Punkt. is a fairly small, dynamic and independent business, and we like to keep close connections with our clients and with individuals and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we routinely run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These consist of design challenges that form part of postgraduate design courses, and digital detox challenges where self-confessed smart device addicts are invited to revisit their relationship with technology.
Ten years ago, smartphones were still really unusual. Now, a life lived outside the framework of the smart device is uncommon. 10 years earlier, the majority of people had cellphones, but they would typically just attract our attention if another person had chosen to call us or send us a text. Now that the majority of people's lives are a lot more automated: the brand-new typical is to scurry around within a ceaseless assault of status updates, push alerts and a lot more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have actually been running considering that 2016. The unfavorable elements of smartphones weren't widely discussed at that point, however there has actually given that been a rise of interest in the subject. Participant reports are a crucial element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we aim to keep the discussion of individuals's relationship with technology prominent and on-going - both in terms of tech dependency and the significance of premium design in the real (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The huge difference this time round was that the term 'mobile phone addiction' had actually clearly entered common parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, but in 2018 people were beginning to sound truly fretted. You can check out the reports listed below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the many applications we got:
" The consistent scrolling."
" I attempted it with an old traditional phone, it resembled going back to an ex - with all the old pros and cons. Who does that?"
" We use our phones a lot - why should not they be gorgeous as well as functional?"
" I'm doing my own version now, however I had to opt for a broke ass burner phone that's 10 years old ...".
" As a UI designer for digital items I've often questioned some of the success criteria used in my market, particularly 'engagement' as a metric for success. Till that changes, unfortunately it's very hard to combat versus 100s of designers who are aiming to hook you into their products. [] There is a particular irony about this as I design for these items but desire to get away from them. But I believe it's an opportunity for me as a designer to value how important our attention is, and try to take that lesson back into my market, ideally to influence a modification in technique to technology.".
" I have started getting rid of all my social networks profiles and have instantly seen the positive impact it's had on me. I am a lot calmer now, and I wish to keep it that way, by likewise removing my smartphone for great.".
Life is too brief to keep our heads down.
Innovation has actually dramatically changed over the last century, from being a helpful tool in our lives to keeping us as hooked in as much as it can and for the longest amount of time. This Challenge changes that in its entirety, pushing us into recognizing what is going on. I've always liked utilizing the most recent things, however given that Punkt. has actually been around, I wished to alter that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's precisely what occurred. When you go from a constantly buzzing smart device to a phone like this, you recognize how much you can sacrifice all these applications that keep you hooked all day: you do not require them.
In a method, you do end up being kind of apart socially from your friends-- let's say if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- but you start to realize that it's for the better, and the Punkt. MP01 accomplishes simply that. It teaches you simpleness and teaches you that you do not require whatever on your phone. Just the fundamentals.
If you seem like you are hooked on your phone, like many people I have actually satisfied, it might be a great time to provide this phone a try. Much of my own household members experience this feeling and I feel like passing this difficulty on to others so they can master it. This Challenge has ended up being so essential in 2018 because-- as I stated-- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and so on are here to keep us hooked in for the longest time. Do not think me? Download QualityTime for your Android and you will understand that you don't even focus on what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it might be an excellent time to obtain that had a look at, and a great way to go about it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we spend looking at screens, the lesser daytime becomes-- and in some cases, yes, more of an obstacle. Whether you're checking your messages while walking to work, enjoying your smartphone with your friends (who are each enjoying theirs), or enjoying a film, daylight is an inconvenience.
We started heading this way due to the fact that we wanted to. Nowadays-- to a big extent-- we just do it because we do it. And due to the fact that others want us to do it.
Is this truly how you wish to invest your time on Earth?
* * *.
In 2016, Google staff member Tristan Harris left his job to discovered a brand-new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which sought to broaden the debate on what innovation is doing to us and led to the development of the Center for Humane Technology. Because then, the topic has actually exploded into the mainstream and it has become clear that it is refraining from doing advantages to our general sense of wellness.
