Coilie: The Modern Landline
Just about everyone these days is guilty of using their phone too much or picking it up when you know you don't need it. This is the issue that Coilie seeks to solve.
A wall perch and coiled USB-C charging cord that turn your phone into something you visit — so dinner is dinner, mornings are mornings, and your kids see your face instead of a screen.
Like the landline of yesterday, Coilie keeps your phone in one spot. Scroll less, look up more. No app blockers, no guilt trips, just a gentle nudge to be present
There are many solutions out there for phone users to reduce their screen time or restrict access to their phone but Coilie is one of the very few that actually separates you from your device.
Been there, done that? You're not alone. Americans check their phones an average of 186 times a day (Reviews.org, 2025 phone-use survey). Many of us do it without thinking. Mindlessly. Reflexively.
So maybe a large part of the problem isn’t people obsessed with their phones but more the fact that our phones are constantly calling our attention. Our personal devices are like over stimulating stress toys that almost never leave our side. This solution is one of the few that require the phone to be in a different place than you are and harps back to the days when phones were things that lived just in our homes and stayed in one spot.
Coilie's creators cite the negative impact of excessive phone use:
Impaired ability: Simply having a phone visible on a desk — even face-down and silenced — measurably reduces working memory and problem-solving performance. (Ward et al., "Brain Drain," JCR, 2017)
Worse sleep: Heavy smartphone use at bedtime is linked to shorter sleep, lower sleep quality, and more daytime fatigue across dozens of peer-reviewed studies. (Meta-analyses in Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2021–2023)
Reduced focus: The average adult attention span on a single screen has dropped from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to about 47 seconds today. (Dr. Gloria Mark, Attention Span, 2023). The average office worker now focuses on a single task for just about three minutes before switching. (Johann Hari, Stolen Focus, 2022)
Worse teen mental health: Teen girls who spend 5+ hours a day on social media are significantly more likely to report depressive symptoms than light users. (Jean Twenge, iGen; Haidt, The Anxious Generation)
It's side effects like these that stress the importance of finding ways to make good device use habits to improve our lives. The importance becomes paramount when talking about children and how a reliance on personal devices
References
Czajka, L., & Trey , K. (2026, August 4). Coilie: The Modern Landline. kickstarter.com. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coilie/coilie-the-modern-landline
