PERTH, AUSTRALIA / RankWire.AI / – Recent findings from Edith Cowan University suggest that interest in vintage phone accessories is linked to efforts aimed at distancing oneself from smartphones. Dr Jess Hardley, a researcher, explored how individuals manage devices that have become integral to daily routines. The study includes wall-mounted smartphone docks and handsets featuring classic coiled cords. It also investigates behaviors that make phones less easily reachable. Hardley’s research is based on over ten years of work with Australian smartphone users.
The research emphasizes physical separation from phones rather than mere screen time reduction. Participants reported leaving their devices in other rooms or locking them away during certain periods. One individual stored a phone inside a work drawer after mobile gaming began to impair concentration. Additionally, Hardley documented various methods such as app restrictions, greyscale screen settings, and other modifications designed to limit immediate access. The results focus on intentional changes in how users store and handle their smartphones.
Another aspect of this pattern involves retro phone accessories. Some items enable users to position smartphones in designated locations rather than carrying them around. Others connect modern smartphones to handsets reminiscent of traditional landline phones. Hardley studied these accessories alongside phone-free events and locking pouches used at concerts. The research does not assess whether individual products enhance concentration or wellbeing but instead documents how users are altering their physical relationship with devices.
Physical Distance Becomes Integral to Smartphone Usage
These practices are situated within a broader history of mobile phones becoming deeply woven into daily routines. Smartphones now serve multiple functions—communication, entertainment, work tools, cameras, payments, and internet access—all in portable devices. Hardley’s research investigates what occurs when users intentionally make these devices harder to reach. The study describes physical distance as one of the methods employed to modify smartphone habits. It also considers how restrictions on devices can be implemented in homes, workplaces, events, and other shared environments.
Titled Revisiting the ‘Snug Tether’: Smartphones in an Era of Scroll-Free Social Events, Landline Accessories, and Device Bans, the paper was published in M/C Journal. It explores scroll-free social gatherings, vintage landline accessories, phone jails, and restrictions on smartphone use. Hardley revisits earlier academic concepts that depicted mobile phones as devices kept close to their owners. The new research emphasizes practices that disrupt this proximity and also examines who participates in various forms of distancing from smartphones.
Device Restrictions Extend Beyond Personal Management
The study coincides with measures implemented in Australian schools to limit smartphone use. From Term 1 of 2024, Australian education ministers agreed to ban or restrict mobile phones across all public schools. A 2025 survey involving nearly 1,000 New South Wales principals indicated changes following the enforcement of these restrictions. According to the federal education ministry, 87% of respondents observed that students were less distracted in classrooms, while 81% noted improvements in learning outcomes. These policies represent institutional efforts to limit phone access during specific parts of the day.
Hardley’s research continues to focus on how individuals manage their relationships with smartphones as these devices become embedded in daily life. The study identifies physical separation, decreased accessibility, and phone-free environments as key strategies adopted by users. Retro accessories are viewed as part of this broader set of practices rather than a separate technological category. Edith Cowan University released its summary of these findings on Aug. 18, 2026. The research contributes documented examples to ongoing investigations into evolving smartphone behaviors in Australia.