Manufacturer HMD says it is trying to help people who want less ‘digital impact’ in their lives.
A Barbie-branded phone has been launched in the UK and Europe with the aim – its makers say – of helping young people take a break from their smartphones.
It is a very pink and fundamentally very basic device, with no front camera, only one game and very limited access to the internet.
Manufacturer HMD, which also makes phones for Nokia, says it’s trying to tap into what it calls a « surge » of people wanting a smaller « digital impact » on their lives.
But others say that would be better achieved by teaching people how to use their devices in a healthier and more controlled way.
There are growing calls from parents and campaigners to limit the time children spend on smartphones, or even ban the devices completely.
Their concerns range from the suspicion children will end up with shorter attention spans, to the fear that they might be exposed to harmful or illegal content.
Some schools are taking action, perhaps most eye-catchingly the UK’s best known fee-paying school, Eton College. It is providing some of its pupils with « brick » phones – also sometimes called feature phones – which can only send and receive texts and calls.
It says it wants to « balance the benefits and challenges that technology brings to schools. »
And this week mobile network EE waded into the debate by advising parents not to allow their under-11s smartphones at all.
Lars Silberbauer, a senior executive at HMD, says it is these trends his firm is responding to.
« We’ve seen this surge which started in the US coming to Europe, that more and more people actually want to not be having a digital experience all the time », he said.
