"Dumb Phones"  Vs.  SmartPhones

By: Reynah Chowrira

Time is of the essence for every student.  Students everywhere are addicted to their phones, scrolling through social media, obsessing over posts, and having their well-being and hours slip away. To prevent this, there is an alternative: switching to a “dumb phone.” Dumb phones are the old type of phones, typically flip phones, for basic functions such as calling and texting.

Parents give their children phones for emergencies to stay in touch with them. The dumb phone fulfills all these needs but excludes all the unnecessary applications.  These unnecessary applications can be accessed using computers or other devices which is essential for students to be better at time management. 

Upsides of Switching

"Dumb phones" have plenty of benefits. Only being able to call or text makes you spend less time on your phone and more time interacting with others and doing more productive things.

If students switched to “dumb phones” they would have much more time. They could read a book, spend time with their friends and family, and catch up on their sleep.

When most people use smartphones they receive notifications to access social media. Most applications are built with the intention and goal of getting users addicted to using the application and spending maximum time within the application. If these goals are met, the application is considered popular and the business becomes successful. Such social media and gaming applications are harmful to one's mental health and well-being.

Kim Roslonek, Weston Middle School guidance counselor, believes middle schoolers will benefit tremendously without smartphones. She said, “I think we would see kids having better attention spans… making stronger connections with their friends, improve their sleep because they wouldn’t be up late at night scrolling on social media, engaged in more activities outside, or hobbies that they enjoy and that would overall just have an impact on how people feel about themselves.”

Studies have shown that digital detox for a few days improves happiness in students. Psychology Today wrote that switching would help your mental health. Kari Ann Wye, another guidance counselor, said, “I would see a decrease in stress, I would see a decrease in anxiety, and I’d hope to see an increase in kids feeling a little more confident and happy and more engaged.”

Downsides of Switching

Though switching to "dumb phones" may have a positive impact on mental health, it takes some getting used to. Having all those features and then suddenly losing them is not easy. Ms. Roslonek said, “You would miss out on some of the features we all sort of rely on these days like calendars… or being able to look something up right away with Siri or Google that a lot of people rely on…”

What people think

Students and administrators have differing views on this topic. Students think that it might have an impact but are not willing to try it for a long time, while administrators believe that students should use “dumb Phones” until High School. 

Some Weston Middle Students like Thalia Vance and Elena Tetreault have spoken about how there are positive aspects to using a “dumb phone” although they would not want to use it and if they did, they would only use it for a few days or weeks. Thalia said that switching would be good because, "You would take away the whole social media aspect of it. Which, I mean social media has its perks but it also has its downsides." Elena said that "people got phones for reasons, like... to use google docs and record important things or to set timers to remind themselves, but if they’re on an old phone you can only call or text and that's the original purpose of a phone, but the extra things are still helpful."

On the other hand, school administrators such as our principal, Phil Oates, and vice principal, Brian Buck, think that switching phones would be beneficial for students and the right choice for this age group at this time and this choice.

So what is the right choice? Keeping smartphones or switching to “dumb phones?” Smartphones have tons of cool features and are what students want while “Dumb Phones” have a positive effect on mental health and keep your phone clutter-free.