Punkt. is a reasonably little, vibrant and independent company, and we prefer to maintain close connections with our clients and with people and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we frequently run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These consist of design challenges that form part of postgraduate style courses, and digital detox challenges where self-confessed smartphone addicts are invited to revisit their relationship with technology.
10 years back, smartphones were still really unusual. Now, a life lived outside the structure of the smartphone is unusual. 10 years back, the majority of people had smart phones, however they would typically only attract our attention if another person had actually chosen to call us or send us a text. Now that the majority of people's lives are so much more automated: the new regular is to scurry around within a nonstop onslaught of status updates, push notices and a lot more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have actually been running because 2016. The negative elements of smartphones weren't extensively discussed at that point, however there has actually because been a rise of interest in the topic. Participant reports are a crucial element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we intend to keep the conversation of people's relationship with technology popular and on-going - both in regards to tech addiction and the significance of premium design in the real (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The big difference this time round was that the term 'smart device dependency' had clearly gone into typical parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 people were beginning to sound truly worried. You can read the reports below, but here are some excerpts from a few of the numerous applications we got:
" The consistent scrolling."
" I tried it with an old classic phone, it was like going back to an ex - with all the old pros and cons. Who does that?"
" We use our phones a lot - why shouldn't they be gorgeous in addition to practical?"
" I'm doing my own variation now, however I needed to choose a broke ass burner phone that's 10 years old ...".
" As a UI designer for digital items I've typically questioned a few of the success requirements used in my industry, particularly 'engagement' as a metric for success. Up until that modifications, sadly it's really hard to eliminate versus 100s of designers who are attempting to hook you into their items. [] There is a particular paradox about this as I develop for these products but wish to get away from them. I believe it's an opportunity for me as a designer to appreciate how valuable our attention is, and attempt to take that lesson back into my market, hopefully to influence a change in method to technology.".
" I have begun eliminating all my social networks profiles and have immediately seen the favorable effect it's had on me. I am a lot calmer now, and I wish to keep it that way, by likewise removing my mobile phone for good.".
Life is too brief to keep our heads down.
Innovation has significantly altered over the last century, from being a helpful tool in our lives to keeping us as connected in as much as it can and for the longest period of time. This Challenge changes that in its totality, pressing us into recognizing what is going on. I've constantly loved utilizing the newest things, but because Punkt. has actually been around, I desired to change that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's precisely what occurred. When you go from a constantly ringing smartphone to a phone like this, you understand how much you can compromise all these applications that keep you hooked all day long: you do not require them.
In a manner, you do end up being type of apart socially from your buddies-- let's state if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- but you start to understand that it's for the much better, and the Punkt. MP01 achieves just that. It teaches you simpleness and teaches you that you do not need whatever on your phone. Just the essentials.
If you feel like you are hooked on your phone, like many people I have fulfilled, it could be a great time to offer this phone a try. Much of my own relative experience this sensation and I feel like passing this obstacle on to others so they can master it. This Challenge has become so crucial in 2018 because-- as I stated-- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. are here to keep us hooked in for the longest time. Don't believe me? Download QualityTime for your Android and you will understand that you do not even take note of exactly what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it may be a great time to get that checked out, and a great way to set about it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we spend looking at screens, the less essential daytime ends up being-- and often, yes, more of a limitation. Whether you're inspecting your messages while strolling to work, enjoying your mobile phone with your good friends (who are each taking pleasure in theirs), or watching a film, daylight is a hassle.
We started heading in this manner because we wished to. Nowadays-- to a big extent-- we just do it due to the fact that we do it. And due to the fact that others desire us to do it.
Is this truly how you wish to spend your time on Earth?
* * *.
In 2016, Google employee Tristan Harris left his job to found a brand-new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which looked for to broaden the dispute on exactly what technology is doing to us and led to the creation of the Center for Humane Technology. Because then, the topic has actually taken off into the mainstream and it has actually become clear that it is not doing advantages to our general sense of wellness.
