News

Flip phones regaining popularity as users look to cut distractions, costs

While people across the country waited in line to get the new phone $1,000 iPhone XS, a retro favorite is quietly making a comeback: The flip phone.

College student Janey Litvin traded her smartphone for an "old school" flip phone when she was just a junior in college.

Reached via Skype she told Boston 25 News, "It really makes a huge, huge difference in your day to day life."

Litvin ended up using the flip phone for three years until she went to study abroad.

"Once you put away your phone you're keeping your head up and you just notice a lot more, you’re much more present in the moment I felt a lot calmer, I wasn’t getting attacked with notifications all the time," Litven said.

Recently, a number of celebrities have also been seen sporting flip phones including Rihanna, Tom Cruise, Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian, and Dierks Bentley.

KEEPING KIDS OFF SMARTPHONES LONGER

Josh Golin from Watertown is with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.  Golin signed the "Wait Until 8th" pledge for his daughter, promising to keep a smartphone out of her hands until 8th grade.

"Wait Until 8th" believes basic phones like flip phones avoid many of the pitfalls of smartphones.

"I think we would be out at dinner talking to each other a lot more.  I think we would be bumping into each other a lot less on the street. I think we would be driving a little safer and I think we would always be a lot less distracted." Golin said.

REDUCING DISTRACTIONS

Smartphones can also be a distraction in the classroom.

Jeffrey Michael is an Associate Professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.

He told us it's very rare to see a student without a smartphone in their hands.  He believes devices are changing behavior

According to Michael, "Just getting a student’s attention in class and holding it is a struggle. I think every teacher in the country will tell you the same thing. You really see that it's shifting the attention span."

Boston 25 News found a flip phone model available for sale at the Verizon Wireless Store on Providence Highway in Dedham.

Store Manager Marthe Supreme said flip phone customers are "usually just people that are kind of afraid of technology and don’t want to jump into it."

Supreme added that while flip phones are less expensive up front, you will likely still need a pricey data plan.