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Welcome to 2026, the place not being limitless is the brand new cool
A 38℃ fever? A lacking family merchandise? A damaged friendship? “Kakaselpon mo ’yan.”
Receiving this comment is peak Filipino expertise. But it surely additionally appears like a very long time in the past.
Getting reprimanded by a well-meaning mother or father or a distant relative simply since you’re glued to your screens “an excessive amount of” implied that working that manner wasn’t the norm. It insinuated that we might simply change to a life exterior of tapping keys or opening apps, and choosing up our telephones was similar to every other interest we’d do in our free time. It was an energetic selection, not a reflex motion. Now, our telephones have grow to be an extension of ourselves. The units we maintain now maintain our lives.
It’s our good morning and good night time. We’ve changed the artwork of listening to our ideas with the noise of bite-sized movies we’ll by no means run out of. A number of apps have permeated even our screen-free hobbies – like studying books or operating – due to our aggressive urge to trace minutes and hours. “Doomscroll” is now a part of the Merriam-Webster universe. Do you’re feeling happy with surviving lunchtime with out the urge to play a 15-minute video as “background noise”? Congratulations.
In her Substack essay, New York-based tradition author Catherine Shannon mused about how our telephones can strip away the necessary sides of our connections – need and instinct included – because of the countless loop of issues immediately obtainable to us. Thus, we “want to permit ourselves to be stressed and bored.”
“Boredom” appears to be the most recent important, as folks have declared “an analog way of life” their 2026 decision, particularly with the rise of AI slop. Assume handwritten journal entries, bodily media, hanging out with mates with card video games in your arsenal, or gardening (IRL, not by way of your cozy video games or Develop a Backyard).
However regardless of this purpose, it might be arduous to ditch the telephones fully – in any case, we use them for our jobs, relationships, leisure, and in a method or one other, self-enrichment. Like every other obsession, going chilly turkey will not be essentially the most ultimate resolution. With this, I ponder: Can the current resurgence of “dumbphones” progressively do the trick?
Dumbphones, which can be a 2025 Merriam-Webster addition, are mainly telephones with easier options. Its core operate lies in messaging and calls. No social media, high-quality cameras, or an countless stream of apps. Dopamine hits aren’t a precedence, however folks appear to have been having fun with swapping suggestions on Reddit. The simplicity and simplicity might remind you of a sibling’s previous Blackberry, which has been attracting new customers as of late.
In 2023, the dumbphone resurgence might have had its headstart by way of the flip cellphone craze, too, and manufacturers adopted go well with. “I’m staff flip cellphone revolution,” mentioned singer Camilla Cabello on X.
I’m staff flip cellphone revolution . Possibly I can write the theme tune guys 💪💪💪💪 pic.twitter.com/yOJgCdAgNq
— camila (@Camila_Cabello) January 13, 2023
Over on TikTok, women are giddily unboxing the HMD Nokia Barbie flip cellphone launched in 2024, whereas some tech-savvy people are attempting to determine if they will stay with the Nokia 2780 flip cellphone, which was launched in 2022. This one, nonetheless, seems like a hybrid of a dumbphone and a smartphone, as a result of it nonetheless helps you to surf the web, albeit at a restricted capability. The Gentle Telephone line, which focuses on solely minimalist options (therefore the title), unveiled that the most recent Gentle Telephone III now has a digicam, however its performance nonetheless revolves round intentional use.
Telephones that combine nostalgia are hitting the gadget market, too. Take for instance the new era of Motorola Razr flip telephones, or the smartphone model of the unique V3 launched in 2004 (an precise “dumbphone”), nonetheless fondly remembered.
Energy Mac Middle, the premier approved reseller of Apple merchandise within the Philippines, introduced in late 2025 you can purchase the Native Union Pop Telephone of their shops. It’s attention-grabbing how yow will discover the most recent iPhone – and a colourful accent mimicking a nostalgic handset cellphone – in the identical place. In keeping with its product description, this can be a machine “thoughtfully designed for significant conversations” you’ll be able to plug into varied present devices.
There’s additionally Clicks Communicator – which at first look appears to be like like a Blackberry reincarnation – that’s introduced as a “smartphone purpose-built for doing (not doomscrolling).” The twist? It may be a standalone gadget, or you’ll be able to pair it with a flagship iPhone, Galaxy, or Pixel. The attract of the basic keypad can be seen within the Unihertz Titan 2, which is dubbed the “newest QWERTY bodily keyboard smartphone”.
In case you’re nonetheless exploring different doomscroll-proof strategies, some advocate friction (by way of a sq. orientation or a grayscale display) to make doomscrolling much less engaging.
Whereas a few of these new devices aren’t precisely dumbphones, how they financial institution on nostalgia by way of design and performance may be indicative of what we actually crave: genuine connections with ourselves and the world round us, which may solely occur if we actively refuse to be sucked into our limitless screens longer than we should always. And if exploring an experimental gadget – which asks to be put down each occasionally – can slowly push us to the touch grass somewhat extra, possibly it’s worthwhile to strive.
Over a 12 months in the past, I randomly requested my dad if we might discover his previous Motorola flip cellphone – his trusty companion whereas working in South Korea once I was little – mendacity within the nooks and crannies of the home. Though he is aware of how a lot I take pleasure in digging by way of previous stuff, he nonetheless questioned why I bothered. “You’ll be able to’t do a lot with that cellphone,” he jogged my memory. Nicely, possibly that’s the enjoyable half. – Rappler.com
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