“I call it my ‘off-the-grid’
time,” she tells me as she proudly
holds up the device. It is not an
iPhone, but rather, a flip phone.
LSA sophomore Olivia Spaulding
explained that she purchased
the TCL flip phone in an effort
to block out the distractions and
anxiety provoked by her regular
smartphone. “I can scroll for
hours without even realizing
it,” she admitted in an interview
with The Daily. “This eliminates
that temptation.”
Spaulding is just one of the
many members of Gen Z who
have recently readopted the
mid-1990s-era cell phones in lieu
of their smartphones. Google
searches for the keyword “flip
phone” have increased by over
140% in the past five years,
taking the internet by storm in
what some are calling the “flip
phone revolution.”
The flip phone is one of the
few “vintage” devices that have
experienced a resurgence in
popularity over the past few
years. For many, this return
to vintage technologies is not
just a reflection of an aesthetic
trend, but rather a response
to increasing issues of digital
overstimulation.
Providing
relief from the overwhelming
qualities of high-tech devices,
“retro tech” products including
digital and polaroid cameras,
record players and even CD and
MP3 players have all witnessed
an explosion in market demand.
Quickly becoming technology’s
biggest
comeback
kid,
the
flip phone has recently joined
the variety of devices that
have gone from obsolete to
stylish overnight. Endorsed by
celebrities
including
Camila
Cabello and Dove Cameron, the
flip phone movement has been
applauded by various influencers
in interviews announcing their
conversion back to retro devices.
Receiving
well
over
627
million views on TikTok, the
hashtag
“#flipphone”
has
elicited a wide array of reactions
from audiences. While critics of
the trend claim that the revival of
these devices is purely the result
of
nostalgia-based
marketing
tactics, the real reason behind
the
reappearance
of
these
technologies
may
be
more
complicated. Namely, many users
of the devices have attributed
their
switch
to
technology
overstimulation — a problem that
has become prevalent among
recent generations.
With an average of almost
seven hours spent staring at
screens per day, it is estimated
that the standard American
will spend the equivalent of
44 years of their life staring at
screens. Research has revealed
the consequences of excessive
screen time to be especially
harmful,
with
mounting
diagnoses of ADHD and mental
health disorders reflecting the
dangers of overuse.
“There’s a growing segment
of people that would like to be
disconnected but still have access
to the things they want,” said
Ryan Reith, the program vice
president of mobile devices at
International Data Corporation,
in an interview with CBS News.
And for many, the solution to this
digital dilemma can be found in
these vintage technologies. Not
only do they provide a chance to
disconnect from social media and
the other addictive components
found in smartphones, but these
retro devices also provide a
certain physical element that
more modern ones seem to
lack. From the grainy exposure
of polaroid and film cameras
to the static background noise
produced by vinyl, these older
products
provide
a
certain
experience that has been lost in
the digital age.
These retrospective trends
provide a stark contrast to the
exponential development that the
tech sector has seen over the past
decade. From the introduction
of machine learning software
such as ChatGPT to predictive
social media algorithms that
are
strikingly
accurate,
the
resurgence
of
these
“old”
devices is increasingly at odds
with the newness of the digital
age. Such rapid innovation can
be overwhelming, making the
increase in market demand for
these nostalgic products in many
ways unsurprising.
Wednesday, March 8, 2023 — 8
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Siddharth Parmar
Rushabh Shah
Zhane Yamin
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Quin Zapoli
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Managing Editors
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Opinion
W
hen
marijuana
is
legalized,
its
usage
skyrockets.
With dispensaries popping up on
every corner and the potent smell
lingering in the streets of Ann
Arbor, it’s no mystery that college
students are playing their part in
those rising numbers. A 2021 study
done by the National Institutes of
Health states that 44% of college
students reported using marijuana
in the past year, a 6% rise since 2015.
It also reports that 56% of college
students
said
they
consumed
alcohol in the last year, a number
that dropped from 62% in 2019.
