People are “bricking” their smartphones on purpose to stop doomscrolling

As personal devices continue to advance, more and more consumers are craving the opposite: a way to dumb down their smartphones back to the simple tech of yesteryear. According to the latest Pew Research surveys, over half of American adults (53%) self-identify as spending too much time on their phone, with one in four adults saying they’re on their smartphones “almost constantly.” Those figures increase among younger demographics, with 70% of Americans ages 18–29 saying they spend too much time on their phone and 42% saying they’re near constantly using it. Those who feel like they’re overusing their phones aren’t just sitting idly by. Nearly half of American adults (45%) have tried to cut back on their smartphone usage in the past 12 months—but that’s easier said than done. Only a quarter of those who’d tried to cut back on their smartphone screen time said they felt they were extremely or very successful in doing so. With social media and other popular phone apps notorious for keeping users in a dopamine-fueled feedback loop, it’s no surprise that breaking a smartphone habit might require outside intervention. That’s why a growing cohort of consumers are fighting fire with fire…