Winners & losers: The smartphone has already been blamed for shortening attention spans and fueling anxiety. Now, dermatologists and beauty companies say it may also be changing the way some people's necks age. Hours spent looking down at phones, tablets, and screens are contributing to a condition informally known as "tech neck," the horizontal creases that form across the neck and deepen over time. The lines aren't new, but their visibility has turned into a growing aesthetic concern in the digital era – and a lucrative marketing opportunity for the beauty industry.
"Some of those fixed dramatic horizontal lines do become worse because people are literally spending hours on their phone and looking down," Dr. Melanie Palm, a cosmetic dermatologist in Solana Beach, California, told The Wall Street Journal.
According to data from Harmony Healthcare IT, Americans now spend an average of 5 hours and 16 minutes a day on their phones; Gen Z users spend more than 6.5 hours. All that screen time comes with physical costs, Palm said. While the phenomenon is distinct from the orthopedic issue caused by poor posture, the emphasis on appearance has created a separate kind of anxiety.
Television personality Kelly Ripa captured it in her late 2024 remark: "The neck ages in dog years all by itself but tech neck is rapidly increasing our dog years."
The cosmetic response has been swift. Established skincare brands are updating product lines and messaging to address the perceived fallout from daily device use. Procter & Gamble's Olay launched a neck-lifting treatment marketed with the tagline, "Tech Neck Got You Down? Give it a Lift." RoC, which began researching "tech neck" three years ago, rolled out a moisturizing stick targeting neck skin and introduced a January ad campaign aimed at younger consumers. The company said its serum sales rose 17% in the first quarter.
Smaller, niche brands have taken the trend further. Solawave built its latest social-media push around red-light therapy devices said to address tech neck, while Brickell's Grooming Manual now includes a guide titled "How to Fix Tech Neck Wrinkles." The manual notes that tilting the head 45 degrees downward while scrolling is equivalent to balancing a 49-pound weight on the neck.
Influencers, many of whom spend long hours online, are driving awareness – and revenue. "You have more wrinkles on your neck than I do," 24-year-old beauty influencer Kelley Liu recalled her mother telling her. "Is it because I'm short? Maybe my neck is shorter than others, or maybe it's because I had an iPhone since I was 8 years old." Rather than purchasing a specialty product, Liu used retinol face cream and plastic wrap from her kitchen. "It's significantly better," she said.
For others, the marketing worked. Boston influencer Molly J. Curley said she first learned about tech neck on social media. "I looked in the mirror and I was like 'Oh gosh, I have tech neck,'" she said. "I am too young for this." She started using Eight Saints neck cream and ran a paid Facebook ad promoting it, linking to her Amazon storefront. The campaign generated $500,000 in beauty product sales in February, including commissions from the neck cream.
Even the medical community is seeing a ripple effect. New York plastic surgeon Dr. Sam Rizk said his practice has experienced a 25% increase in patients in their mid-30s seeking neck lifts over the past two years, a rise he partly attributes to discussions around tech neck. Dr. Rizk regularly posts on Instagram about his procedures and skin care. But Rizk's answer to tech neck is decidedly low-tech: a simple gooseneck phone holder that keeps the screen – and your chin – up.