Are Americans Logging Off?
This week's digest: dumbphones, teen social media bans, sports betting, and the new politics of digital restraint.
CTRL Panel
This July I’m (mostly) smartphone-less. I am a week into MonthOffline, a program where you switch to a flip phone (a “dumbphone”) and join a small group of neighbors for weekly meetings they describe as “part support group, part happy hour, part classroom”.
Logging off feels all the rage here in New York—it was just the “Summer of Ludd”, after all—but I was curious if the sentiment is widespread. The evidence is mixed:
63% of Americans wish they could take a break from their phone sometimes, but only 39% often do, according to a May 2025 poll from YouGov.
Last year’s General Social Survey found roughly 70% of internet users had deliberately cut back at least once—with the reason for unplugging split by gender: women were more likely to cite physical or mental well-being (37% vs. 27% of men), while men were more likely to cite wanting more time for offline life (40% vs. 32% of women).
As for dumphone sales, it’s hard to get a good number. Still, it’s safe to say they remain a niche consumer product.
The Feed
Despite implementation hurdles, Americans like under-16 social media bans
Australia’s landmark social media ban has had a rocky go of it.
Yesterday, a research team which advised the government’s rollout found that platforms almost never ask users to prove their age. Of 50 test accounts the team opened across nine platforms (including Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat), each self-declared as 16, only one platform ever requested age verification.
Echoing an earlier NBER working paper, a recent BMJ study found that 85% of Australian under-16s reported still using social media three months into the ban, with no significant differences by sex.
Still, youth social media bans remain popular in the U.S. According to a Pew poll, nearly 6 in 10 U.S. adults support banning social media for those under the age of 16. Another 21% opposed a ban, and 23% were unsure.
Other restrictions on minors social media first polled in 2023 remain popular:
For ongoing coverage of the age-verification debates — Australia, KOSA, the KIDS act, we’ve been reading Quire’s digital childhood briefing.
Putting the gambling genie back in the bottle
Ohio's proposed "Save Ohio Sports Act" would eliminate online sports betting in the state entirely. But as Dustin Gouker argues, dismantling regulated sportsbooks could just push betting behavior toward prediction markets or illegal operators, preserving the addictive dynamics while weakening state oversight.
Kalshi Suffers Federal Court Loss In New York
Kalshi’s legal fight over sports-related prediction markets continues, with Gouker reporting a federal court loss in New York and an expected appeal. The case remains one of the most important tests of whether sports event contracts will be treated more like financial products or gambling products.
What else we’re reading
Gambling Addiction Starts in Middle School - Jessica Grose in the NYT
Many Child Safety Features on Social Apps Don’t Work, Report Finds - NYT (Report)
OpenAI teams up with kids’ safety group on California ballot measure - Politico
Loot box purchases are associated with problem gambling severity and harms beyond traditional gambling activities - Kim et al.
Online Sports Betting: The Problem and How to Respond - Ethics & Public Policy Center
A loneliness epidemic meets uneven social infrastructure - Axios
“Social Media Addiction” Is Way More Complicated Than You Think - Persuasion
What Does a 13-Year-Old See on Snapchat in a Normal Week? - After Babel
CFTC conducting broad probe into prediction market Polymarket - Bloomberg
At 17, She Sued Meta and Google, and Won. Now She’s Ready to Tell Her Story - Bloomberg
These Are the Sharps Actually Making Money on Prediction Markets - Odd Lots
The Digital Choices Shaping our Children’s Health - Emmanuel Macron and Tedros Ghebreyesus in Project Syndicate
Events & Funding Opportunities
New* Brookings Webinar - Behind the screen: AI slop, young children, and the profit problem | 2 PM, July 16th.
National Conference on Gambling Addiction & Responsible Gambling | Nashville, TN | July 22-24, 2026 | Call for presentations closed.
New* NCPG welcomes grant applications from any U.S. based nonprofit engaging in problem gambling prevention programming | Deadline: August 19, 2026
New* Family Online Safety Institute Conference | Washington, D.C. | November 19, 2026
What did we miss this week? Do you have an upcoming conference or study we could feature in the next edition? Do you think logging off is good for you? Let us know at bmonline@substack.com, or shoot me a message here.
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Great that you are staying on top of these topics Anders, very interesting. I managed to keep a flip phone until end of 2023 but finally had to give in to keep in touch with next gen. properly. An anti-tech wave is building but tech has been so deeply embedded in life necessities -- which no one likes, but can't avoid -- that the wave's impact will likely be blunted.