I checked in on the trash fire yesterday, and the smaller hobby-oriented subs I'm on were heavily targeted, possibly to keep up the illusion of engagement during the blackout. I didn't dive into what's happening on the comments side, but sorting by New was a trip. But outside of the blackout, yeah, usually I steer clear of the big communities and life isn't too full of bots.
I'm a woman with small hands and unfortunately smaller pockets. I don't need a thinner phone - I need a shorter, narrower phone that's comfortable to hold and that won't peek out halfway from my jeans.
So for me, the flip phone format makes a lot of sense, because companies seem intent on offering me Large or XXL Max Extra only in terms of candybar phones.
That said, I don't think it should be the mainstream, never mind the silly hyperbole that "every smartphone should be a flip phone". We just generally need more size/format variety in the market.