Gen Z has a new 'vintage' technology to obsess over

First, it was disposable cameras. Then it was low-rise jeans. Now, Gen-Z’s latest “vintage” obsession is the flip phone – that mid-1990s era phone that has suddenly become oh

so popular with millennials. Today, these smaller, lightweight devices – some available for as little as $20 at big box retailers like Walmart and Amazon – are showing up

in TikTok videos of young people unboxing them, bedazzling their cases just as earlier generations did, and filming tutorials on achieving a carefree, blurry aesthetic through the

low quality camera. But most importantly, they love the ability to disconnect – or as much as that’s even possible in 2023. “I’m team flip phone revolution,”

singer Camila Cabello tweeted Thursday, posing with a TCL flip phone, vintage. “Maybe I can write the theme song.” Camila Cabello with her flip phone. - From Camila

Cabello/Twitter Actress Dove Cameron, who rose to fame on the Disney Channel’s “Liv and Maddie” show, said in a November interview that she had switched to a flip phone.

Spending too much time on her phone and looking at social media “is really bad for me,” she said. “I found a little 90s, Matrix-y flip phone,” Cameron said. “I got a

separate number for it, it’s really cheap and I think probably really sh*tty.” Cameron said she unplugged and switched over because she found her social media presence

“misleading.” The feeling is prevalent among Gen Zers – and its impact has been linked to a teen mental health crisis.