Maybe you’re old enough to remember the days of the landline? Or perhaps you’re lucky enough not to, but the magic of the corded phone is seeing a renaissance!
Back in the day, your landline would likely be the only phone in the house. A communal phone that was attached to the wall and the receiver was corded to the base unit. It gave you a maximum moving radius of around 5 feet with no ability to wander off, complete other tasks while busy chatting away on loudspeaker.
What’s the new craze?
On TikTok many people are recreating the corded phone as a way of enforcing a digital boundary. We’re not talking about the rebirth of the Bakelite phone era, instead users are showing their creativity with their modern-day smart phone!
A new craze is seeing young people physically bind their mobile phones to the wall in a bid to manually restrict their screen time. No more taking their mobile phone to the bathroom, kitchen and couch.
We’re seeing chains and cords attached to phones and shelves or walls. Chairs set-up by the front door, where the user can only use their phone while sitting in that spot. The aim is to find themselves getting bored faster and eager to move — and their screen time lowering as a result.
What’s the impact?
According to psychotherapist Dr Suzanne Wallach, “Turning your phone into a landline is a great idea for some…You can’t endlessly doom scroll, and you can’t take it with you wherever you go.” By tethering your phone to the wall, or only using it in a designated spot, it makes screen time more sacred and purposeful.
Wallach recommends people go slow and steady with the new trend, in time you should find that your brain will get more dopamine hits from real-life experiences she adds.
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For more information on the landline craze, read this great article from Bustle.