Gadget “Brick”: Analogue to the screen lock

Technology is also known to be subject to fashions. But the must-have gadget of the season is not just another gadget from Apple that captivates users with its flawless interface and intuitive user experience. It’s a rather unsightly gray plastic cube that prevents you from even being able to use your smartphone. Brick, as the device is called, blocks certain apps that are only activated again as soon as you nudge the part against your phone.

Brave journalists recently dared to experiment on themselves, going offline for 48 hours, some even for two weeks, and were amazed at how well their brains worked again afterwards. Other testers are also enthusiastic and report how they have finally won “the war against my phone”, the “battle against doomscrolling”. The choice of words already reveals how serious it is. Of course, there have been apps that allow you to limit your screen time for a long time. Now there is a physical component added. The principle: raise the hurdle again. If you’ve been lounging around on the couch for a long time, but the brick is still on your desk, you might think twice about whether it’s worth getting up again.

So “Being bricked” becomes the state of existence of the moment. But isn’t the success of the device, which costs just under $60, proof that we can no longer trust ourselves? That the only way to deal with the temptations of the Internet in a reasonably healthy way is with tools?

You have to be able to afford to no longer have a say and not know the latest social media trend

Even outside of good New Year’s resolutions, digital detox is now a hot trend. This fits at a time when social media bans for young people are being discussed worldwide and platforms are to be forced to defuse the addictive potential of their algorithms. Why not turn the threat of coercion into a virtue? And that’s how it lists New York Times “Dumbphones” without online functions as a status symbol in their predictions about trends in 2026. Offline clubs are now being opened in more and more cities in which the internet-capable device must be locked away after entry. For the Vogue Unplugging, i.e. unplugging from the whole madness called the Internet, has even become a “true luxury currency”. You have to be able to afford to no longer have a say and not know the latest social media trend.

With the Brick you now have tactile proof that you are no longer taking part in all this madness and can assure yourself and others that you are above things. Stars like the singer Lorde and social media influencers with thousands upon thousands of followers proudly display their plastic brick block like an It bag. And at the same time dedicate the handbag or the hipster jute bag to the so-called Analog Bag around – in which there is a distraction for the hands and brain when the withdrawal symptoms become too severe: crossword puzzles, knitting needles, self-care journal.

But the break doesn’t seem to be complete yet. Because digital renunciation is shared and demonstrated – how could it be otherwise – via social media. The irony is quite obvious: rediscovering offline existence must first be authenticated online in order to be considered socially relevant.