drink alcohol because I don't want to, I have no desire to drink it so there is no alcohol in my house.

          Seriously I got a free second hand smart phone because of COVID scanning, now I don't have to scan I will be happy to go back to a feature phone. I am not addicted at all my phone can be flat for days before I notice. I just need to find a reasonable feature phone when my battery dies.

    • Translation: they both have more self control than you and more self awareness so they can maximise its effectiveness.

    • by skam240 ( 789197 )

      Gen Z should probably stay off your lawn too, right?

      We've had people complaining about the youth being the end of society for as long ad there's been society https://historyhustle.com/2500... [historyhustle.com] . If any of these complaints ever had an ounce of reality to them human civilization would have ended long ago

      • Well, this ditch-smartphone thing is so characteristic of people who don't yet have to pay their own bills. See, mine are all paid through the banking app of my bank, or the website accessed via that app. They used to have an alternate mode, but intend to ditch it rather soon, or so I heard. And you know, the opinion of someone who doesn't yet pay their own bills is, well...
        • by skam240 ( 789197 )

          As if a smart phone is a necessity to getting your bills paid electronically.

    • You're right on the point. Some weeks ago there was an article in the NYT about a group of adolescents who pride themselves on ditching their iPhones (all iPhones btw) and being oh so social media-free. I thought, wait a second, since when iPhone=social media? When I got mine, it did not have any social app preinstalled. But it did have Books (and you can download Kindle app), so I have immediate access to all sorts literature, including the kind I wouldn't find in any bookstore (like hundred year old books
  • Because, they never heard of it. But hey, kudos to the corps doing the marketing. What is next? Hey! look at this new cool round dial pad!
  • They assert flip phones are cheaper than "any smartphone", I will have to call BS on that, at least in practice and in the American market.

    The last time I went into a store looking for a flip phone, there weren't any available for under $40. The last time I was forced to get a smart phone, I got a refurbished Samsung for $15. It did require purchase of prepaid service for an additional $15, but they had a boatload of smartphones in the $20-30 range that didn't require a plan purchase.

    I don't understand why

  • by Big Hairy Gorilla ( 9839972 ) on Sunday January 15, 2023 @05:05PM (#63210972)
    Nope. No one under a certain age gives a flying fsck about privacy.

    Some of them even argue in favor of the opposite of privacy. I guess if you've been bought by Instagram or youtube, you've accepted that tradeoff. That's fairly easy to see until you burn out, I guess.
  • "...that mid-1990s era phone that has suddenly become oh so popular with millennials."

    Clearly the author of the article has no idea what a millennial is.

  • But if you grow up without it, it's all you crave.

    I'm talking about freedom. My generation was so used to not being tracked that they didn't even notice how it happened because the large majority of us never had to suffer from overbearing helicopter parents that track every fart you pass, and most don't even notice how everything they buy, watch or eat is tracked, analyzed and marketed. We don't care. We never had to suffer from it.

    These kids had to. And they're fed up with it.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      Not just not being tracked, but being allowed, expected, sometimes forced to go places on our own, without any form parental supervision. Our parents never drove us anywhere, that's why they gave us good bikes. Visit friends, go to the swimming pool or the cinema, or go outside city limits to mess around with fishing rods, camp fires and marshmallows. No adults around, no "call us when you get there", nothing. And that's how all our friends' parents did things as well.
      • How did we possibly survive...

      • by skam240 ( 789197 )

        I don't know if you ever watched the show Stranger Things but one of my initial joys in watching this show set in the 80's was seeing the kids riding bikes all over town. It was great nostalgia as those early experiences of my own independence are priceless to me.

        I'm not one to go on about my generation being "better" than younger ones but I do worry about the lack of any form of childhood independence on our youngest generations. It doesn't seem healthy to me.

        • Yeah, that show brought back memories. King also manages to capture that spirit quite well in works like "It" and "Stand by me".

          The first 10 or so years of my childhood have been a time of carefree independent discovery, and I'll always treasure those memories. I've often wondered if kids of later generations are missing something, when their childhood seems so much more sheltered, pre-packaged and structured. Though talking with my nephews and nieces (most now in their late teens), it seems that they
          • by skam240 ( 789197 )

            it seems that they look back on their own earlier years in much the same way as I do.

            Completely fair and exactly why I don't have any interest in claiming my generation is "better" than any younger one. I will say though that your metric is problematic as their sense of exploration could still be heavily stunted even if they have a sense of having had it. They just wouldnt know any better because their upbringing is what is normal to them.

      • My parents did expect me to call when I could or was going to be late, their where no cellphones when I was young, and they worried about me. But now since everyone has a phone and its easy to call, parents expect to be called and start worrying immediately when they don't get a call. Constant contactablity has not made it less stressful to be a parent but more so. Also kids are constantly nagged by their anxious parents. One of the many ways that I see that cellphones have made a problem that they say they

  • Palm Pilot and Handspring Visor were where it was at.

  • by youngone ( 975102 ) on Sunday January 15, 2023 @05:26PM (#63211020)

    "My parents said absolutely not, we need to be able to track you," she said.

    What awful parents. She'll be looking forward to moving out from under their thumb.

  • by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Sunday January 15, 2023 @05:33PM (#63211028)

    ... a flip phone's simplicity allows them the freedom to simply enjoy their life.

