Dumb it just might work: can these dumbphone evangelists convince you to dump smartphones?

Dumb.co’s MO experiment asks participants to abandon smartphones for a month and use a 'dumbphone' instead. The March program enrolled 28 New York residents who paid $75 to participate and an additional $25 to dumb.co for the devices, now a souped-up TCL Flip 2. The phones run essential apps such as WhatsApp, iMessage, Maps, Uber, and two-factor authentication, challenging the stereotype that flip phones are useless. Danny Hogenkamp, the 31-year-old CEO, says the project grows from his belief that less screen time improves well-being, a view he began pursuing after Covid-era changes at his DC firm. MO aims to recenter attention on social and psychological freedom.