Neck bent, head down, face cast pale in the light of a small screen.
The smartphone has sucked us in and, seemingly, chained us down. As the technology in our brave new digital world increasingly shows its addictive nature, wary Americans are seeking low-tech channels. Some are even returning to flip phones, and one company is hoping to profit from our dissatisfaction with ever-present tech.
“Dear Tim,” reads an advertisement for Light Phone, addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook. “You also said, ‘Technology should serve humanity, not the other way around.’ Roger that.”
The Light Phone 2 costs $350, steep for a low-tech phone but still half the price of the new iPhone 11. While the new iPhones are notable for their dual and triple lens cameras, the Light Phone has no camera at all. In fact, it doesn’t have an app store, an internet browser, or maps, either. It can make phone calls and send texts. That’s all.
“A lot of people say ‘Oh this is a step backwards,’ co-founder Kaiwei Tang told Forbes. “But in our minds, this is actually a step forward because we’re thinking of why are we creating this tool … We’re thinking what do we need, what do humans need? You choose what technology makes sense to you.”
The phone, whose smooth E-Ink screen and monochrome color scheme may be attractive to anyone who wants to go retro without sacrificing style, has anywhere from 12,000 to 15,000 pre-orders via a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo. That’s a minuscule number compared to those who bought the iPhone 11, but it’s clear that there’s a market for this combo of practicality and disconnection.
The anxiety about phone addiction is spreading to all corners of our culture. A couple of upcoming films touch on the worry over smartphones’ grip on us. In the horror flick Countdown, a woman downloads an app that tells her when she’ll die.
In the comedy Jexi, a man grows increasingly bothered by his phone’s advanced A.I. assistant, which won’t leave him alone. The trailer for the film plays OneRepublic’s “Connection,” which sets the tone with the lyrics, “Tryin’ to disconnect, thinking maybe you could show me/ If there’s so many people here, then why am I so lonely?” In the end, the singer just wants to know, “Can I get a connection?”
People need connecting. That might require unplugging.
—by Madeline Fry
