The NoPhone: Cure to Cell Phone Addiction

This is not a joke. A group of friends from the Netherlands and the U.S. have created a "new gadget" called the NoPhone to rival the iPhones and other brands of mobile phones. Like these well-known devices, the NoPhone is sleek, thin and light.

But that is where their similarities end. Unlike the ubiquitous smartphones you see people carrying and using everywhere you go, the NoPhone is battery-free, shatterproof and absolutely waterproof. It also does not need any upgrades.

The biggest difference,however, is that with the NoPhone you don't need to text, call, email, play games, watch videos, take pictures, or surf the Internet.

It does one thing that all the phones in the world can never do: It shows us just how addicted we are to our phones.

The undisclosed makers of the NoPhone described their product as a "technology-free alternative to your real phone, which allows you to stay connected to the real world."

The product is a black, plastic slab shaped like a real smartphone. It was created to help smartphone addicts wean themselves from their addiction. If they feel the urge to grasp their phone in their pocket, the NoPhone will be there minus the distraction caused by the real phones.

The makers of the product likened it to placebo cigarettes used to take smokers off their nicotine addiction.

The product may look silly to some people, but not to the NoPhone team that created it. In fact the NoPhone has already raised $17,000 on Kickstarter, the world's largest funding platform for creative projects. The amount is more than thrice its initial $5,000 target – and its campaign for financial support is still ongoing. Some people undoubtedly believe in the NoPhone's marketability.

The NoPhone makers has started a Kickstarter page for the product where they wrote: "Phone addiction is real. And it's everywhere. It's ruining your dates. It's distracting you at concerts. It's disrupting you in movie theaters. It's clogging up sidewalks."

The makers said with an $18 donation, you can get the NoPhone "selfie upgrade," which is just a mirror glued to the phone.

You'll need to pledge at least $12 to guarantee your NoPhone, which the NoPhone team promises to deliver before the end of next month.

The NoPhone team said the product is designed for people who tuck their phone into their bag or pocket, only to find it back in their hand again a few moments later. These are the people who don't even know why they're holding a phone, why they're compulsively running their fingers over it, flipping between apps, and checking each one, even though they've got no new notifications.

If you think the NoPhone is just a piece of junk, that is not entirely correct. The piece of plastic can also have practical applications. For instance, when walking through a dangerous neighborhood or a crowded street teeming with potential gadget snatchers, you can use the NoPhone as a decoy device. You can fool people with it. The mirror attached to the back can also be used to check how you look in real time.