PERTH, AUSTRALIA / RankWire.AI / – Recent insights from Edith Cowan University connect the popularity of vintage phone gadgets with efforts to distance oneself from smartphones. Researcher Dr Jess Hardley explored how individuals handle devices that have become integral to daily routines. The study includes wall-mounted smartphone docks and handsets with classic coiled cords. It also investigates strategies aimed at reducing phone accessibility. Hardley’s research is based on more than ten years of engagement with Australian smartphone users.
The study emphasizes physical separation from phones rather than merely limiting screen time. Participants reported leaving devices in different rooms or locking them away at certain times. One individual stored their phone in a work drawer after mobile gaming started impairing focus. Hardley also documented measures like app restrictions, greyscale screen settings, and other modifications aimed at making phones less immediately accessible. The results highlight intentional adjustments in how people store and handle their devices.
Another aspect of this pattern involves retro phone accessories. Some products enable users to place their smartphones in fixed locations instead of carrying them around. Others link modern smartphones to handsets inspired by traditional landline phones. Hardley examined these accessories alongside phone-free events and locking pouches used at concerts. The research does not evaluate whether these products enhance concentration or wellbeing but instead records how users are altering their physical connection to smartphones.
Physical distancing as part of smartphone usage
This paper situates these practices within a broader historical context of mobile phones becoming deeply embedded in everyday life. Smartphones serve multiple functions, including communication, entertainment, work tools, cameras, payments, and internet access in portable formats. Hardley’s study investigates what occurs when users intentionally make these devices less reachable. It describes physical distance as one method employed to modify smartphone habits and considers how device restrictions are implemented in homes, workplaces, events, and shared environments.
Titled Revisiting the ‘Snug Tether’: Smartphones in an Era of Scroll-Free Social Events, Landline Accessories, and Device Bans, the paper appeared in M/C Journal. It explores scroll-free social gatherings, vintage landline accessories, phone jails, and restrictions on smartphone use. Hardley revisits earlier academic notions of mobile phones as devices held close to their users. The new research emphasizes practices that disrupt that proximity and examines who participates in various forms of smartphone distancing.
Device restrictions extend beyond individual behavior
This research coincides with efforts to limit smartphone use within Australian educational institutions. From Term 1 of 2024, Australian education ministers agreed to ban or restrict mobile phones in all public schools. A 2025 survey involving nearly 1,000 New South Wales principals reported changes following the implementation of these restrictions. According to the federal education ministry, 87% noted that students were less distracted during class, while 81% observed improvements in learning. These measures reflect institutional limits on phone access during specific parts of the day.
Hardley’s work continues to focus on how individuals manage their relationship with smartphones as these devices become woven into daily life. The study highlights physical separation, decreased accessibility, and phone-free environments as key approaches adopted by users. Retro accessories are part of this broader set of practices rather than standalone technology categories. Edith Cowan University published its overview of the findings on Aug. 18, 2026. This research adds documented examples to ongoing investigations into changing smartphone use patterns in Australia.