    You can also do that with a smartphone and some self-discipline.

    I don't use many of the features of my Pixel 5a, but appreciate the ability to text easily and easily use Google Maps, as well as a few other apps, like Authy, on the occasions I need to. I don't have any social-media apps or (god forbid) banking apps on my phone. I have never used more than 100MB of cell data in a month (WiFi data use is higher, mostly OS/app updates). I get my service through Ting (over T-Mobile) using their Flex plan and my monthly bill is $17.23 -- $10 - unlimited talk/text + $5 - 1 GB 5G data + taxes.

    • I would probably still be using a flip phone were it not for maps/navigation. And now I find having a weather app pretty indispensable as well.

      Also, always having a flashlight really comes in handy sometimes. (Probably the best one I've ever owned.)

      • I do text a little for quick things and can't imagine having to text using a numeric keyboard, but guess people get use to it ...

  • by quonset ( 4839537 ) on Sunday January 15, 2023 @05:37PM (#63211038)

    This article [businessinsider.com] from seven years ago listed successful, well-known people who use(d) flip phones. Granted, this was 2015 so things have changed, but at a time when Apple and others were ramping up their smart phones, these people could have easily gone the other way but chose not to.

    QA Andrew Luck also used and upgraded his flip phone [nfl.com] a year later.

    For something only two years old [therichest.com], another list of celebrities who exclusively use only flip phones.

    Let us also not forget, in Avengers: Infinity War, Tony Stark, arguably a master of technology, uses a flip phone [time.com].

    And speaking of millennials using flip phones, the University of Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennet uses a flip phone [fox43.com]. By choice.

    The Associated Press reported that Bennett felt like not having a smart phone allowed him to block out all distractions this season, especially on social media.

    He uses his laptop and tablet to check email, which has worked out just fine. There is one drawback, however. He has to carry a notepad to take notes. His flip phone doesn't have Notes app.

            By the way, Stetson Bennett has had the flip phone since summer. Yes this is his only phone. No, it wasn’t BECAUSE of anything other than he thought he was on his phone too much. Seriously. He wanted to be more present so this summer got a flip phone. #UGA
            — Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) January 5, 2022

    So grumble/whine/snark all you want, there's a reason people like and continue to use flip phones. And the market keeps growing.

    • Nitpick: HMD Global (the company which owns Nokia) isn't quite correct, they license (or obtained the right to use, in whatever legal way) the brand name for use on mobile handsets, Nokia the company still exists and they develop, produce and sell infrastructure equipment.
  • They'll be competing with the elderly buying Doro phones or similar with big buttons and limited functionality because buying a shitty limited device is ironic for some reason.
    • Hey, I like the Doro. It makes calls, it makes texts, and that is all I need. And for $50 I don't have to panic if it gets dropped one time too many.

      A smart phone really doesn't offer me anything more useful. If I need to use the internet I have a computer.

      • by DrXym ( 126579 )
        Doro is fine if you're elderly and intimidated by modern technology. It has a niche and it fills it. I don't know why anybody in possession of their faculties and brought up with smart phones would think it is a great idea to take such a retrograde step. And I say that as someone with stacks of old phones - candy bar phones, flip phones etc. They were fine for their time, but they suck now.
    • by twosat ( 1414337 )

      I had a Doro flip phone for a while but ended up hating it. It had a terrible camera and it was tedious to delete old texts because there was no way of selecting multiple texts for deleting.

  • Show them a palm pilot, they'll go nutz.
  • When tech that was cutting edge when you were in your 20s is now "vintage".

  • And we berate them for their lack of self-control, but if you thing about it, were we at their age mature enough to have self-control to use our gadgets in a healthy way? Weren't (or aren't) we playing videogames all night long?
    Actually, resorting to a flip phone to stay away of (anti)social media is just a way they found of doing a good thing for themselves. This shows they are being surprisingly self-aware of their tech addiction and if this method works for them, what's the problem?
    It's even kinda nice o

  • It's not about staying away from social media, more about security. That little smile I get when some bad actor texts me a malicious link, and I couldn't click it even if I wanted to. I had to give up my old Nokia because the old network it was on was going down, it was that old, and such a tank of a phone. My new phone is a flip, I think it works on 4G but I really don't care. It has Wifi, even a little browser. I checked it out a few times just for the novelty and it works but you'd be hard pressed t

  • This boomer is still holding on to his flip phone for +15 years now.

  • I guess Samsung & others are hyping up the "smart flip phone" to get Gen-Z onto another fad, in hopes of selling more OVERPRICED smart fliphones.
  • I could barely tell
  • They just license the Nokia brand to put their logo on their phones.

  • the new fidget spinner - it won't last long.

  • Having 2 or 3 Gen Z's who have a flip phone isn't a trend.

    Are sales actually up? Or is this just another nonsense news article?

  • They're not texting while driving, or while walking into people, or across the street without looking....

    And you *really* need to be online 24x7x365.25? Really? Why? Who's paying you to be?

    • by kackle ( 910159 )
      We hired a young man from India (work visa) for the first time at our small company. He told me that he and his friends were partially disappointed when phones with touch-screens took over there. They texted so much using the non-touch-screen phones that they could easily send messages without looking at the phone, just feeling the buttons. 'Less possible with a touch-screen.

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