Although
legalization
has
made marijuana more accessible,
are there other factors at play
that explain why we are seeing
usage numbers spike specifically
on college campuses? The more
important question, however, is
how the increased usage affects
student culture.
While on the surface social life
on college campuses has returned
to normal following the COVID-
19 pandemic, it’s impossible to
ignore the lingering effects it
has had on students. Even now,
it’s not uncommon to see people
wearing masks at social gatherings
or even skipping plans in order
to avoid large gatherings. Now,
many students have the option
of watching recorded lectures
and there is much more leeway
when missing class as a result of
an illness. I’ll be the first to admit
that getting up for class in the
morning is not always an easy task,
and in a post-COVID-19 era with
recorded lectures, it becomes one
that is easier to avoid. But all that
time spent at home alone is only
creating more opportunities for
drug use and fewer opportunities
for socialization. Outside of the
classroom, rather than going out
to public places like restaurants
and bars, more students are having
gatherings at home with small
groups. Spending more time at
home only with close friends takes
away from other social connections
they could be making.
Marijuana isn’t new; it’s always
been around. For students trapped
in their apartments and cut off from
their peers during the lockdown,
smoking or consuming marijuana
was a way of passing the time.
In an interview with The
Washington Post, Nora Volkow, the
director of the federal government’s
National Institute on Drug Abuse,
said, “the pandemic seems to have
actually made marijuana into an
alternative to escape the monotony
of isolation.” Like any potentially
addictive substance, once you
start it’s hard to stop. So when
the lockdown ended, students’
newfound habits didn’t necessarily
follow the same path. And with
universities implementing more
online
learning
platforms,
it’s
easier for students to stay home and
succumb to their new habits.
When people think of the
college social scene, whether they
first think of students hanging
out at a campus bar or rallying in
support of their university’s sports
teams, most of the scenarios have
one thing in common: they entail
students spending time with their
friends. Alcohol is known to loosen
our inhibitions and give us a higher
sense of self-confidence, making it
easier to connect with others. That’s
why many people find that drinking
with others is far more enjoyable
than drinking alone. This explains
why, when the pandemic took away
students’ ability to interact with
other people, specifically in a public
setting, they became less drawn to
alcohol.
Less motivated by drinking,
students looked toward other ways
of passing the time they were forced
to spend alone. Fighting against
the rising rates of anxiety and
depressive disorders corresponding
to the pandemic, marijuana became
a popular way of muting these
symptoms and helping students
to feel less lonely. However, even
with COVID-19 less prevalent,
the high mental illness rates and
increased marijuana consumption
have not been. In fact, following
the pandemic, it seems that that
stereotypical college experience
has simply shifted from going out
and getting drunk to staying home
and getting high.
While the conversation around
mental health and how it plagues
college students is quite prominent,
we rarely look at how some of our
own habits contribute to these
unhealthy lives. It’s easy to say that
the pressures of keeping up with
classwork, working part time and
making future plans create stress
that leads to poor mental health, but
how we respond to those stressors
is equally as important. Smoking
marijuana allows us to go into a
psychedelic state and escape our
reality, which may be a short-term
relief from the pressures we’re all
feeling, but is not beneficial in the
long run. Smoking too often causes
students to confuse temporary
relief from a high for a solution
to their problems and, with its
greater usage, is only enabling more
students with what is an unhealthy
coping mechanism.
While it may be seen as a good
thing that students are consuming
less alcohol, their new “stoner”
social habits might be equally as
costly. A large part of coming to
college is meeting new people,
which can’t be done by sitting at
home. Although making those
connections
definitely
doesn’t
require drinking alcohol or even
partaking in party culture, it does
require students to step outside of
their bedrooms — an act which,
as simple as it seems, can be made
hard by marijuana consumption.
A night in isn’t always to our benefit
TÉA SANTORO
Opinion Columnist
The return to retro: Why Gen Z is
making a return to vintage technology
TATE MOYER
Opinion Columnist
Bus stop blues
Design by Edith Hanlon
Design by Evelyne Lee
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on the
Diag
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