I wanted to share this video with the community because it perfectly captures something we’ve been talking about here for a while: digital minimalism is going mainstream.
In the video, Cat Goetze explains why she created a Bluetooth-compatible landline phone.
Her business ended up selling over 7,500 phones and bringing in nearly $800k in six months, which says a lot about how many people are feeling this shift.
What stood out to me most is that this isn’t TOTALLY about nostalgia (well maybe just a little bit) or even going “off the grid.” It’s more about intentional friction, redesigning habits, and putting technology back in its place without disappearing from modern life.
It feels very aligned with why many of us are here & why Mudita Kompakt resonates with so many people. Different form factor, different solution, but the same underlying question: How much tech is actually enough? & How does this phone fit into my life?
Curious what you all think:
Would something like this fit into your own setup? I gotta admit, I’m tempted to order
Do you see it as complementary to a minimalist phone, or solving a different need altogether?
Do you feel this broader cultural shift happening around you too?
I see it as complementary, given that you could leave your Kompakt with Bluetooth on and charging in one room and one of these devices in another room – one in which you are more likely to be.
No, I remain dismayed by how captured my friends and relatives are by their iPhones and Google Android cellphones, unaware of how privacy-invading and attention-distracting Apple and Alphabet are.
OMG I think I want one of them
We don’t have a phone in our house, we only use our mobile phones, but I’m all for the aesthetic!
I think a device like this forces people to set boundaries accepting only calls by friends and family members, so you can peacefully leave your smartphone somewhere until next day. It can be useful also if you have a dumbphone, so you don’t constantly carry with you the same device you already use when you’re working. I don’t know if this makes sense.
Regarding the cultural shift, I’m not so optimistic. All around me are people with empty eyes, scrolling their feed without even noticing the sunset, the blue sky, the beauty of this world beyond the grayness of the city. Too connected to a device, too disconnected from themselves. Maybe someone will buy one of these psysical phones because they became a trend on tiktok, and then just forgot them to follow another trend.
That said, cell phones meet communication needs so I probably wouldn’t get one. I have looked into landlines before but service is expensive. Right now, the Pure serves as our house phone for the kids that don’t have cell phones but are at home for short periods of time.
I keep thinking a cultural shift must be coming soon-- aren’t people tired of doom scrolling yet?–, but alas, I do not think so. Everywhere I go it is the same, people are on their smartphones.
I have a landline since few months ago, VoIP-driven by the ISP but it’s a regular landline phone, unfortunately not even battery for contacts memory so I gotta get that UPS for my modem and the phone to build that good ol’ availability in case of power outages.
It was mainly for the kids, we start leaving them home alone and they don’t have mobile phones.
