Is it possible to survive seven days without a smartphone?

Nearly a quarter of UK five–seven-year-olds now own a smartphone, according to Ofcom's latest data.

So, what is the impact of introducing children to screens so much earlier?

“We're creating a world of zombies, where people need stimulation all the time. It’s bad what it's doing to the brain and how it's impacting our neurocircuitry,” says Dr Charlotte Armitage, a psychologist and psychotherapist. 

She says colleagues who work in neurodevelopmental services are “overwhelmed by children who have developmental delays as a result of overusing screens and devices”.

Armitage, who founded No Phones at Home Day last year, says introducing smartphones early in life, even through parents’ use, infiltrates key developmental milestones, like “pincing” - the act of pinching your forefinger and thumb for tasks like holding a pen or knife and fork. 

“Unfortunately, that pincer grip has been affected because we are tapping. There is not enough tangible play with real-world objects,” Armitage explains.

Interestingly, though, my Nokia struggled to make or receive calls, which, thanks to the helpful man on the Tesco phone kiosk, I discovered was because this device runs on 2G, which is now supported by fewer networks.

It meant I had to use the actual landline to call people, which I ended up not minding; it felt much more intentional.

Usually, people my age (I'm 24) are against the idea of phone calls, instead preferring a text or voice note. I think because we're so used to messaging and emails, making or answering a call seems significant, and suddenly there's pressure attached to it. Even if it's a family member or friend, I'm inclined to think something bad has happened if they're ringing.

And I'm not alone, with almost a third (32%) of Gen Z rarely making a phone call, and a fifth (20%) finding it weird when they receive one, according to research by Sky Mobile.

I found the first few days with the Nokia quite anxiety-inducing, and my regular FOMO (fear of missing out) was heightened. 

What was everyone planning on WhatsApp? What had I missed on Instagram and TikTok? What would people think when they saw I hadn’t posted a BeReal for seven whole days?

Scott Lyons is a National Education Union District Secretary for Norfolk. He says social media, vaping, and poor parenting have culminated in “a perfect storm” for schools.

Lyons, who also taught for many years, says five years ago, a few primary school-age children would have a phone, but “now you regularly have Year Three children bringing smartphones and handing them in”. 

Echoing Armitage’s sentiment, Lyons says schools are seeing a “big issue coming through” with developmental delays. Nursery and reception teachers, he says, are doing more of the children’s intimate care “because they’ve just been parented on a screen".

Forsyth’s housemate lived in a different city during the pandemic, and when she used the brick, they went from messaging to regularly speaking on the phone.

Meaningful connections aside, how did Forsyth navigate the practical stuff? 

Planning, she says, was key - printing out train and event tickets, and saving taxi numbers.

“Once I got accustomed to that, it is really not as scary as you would think it would be,” she says. 

I agree - the world didn’t end because I had to print my parkrun barcode instead of scanning it on my phone. 

However, running without music was difficult. 

Forsyth coped by purchasing a “really basic MP3 player”, which she says also made her consider “how we have become so reliant on algorithms to help us find new things to enjoy”, including music and films. 

Driven by the Y2K trend seen across the fashion industry, Gen Z does seem to be seeking ‘vintage’ tech, including digital cameras, MP3 players, and flip phones.    

eBay searches for the Motorola Razr, a popular 00s flip phone, increased by 148% in 12 months, and TikTok searches for the iPod Nano were up 49%, according to data compiled by refurbished tech and media experts at musicMagpie.

But is it anything more than an aesthetic trend?

Liam Howley, musicMagpie’s chief marketing officer, says while “the expectation of being constantly connected and contactable through your phone” has potentially prompted people’s interest in simpler technology, there’s likely a “nostalgic element” at play.

“For a lot of younger people, simple, noughties mobiles are being purchased purely for their nostalgic appeal – for the aesthetic of the blurred camera and a hot pink flip design reflective of that time – rather than to be used as a full-time mobile phone,” says Howley.

Whipping out the brick in public was actually kind of embarrassing and I don’t know why. Maybe because it was so ridiculously small? Whenever I met up with people, it was passed around like an artefact, rather than a functioning device.

Because of these reactions, I felt a bit self-conscious using it in public. One friend asked me: “Do you have to top it up? Is that still how it works?” as if Pay As You Go was a distant thing of the past. The same friend, who is a hardcore voice note fan, quipped: “Exciting - I’ll have to text you,” like it was an extinct art form.

Honestly, I did not miss the voice note thing. Sometimes, I like receiving personal podcast episodes from close friends, but for the most part, they are impractical. You can’t really hear them outside, and it’s awkward on public transport if you don’t have headphones with you.

So, when does device overuse become an addiction?

“I would say that a lot of us are very addicted to our devices,” says Armitage.

She adds: “You don't have to be physically addicted to something, you can be psychologically addicted. It releases dopamine, that is what creates these addictive mechanisms.”

Connor Jewiss, a tech journalist of more than seven years, says he deletes and hides social media apps on his phone so they are less accessible.

However, he adds: “There aren't many ways to effectively block social media without taking more drastic errors.”

Ultimately, Jewiss says: “Kids don't want to stop using Instagram as they will miss out, and that might affect them in real life in their social circles. The same goes with adults, who might turn to social media out of boredom or habit.”

I definitely turn to social media out of boredom. I physically noticed this with the brick when I’d go to pick it up for no particular reason, only to realise there was nothing to scroll.

The time without my smartphone made me realise I only really need a small circle of contacts. The other stuff — the strangers on Instagram and TikTok — is extra noise.

Often, I forget what I’ve even gone on my phone to do because there’s so much at my fingertips.

And for many young people, it's too much temptation. According to government data, 29% of secondary school pupils reported using mobile phones when they weren’t supposed to in most or all lessons. Government guidance published in February says schools should ban mobile phones but will continue to have autonomy on how they do it. 

But what does this mean in practice for teachers and schools? 

While schools retain autonomy, Lyons predicts some schools will move towards “a very hard behaviour model expectation — schools a bit like the Michaela School — where it's zero tolerance, no-nonsense behaviour, and there'll be no phones, no devices”.

Schools on the other end of the spectrum, he anticipates, will deliver “trauma-led, trauma-informed education” focused on “therapeutic recovery”. 

In the current climate, Lyons says: “We are asking schools to do more, to be mental health hubs of the community, to be the social tech overlords, but the government has just given them less money.”

He says action also needs to come from a community-led, bottom-up approach. 

“We've got the power in our communities to decide how to do this, but we're going to have to negotiate, we’re going to have to compromise, we're going to have to talk to one another,” he says. 

Like Forsyth, I wouldn’t go back to such a basic phone full-time, but I’d consider using a slightly more advanced feature phone - a basic device with modern features like Maps and WhatsApp.

Smartphones might be practical.

But life without them is much simpler.