Click 4 times on the 9 to have the letter “s”, have the “Snake” as your only occupation and only be able to call or send SMS (counting them with the fingers of one hand)… Which was the norm Twenty years ago, and now it seems like a nightmare for some users, it has become, however, a real life experience, especially among the youngest.
In fact, flip phones have been making a comeback for several months in the hands of teenagers or young adults. Beyond the aesthetic aspect and the attraction generated by these vintage products, in full trend of the 2000s, the objective is simple: to change their relationship with screens and social networks.
It is not necessarily a question of radically changing consumption, but of experiencing a temporary disconnection to move towards a more reasonable use of the telephone.
“The control that social networks have over me”
There is no way for many to replace their smartphone with a foldable phone. Experimentation is more gradual. A week, 15 days or a little more. 21-year-old Paul, for example, tried to spend a week with a flip phone.
An attempt that was born after observing the number of hours he spends daily in front of his phone screen: “I started from a clear observation: I spend four hours a day on my phone scrolling on Instagram and TikTok and, sometimes, without really knowing ok why, I just go out.” out of boredom and because I don’t know what else to do.
However, creator of content on social networks, Paul has made the decision to cut everything. But still, he decided to share a video on TikTok every day to show the progress of his experience, filming with a vintage camera and uploading his recordings through his computer.
Videos viewed hundreds of thousands of times. “It was a way of raising awareness among the people around me. It is true that it is paradoxical to have put this challenge on Instagram and TikTok, but that is where we can reach more interested people. If I take out a book or put up billboards, people my age aren’t going to be affected,” says Paul.
A booming market
So some manufacturers continue to ride the wave of flip phones and more generally “feature phones” (mobile phones with only essential features). HMD, for example, develops and markets several basic phone models, under license from the Nokia brand.
And the company has understood the enthusiasm that these types of phones generate. “Feature phones are popular with consumers because they fit easily in a pocket and have a long battery life that customers can count on for several days,” explains Rémi Girault, business manager at HMD France.
The internet is full of deals on vintage phones, and some companies have even specialized in mobile relics from decades past. Djassem Haddad founded Vintage Mobile more than 10 years ago, a site that sells refurbished phones from many brands, from Nokia to Motorola to BlackBerry.
And the sales manager has also seen an increasingly pronounced fashion for these old models, sold between 30 and 400 euros: “We have constantly increasing sales. It has been increasing since 2013. Young people are increasingly customers, they use these phones as a second device or just for fun. But above all there is this desire to relate to somewhat old values.”
Mandatory customization or almost
Vintage Mobile even offers some custom models, like the legendary Nokia 3310 or 6110, with hydrographic patterns that give a somewhat dated phone a charcoal look.
Because the appeal of folding phones is also explained by their instagrammable side. On TikTok or Instagram, mobile personalization videos have multiplied in recent months. Owners of this type of mobile add rhinestones, stickers and chains to make their device even more elegant.
A personalization that refers directly to the “aesthetics” of the 2000s. The beginning of the millennium is making a strong comeback in our daily lives, and it is no coincidence: the nostalgia for a certain era arrives on average 20 to 30 years after that time. . “This is what we call the retro-branding trend, that is, looking for products from the past to update them. We have seen it everywhere: prêt-à-porter, automobile, telephony… Nostalgia has a lot based on the idea of a return to common sense and authenticity”, explains Alexandra Vignolles, INSEEC researcher and nostalgia specialist.
A beneficial experience?
But do these disconnections and this return to authenticity have long-term effects? For Paul, the experience was in any case beneficial. “The first days I had the impression of being isolated from the world, because our first instinct is to observe what happens even before getting up. But we quickly learn to appreciate the interactions again. J I was super happy to receive an SMS , I replied in a low voice Today, we are overwhelmed by notifications and no longer appreciate small communications.”
The cameraman has even decided since the end of his challenge to remove all notifications from his phone, except for calls and SMS: “It’s a small gesture but it has changed a lot in my relationship with social networks. The idea is not to have no more entertainment You don’t have to be radical, just don’t get addicted.”
Source: BFM TV
