Today with Claire Byrne, RTÉ Radio 1
In the beginning there was Snake… and then along came Steve Jobs and there was the smartphone.
RTÉ reporter Brian O’Connell spoke about a new and definitely retro movement on Today with Claire Byrne.
People still love their smartphones (thanks Steve) but there are a small but growing number of phone users who want to go back to the days when all you could do is make calls and text, he told Colm Ó Mongáin.
Yes, said Brian, it’s a niche market but ye olde flip Nokia is having a comeback. Apparently some people just prefer dumbphones to smart ones.
At Milan design week there was even a product marketed as a BoringPhone, he pointed out. The slogan reads: “Get out of your phone and into your life.”
O’Connell, seasoned reporter, always does the footwork on a story. He spoke to Michael Donoghue who works in the phone industry.
There are people in trades – builders and farmers – who like the simplicitiy of the old flip phone, he said. You’re not paying much more than €100, it’s less stressful and you’re far from the constant ping ping ping of social media.
Michael said he sees more and more people coming round to getting a dumbphone and being much happier because of it.
O’Connell also spoke to a student who smashed his phone, ended up with a Nokia and is happy to have upgraded to a downgrade.
Psychologist Dr Malie Coyne said more and more people are getting concerned about their mobile phone usage. Switching to a dumbphone is about limiting your behaviour – not having your head in your phone all the time.
The jury is out on whether smartphone usage is an addiction or a dependency, all that is still in its infancy.
While Dr Coyne wouldn’t give up the smartphone, she would limit it, she said, just as you do with children.
People still love their smartphones but there are a small but growing number of phone users who want to go back to the days when all you could do is make calls and text
O’Connell himself reminisced about two Bob Dylan concerts where phones were not allowed. It certainly added to the experience, he said.
It’s a topic that piqued interest from people who never really abandoned ye olde Nokia, or have invested in a dumbphone to go with their analogue record player.
It made for a smile and a brief moment of nostalgia for Snake. Ah, the good old days.