Dumb Phones and CDs: How Australian Gen Z Is Quietly Rebooting Digital Life

An SBS News feature in Australia reports a noticeable “analog comeback” among Gen Z: simple “dumb phones” that only handle calls and texts, and even physical CDs, are gaining favor. Young interviewees describe feeling overloaded by constant notifications and algorithmic feeds, yet say a full break from digital life isn’t realistic for study, work, or friendships. Instead, they use low‑tech devices as a kind of buffer between themselves and the attention economy.

The segment cites tourism data from the 2025–26 season showing that more than three‑quarters of Australians aged 18–25 considered some form of digital‑detox trip over the summer. For many, analog gadgets are both retro objects of nostalgia and tools for regaining agency: you can still be reachable, but scrolling no longer fills every idle moment.

Listening to albums on CD or taking photos that never get uploaded are framed as small acts of resistance—ways to enjoy culture “for yourself” rather than for an audience. For Japanese readers used to smartphones as all‑in‑one devices, this split‑device strategy is intriguing: it suggests that the next youth lifestyle shift may not be quitting digital, but deliberately downgrading parts of it.