By Elizabeth Chilewich

Gen Z is turning to flip phones to detox from social media and screen time, as well as improve their mental and physical health.  

Even when our technology is the most advanced it has ever been, old technology has not been forgotten. While some are drawn to “dumb phones” as nostalgic accessories, Gen Z wants the safety of a phone, but not the constant social media use. But how long will this trend last?

Lulu Flavin, 20, received her TCL Flip4 5G as a 20th birthday gift.

“My favorite thing about it is seeing people’s reaction to seeing someone our age having a flip phone,” Flavin said.

Georgetown University published a study in 2025 on digital detoxes and the effects of reduced screen time. In a story on Georgetown’s website, psychology professor Kostadin Kushlev said, “too much screen time can lead to negative mental health outcomes and take time away from more important activities, such as exercise, social encounters and hobbies.”

Flavin named her flip phone “the flip,” adding  she “could go at least four days without having my Apple iPhone and just using ‘the flip,’ it would probably be the best days of my life. It would get me to go out and do things.” 

In a March 2026 NBC News Desk Decision Poll, 47% of those surveyed who were 18-29 years old said “if they had the option, they’d choose to live in the past.” But nearly 40% of Gen Z respondents said they’d stay in current times. 

Sarah Tenenbaum, 33, said she is “very grateful to have grown up without all that (social media) on my cell.”

The millennial said believes younger children do not need cellphones or social media, but that “dumb phones can be beneficial for kids.”

Tenenbaum has had her fair share of LG enV, Motorola Razr, and BlackBerry phones, but if she had the option she would not go back to using a flip phone.

“I rely heavily on my phone for too much, which yes, it would probably be healthy to move away from and scroll less, but it’s necessary now” for things like work and online banking, she said. 

A study published in 2025 in JAMA Network Open looked at  young adults who participated in a one-week social media detox. Samantha Laine Perfas at The Harvard Gazette wrote about the study, saying that “for some people, social media does help with loneliness. There are harms of cutting it off completely for people, especially because it seems like it’s not going away.”  

University of Colorado Boulder students Noelle Weegar and August Levine have seen a trend of their friends buying flip phones. Weegar said it’s become a “cool, niche item to have.”

“Girls are making it their aesthetic,” she added. 

Weegar and Levine agreed they wouldn’t purchase a flip phone themselves but understand the appeal to older technology.

Recently, influencers such as Alix Earle have posted their older iPhones they use specifically for the back camera.  

Smartphones are not going anywhere. But detoxing from social media can be beneficial. The flip phone trend offers a way to disconnect while staying connected.

“The best is that my phone is always dead, but I always have ‘the flip’ on me,” Flavin said.