The web page of the Center's website features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a mobile phone is combined with a photograph of a female. She is not provided as being on the screen. She remains in truth looking out from the phone, leaning with her arms folded on the bottom edge of the screen as though it were a windowsill. She seems delighted, taking pleasure in the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Maybe it makes good sense to utilize these brighter nights for something other than looking at pixels? When bedtime techniques, matching sundown with a digital sunset: whatever turned off, leaving just a land-line with a number understood only to household and buddies, and a dedicated alarm clock.
Signing up with those who have dropped their mobile phones entirely, integrating a fundamental phone with a laptop computer or tablet (much better for typing on). Nowadays these concepts may sound nearly radical, however as far as biology is concerned, they're what your brain desires. The medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Due to the fact that of the apparent decrease in traffic accidents, Daylight Saving Time is stated to increase life span of a country's people. Ditto banning phone usage while driving, of course (with a much clearer causal link). Phones are unsafe in other ways, too: scrollers walking into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one threat too numerous, and so on. However over-use of tech diminishes our lives in another method as well-- incrementally and undoubtedly. It provides us a narrower presence in which we are less focussed, less rested and thus less awake. Over-use eats our lives, and it's ending up being the norm.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that any place you go, you always wind up in the very same place: in front of your smartphone? Utilizing it, or letting it use you, to remain 'linked'? Gotten in touch with exactly what people are up to back home. Gotten in touch with the most current news reports. Gotten in touch with work. Gotten in touch with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Gotten in touch with photos from the last holiday you took, and the one prior to that. What sort of 'connection' is that, actually? This situation is something that's sneaked up on us, and maybe it's time to begin making some choices ...
A holiday is an opportunity to switch off, to experience brand-new things. However if we don't also change off our devices, if we continue to outsource our awareness to image sensors and memory cards, if we're still connected to exactly what we were doing before we left and what we'll be doing when we return, it's as if we're paying a kind of vacation tax. Part of the experience is subtracted-- and not to assist the regional economy, however to assist line the pockets of shareholders of social networks business.
Envision a traditional travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There wouldn't be much left. And even if we're searching for something a bit less extreme for our fortnight away, the concept still applies. Whether it's a case of pings on the beach, or livestreaming from the Louvre, something's acquired but something's lost. And on the topic of getting lost, yes, without a mobile phone it might occur. And perhaps you'll end up somewhere that turns out to be the emphasize of your journey. Possibly you'll discover some interesting restaurant that isn't on tripadvisor.com. You may wind up speaking with some residents. Absolutely nothing ventured, absolutely nothing gained. This connect the growing sluggish travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and realistic option to flying, demonstrated by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's all about being there.
If we do choose to have a vacation that does not focus on processing big data, there are a couple of alternatives. We can go to the other severe, and leave house with no sort of phone or tablet. (That never utilized to be an extreme, however we live in severe times.) And we have choices like changing our device's settings to 'minimum', leaving it in the hotel safe throughout the day, and so on
. Or we can take a various phone. One that only does calls and texts. Then immerse ourselves in a various culture, have some adventures, or merely enjoy a bit of solitude.
The physical act of swapping phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's beginning to get in appeal: whether a low-cost, old-tech design or something more trendy and updated, selecting to sometimes utilize a basic phone is something that everybody can associate with nowadays. They may refrain from doing it themselves, however they certainly know why some individuals do.
There are useful benefits, too. Just needing to charge your phone sometimes is popular with everybody but if you're going somewhere without mains electrical energy, your greedy smart device will be no usage at all. Also, with a basic phone you don't have to keep checking that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some way of adding monster-sized data roaming charges-- it can still take place. However it's the 'really existing' that truly counts. Sure, taking a trip without a mobile phone will mean a few mix-ups, a reduced ability to strategy, to know ahead of time exactly what's going to occur. Taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on basic phones are often much more info harder than the large areas of glass found on their more complicated cousins. Replacing a damaged smartphone screen is a trouble at the best of times; increase that by 10 if you're abroad.
However it's the 'actually existing' that actually counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smartphone will mean a couple of mix-ups, a decreased ability to strategy, to understand in advance exactly what's going to take place. However travelling sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.