The home page of the Center's website features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smartphone is combined with a picture of a female. She is not provided as being on the screen. She remains in fact 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 pleased, delighting in the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Maybe it makes sense to use these brighter nights for something aside from taking a look at pixels? And when bedtime approaches, matching sundown with a digital sunset: everything turned off, leaving just a land-line with a number understood just to household and friends, and a dedicated alarm clock.
Joining those who have dropped their smart devices totally, combining a basic phone with a laptop or tablet (much better for typing on). Nowadays these ideas may sound almost radical, but as far as biology is concerned, they're what your brain desires. The medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Because of the obvious decrease in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is stated to increase life span of a country's residents. Ditto banning phone use while driving, of course (with a much clearer causal link). Phones are harmful in other ways, too: scrollers strolling into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one threat too lots of, and so on. However over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another way as well-- incrementally and undoubtedly. It offers us a narrower presence in which we are less focussed, less rested and thus less awake. Over-use consumes our lives, and it's ending up being the standard.
Time for a rethink?
Do you find that any place you go, you constantly wind up in the exact same place: in front of your smartphone? Utilizing it, or letting it utilize you, to stay 'linked'? Gotten in touch with exactly what people depend on back house. Gotten in touch with the most recent report. Connected with work. Gotten in touch with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Linked with pictures from the last holiday you took, and the one prior to that. What type of 'connection' is that, really? This scenario is something that's approached on us, and possibly it's time to start making some choices ...
A holiday is a chance to turn off, to experience new things. 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 attached to exactly what we were doing prior to we left and exactly what we'll be doing when we get back, it's as if we're paying a kind of vacation tax. Part of the experience is deducted-- and not to help the local economy, but to assist line the pockets of shareholders of social networks business.
Picture a classic travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There wouldn't be much left. As well as if we're searching for something a bit less intense for our fortnight away, the principle still uses. Whether it's a case of pings on the beach, or livestreaming from the Louvre, something's gained but something's lost. And on the topic of getting lost, yes, without a mobile phone it could occur. And perhaps you'll end up somewhere that ends up being the highlight of your trip. Possibly you'll find some intriguing restaurant that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You may wind up talking with some residents. Nothing ventured, nothing acquired. This connect the growing sluggish travelmovement, and the recovering of overland travel as a mainstream and reasonable alternative to flying, demonstrated by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's everything about existing.
If we do choose to have a holiday that doesn't revolve around processing big data, there are a couple of options. We can go to the other severe, and leave house without any type of phone or tablet. (That never ever used to be an extreme, but we reside in severe times.) And we have choices like changing our device's settings to 'minimum', leaving it in the hotel safe throughout the day, etc
. Or we can take a different phone. One that only does calls and texts. And after that immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some adventures, or just enjoy a little peace and peaceful.
The physical act of swapping phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's beginning to gain in appeal: whether a low-cost, old-tech design or something more trendy and updated, selecting to often utilize an easy phone is something that everyone can associate with nowadays. They may not do it themselves, however they definitely understand why some people do.
There are practical advantages, too. Just having to charge your phone sometimes is popular with everyone however if you're going somewhere without mains electrical power, your greedy smartphone will be no usage at all. Also, with a simple phone you do not require to keep inspecting that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly discovered some way of adding monster-sized data roaming charges-- it can still happen. It's the 'in fact being there' that truly counts. Sure, travelling without a smart device will indicate a few mix-ups, a lowered ability to plan, to understand in advance exactly what's going to happen. However travelling sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on easy phones are typically much tougher than the big areas of glass discovered on their more complicated cousins. Replacing a broken mobile phone screen is a trouble at the very best of times; multiply that by 10 if you're abroad.
But it's the 'actually being there' that actually counts. Sure, travelling without a smart device will indicate a few mix-ups, a reduced ability to strategy, to know ahead of time exactly what's going to happen. Travelling sans navigate to this website algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.