Why Gen Z is Ditching Smartphones for Dumbphones

Younger generations are increasingly ditching smartphones in favor of “dumbphones”—simpler devices with fewer apps, fewer distractions, and less tracking. But what happens when you step away from a device that now functions as your wallet, your memory, and your security key? In this episode, Tom and Scott explore the dumbphone movement through a privacy and cybersecurity lens. Drawing from a recent Wired article, the conversation digs into digital burnout, surveillance capitalism, multi-factor authentication dependencies, and whether opting out of smartphones is an act of digital self-defense—or a step toward digital disadvantage. ** Links mentioned on the show ** Dumbphone Owners Have Lost Their Minds Previous Shared Security episode from 2022 about the rise of dumbphones ** Watch this episode on YouTube ** ** Become a Shared Security Supporter ** Get exclusive access to ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, listen to new episodes before they are released, receive a monthly shout-out on the show, and get a discount code for 15% off merch at the Shared Security store. Become a supporter today! ** Thank you to our sponsors! ** SLNT Visit slnt.com to check out SLNT’s amazing line of Faraday bags and other products built to protect your privacy. As a listener of this podcast you receive 10% off your order at checkout using discount code “sharedsecurity”. Click Armor To find out how “gamification” of security awareness training can reduce cyber risks related to phishing and social engineering, and to get a free trial of Click Armor’s gamified awareness training platform, visit: **

You can listen to Why Gen Z is Ditching Smartphones for Dumbphones online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Why Gen Z is Ditching Smartphones for Dumbphones is an episode from The Shared Security Podcast by Tom Eston and Scott Wright.

This episode is 19:16 long.

This episode was published on Feb 2, 2026.

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