‘Therapy’ phones being prescribed to smartphone addicts

Smartphone addiction affects about half of the U.S. population according to Psychology Today. It’s complicated.

Some people can’t put their phones down, others suffer from “nomophobia” — a fear of being separated from or losing one’s phone. Phone anxiety is now a documented condition, complete with such symptoms as “phantom cell phone vibration” among those who imagine their device is signaling them.

But never fear. Now there is the “Substitute Phone” from Austrian designer Klemen Schillinger, which provides therapeutic motions for those who can’t stop scrolling, zooming and swiping. The phone-like object — which comes in sleek black plastic casing with calming arrays of white beads — is appropriately palm sized, with substitute features that mimic the smartphone experience.

“The shape of the Substitute Phone replicates an average smartphone, however, its functions are reduced to the movements we make hundreds of times on a daily basis. The stone beads which are incorporated in the body let you scroll, zoom and swipe. there are no digital functions. The object, which some of us describe as a prosthesis, is reduced to nothing but the motions. This calming limitation offers help for smartphone addicts to cope with withdrawal symptoms,” Mr. Schillinger explained in his rationale for the design, which has five variants.

More