Retro phone accessories reveal digital divide in 'untethering' movement

A small plastic handset coiled like a relic from another era is quietly outselling its own nostalgia in Australian stores, signalling something more considered than whimsy: a cultural turning away from the intimate grip smartphones have held over daily life for two decades. The desire to loosen that tether is real, and increasingly designed into schools, concert halls, and living rooms. Yet beneath the trend lies an uneven terrain — for many women and vulnerable people, the smartphone is not a distraction to escape but a safety net they cannot put down. The freedom to disconnect, it turns out,