Data privacy is also among the factors that explain the movement, further boosted by the vintage wave
The first electrical voice transmission was carried out by Scottish scientist Alexander Graham Bell on March 10, 1876, a date immortalized as World Telephone Day. The company founded at the time, The Bell Telephone Company, would give rise to American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), a North American telecommunications giant, with revenue of US$32 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. The invention forever transformed the way people communicate, driving innovations that would culminate in the emergence of the cell phone in 1973.
This was another revolution, which would draw users and the market to businesses and possibilities never imagined. Paying bills, working, shopping, ordering food, sending messages to friends, taking photos, accessing social networks, applications and chat bots that solve almost all day-to-day issues are among the attractions of smartphones, without forgetting their original function , the connections.
But today, people are beginning to recognize the pernicious effects of living online all the time. Anxiety is one of them. Signs of digital fatigue point to a movement towards the resumption of featurephones, especially among young people. Yes, there seems to be growing awareness about the risks of cell phones, more specifically social media, addiction, and the implications for everyday life, confirms Andr Miceli, MBA professor at FGV.
The situation is worsened by deep fakes, the use of artificial intelligence and algorithms that, little by little, capture more and more people’s attention. This movement appears to be a response to anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance and self-image problems. There are many issues that end up being influenced by smartphones, and there is a portion of the population wanting to stay away from this, confirms the professor.
Known as dumbphones, featurephones deliver the basics, like the old brick. With a retro look, they have a numeric keypad, more affordable prices, longer battery life, and make voice calls. The screen is not touch sensitive and has low resolution. These cell phones do not support applications. But some accept Whats-
App, Facebook and YouTube, in addition to access to mobile networks and Wi-Fi. The storage and memory capacity is reduced and, to send messages, only via SMS. Many have a flip design, another feature that sparks a fever of nostalgic impulses.
The desire for digital detox, reduced exposure to social media, a better understanding of the implications that smartphones bring to people’s lives and the desire to stay away are among the factors that justify the search for simplicity, insists Miceli. The rescue of cell phones without social networks and apps also indicates concerns about privacy and security. The person is much more exposed when using a smartphone, compares Miceli.
Read the full article in the propmark of 04 brown of 2024