A ‘retro’ smartphone craze is sweeping through Gen Z

A growing number of young people are turning back the clock and purchasing nostalgic millennial-era devices.

Young folks are desperately trying to reconnect with the world around them. The method many have chosen? “Dumbphones” — otherwise known as the millennial-era Blackberry.

Ironically, Gen Z is taking to social media — which isn’t even supported on a dumbphone — to spread the word.

For months now, users ranging in age from late teens to mid-20s have been demonstrating interest in “retro” technology like Walkmans, iPods and digital cameras.

But the latest Y2K craze has older generations positively baffled.

A quick TikTok search under the keyword “Blackberry” will display thousands upon thousands of videos of Gen-Zers purchasing shelved Blackberry phones off of eBay or digging them out of their parents’ closets, decorating them with rhinestones and key chains, and flaunting clicky ASMR-worthy keyboards.

Gen Z content creators admire the retro aesthetic, rather than the clunky tech. Picture: TikTok/@vicvicvicvicvicc

For many, the Blackberry craze is a continuation of 2000s nostalgia-core, a time when aesthetics like Britney Spears-esque McBling, cyberfuturism and Frutiger Aero ruled the trends.

“We’ve come full circle,” declare dozens of comments under posts by TikTok content creators like @notchonnie, who uses her platform to show off her massive retro tech collection.

“I’m so sick of Apple, I would give up just about everything for a BlackBerry!” one user wrote.

Commenters also shared how they scoured sites like Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and Back Market in search of Blackberry phones to supplant their modern smartphones.

For just a few hundred dollars, these tech-tired Gen-Zers purchase peace of mind — and plenty of questions from older generations who no doubt remember the spotty service, super-small keyboards, and less-than-intuitive user interfaces.

Compared to the price of a new iPhone, which these days can cost upwards of a thousand dollars, and unlimited data plans that run users up to $70 a month, younger generations see the Blackberry as a no-brainer.

For many, the growing anti-smartphone movement is also a way to genuinely embrace the offline world and be more mindful about content consumption.

Another creator, Sammy Palazzolo, says she only brings a flip phone when she goes out. Picture: TikTok

“The smartphone is not a source of enjoyment anymore,” Pascal Forget, a tech columnist in Montreal, told CBC News. “It used to be fun, but now [people are] addicted to it, so they want to go back to simpler times using a simpler device.”

“These are supposed to be the best moments of our life, but you look around and people are scrolling,” Sammy Palazzolo, a TikTok content creator who uses a flip phone part-time, told USA Today.

Though they’ve grown up in the digital age, Gen Zers, and even older members of Gen Alpha, are starting to catch on — no matter where you look these days, everyone is glued to their phone.

According to a 2024 Pew Research Center study on the subject, nearly half of teenagers today say they’re online ‘almost constantly,’ compared to ten years ago, when 24 per cent of teens answered the same.

Some have even reported feeling the phantom buzz of a smartphone notification, and others have said that tapping the ‘on’ button is now nothing less than a reflex.

The latest craze has older generations baffled. Picture: iStock

“It just basically created this pattern where I was anxious, and so I’d open my smartphone, and then I would hate myself for opening my smartphone, which made me more anxious,” Charlie Fisher, a 20-year-old college student, told USA Today.

In facilitating his digital detox, Fisher ditched his iPhone for a flip phone, and according to him, he hasn’t looked back since.

“I’ve been seeing things more like when I was a kid,” he continued, elaborating on his newly-found phone-free lifestyle.

“You really see things for how they are in the physical world, and your emotions are really attached to that.”

Flip-phones and 2000s-era tech like the BlackBerry aren’t just cheaper. According to Gen Z, they promote spending more quality time with family and friends, exploring other hobbies outside of doomscrolling and binge-watching, and finding a healthier work-life balance, which begs the question: are the kids actually onto something?

This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.

Originally published as A ‘retro’ smartphone craze is sweeping through Gen Z