YouTube · Facebook · CBS News Technology
Some Gen Zers swap smartphones for "dumb" phones in a bid to unplug
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
Kendall Schrohe remembers the moment she swapped her smartphone for a flip phone.
Key facts
- According to Pew Research, roughly half of U.S. adults in 2025 visited social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook at least once a day
- For me, like the second that my iPhone was gone, it was like heaven on earth," the 23-year-old Washington, D.C., resident told CBS News
- Dr. Jason Nagata, a pediatrician and professor at the University of California, San Francisco, studies social media's effects on young people
- Kendall Schrohe remembers the moment she swapped her smartphone for a flip phone
Summary
"For me, like the second that my iPhone was gone, it was like heaven on earth," the 23-year-old Washington, D.C., resident told CBS News. Schrohe is among the growing number of young people who are ditching their smartphones in favor of stripped-down "dumb phones" in an effort to unplug from social media amid concerns about the platforms' impact on mental health. According to Pew Research, roughly half of U.S. adults in 2025 visited social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook at least once a day. So-called dumb phones are a broad category.