In the UK and Europe, a new Barbie-branded flip cell phone has been released with the goal of helping teenagers, and young people in general, take a break from smart technology.
Phone-makers in the UK and Europe have launched a Barbie-branded flip phone, which the creators state is hopefully going to help young people take a break from their smartphones and smart technology in general.
The device is from the manufacturer HMD, which also makes phones for Nokia. The new Barbie phone presents as a very basic device that mirrors the flip phones people used in the early 2000’s. According to reports from the BBC, HMD stated that they’re trying to get into the market of people who want to lessen the “digital impacts” of their daily lives.
Concerned parents and campaigners are making calls to limit the amount of time children spend on smartphones and devices in general, or, in some circumstances, ban the devices completely. Some of the biggest concerns stemming from the increased use of technology in younger generations regards a reduction in attention spans, and fears over the content they are exposed to.
Eton College in the UK has even begun providing some of their students with what are known as “brick” phones. These devices are also called feature phones and can only send and receive texts and calls. The school spoke about their goals for this new program.
“[We want to] balance the benefits and challenges that technology brings to schools.”
“We’ve seen this surge which started in the US coming to Europe, that more and more people actually want to not be having a digital experience all the time,” said Lars Silberbauer, a senior executive at HMD.
Zoe Kleinman, a technology editor for BBC News, used the phone for a day, and stated that “for now, there is little doubt that as a digital detox it was certainly effective because of its very limited functionality.”
The Barbie phone is a mirror-fronted flip phone with no touch screen or app store, the phone can receive SMS messages, which means there are no read receipts and no way to see when the other individual is typing.
Kleinman stated that the number and letter keypad made texting more difficult when compared to modern touch screen keyboards, so she ended up “calling more people than usual, which perhaps was not a bad thing.”
The phone will launch in the UK at a price of 99 Euros. Ben Wood is a phone expert with his own museum of devices that have been launched throughout the years. He states that there’s benefits to this new marketing for simpler devices, but there’s no guarantee it will catch on since there’s multiple devices already on the market like the Barbie phone.
“I’d imagine quite a few people will be tempted to buy it as a bit of fun, but in reality, everyone is so dependent on their smartphones that anything more than the odd day of detox will be a stretch. Nonetheless there is a market for what are sometimes called ‘dumbphones.’”
Wood’s firm, CCS Insight, estimated that 400,000 Barbie phones will be sold in the UK this year once launched. “That’s an attractive niche for a company like HMD,” he said.
Kleinman wrote that some experts don’t think withdrawing smartphones is a real tangible solution, and instead children need to be taught how to use smart technology/devices in a healthy and safe way. Especially considering this technology has been a part of humanity for over a decade now, and will continue to be “woven into our lives.”
Pete Etchells, a professor of psychology and science communication at Bath Spa University, has written multiple articles regarding screen time and specifically how it impacts younger minds.
“What we should be doing is thinking about how we build really good, really long term, sustainable digital literacy skills in that generation. I think we could all be better at using our phones in a healthier and more resilient way,” Etchells stated.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
