Old-School Landline Phones Are ‘In’ Again
If you’re reading this as a Throwback Nation Radio listener, you remember the thrill of hearing the phone ring in the ’80s and ’90s.
That phone could have been mounted on the wall at your parents’ home. You waited with bated breath after saying “Hello?” to find out who was on the other end. It was your best friend, calling to fill you in on the latest happenings. It had a long coiled cord that you would twist around your arm as you talked, or stretch it out as far as you could to get more comfortable. You might have spent an hour on that phone, just chatting away. When you hung up, it probably rang again right away, as another friend had kept trying to call but got a busy signal.
That was pretty much the deal with a landline back then. No caller ID, no call waiting, no light-up screens. Instead, there was a receiver, a cradle, a cord, and just a voice on the other end. We used it for homework help, to gossip, to ask for a date, to make a prank call or two.
Now, what’s old is new again! Parents are rejecting the risks involved in getting smartphones for their young kids. If you’ve read “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, you’re in the know.
These parents want their kids to have some independence and a social life without screens or apps or social media.
So, enter the landline! They’re still available through your phone company. A Seattle-based startup has also offers its version of the home phone and it’s sold out online!
Designed by a dad, Tin Can is modeled after that wall-mounted phone of the 1980s. It plugs directly into a home internet router or extender, so it’s a modernized landline. No screens, no internet, no games. Every contact is pre-approved by parents, so there is no risk of spam or robocalls or a random caller reaching your kid. Party line chats are even an option! Founder Chet Kittleson told a Seattle magazine: “There’s a virality to our product. When one person gets it, their friends want it. When someone sees it in a house, they do kind of lose their mind. There is something so magical about seeing a retro phone in a kid’s house.”
It’s become so popular that the ’80s version of the Tin Can phone has sold out online. There’s another version still available.
If you want to check it out, click here!
And, if you’re thinking as an adult that this may be something to try to break the cell phone addiction, one author did just that and gave a “landline” another try. She shared her experience with Slate Magazine online if you’d like to give it a go!
We found this fun look back at ’80s kids experiencing party chat lines for the first time – this really brings back the memories!
