Punkt. is a relatively small, dynamic and independent company, and we like to keep close connections with our consumers and with people and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we regularly run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These consist of style challenges that form part of postgraduate style courses, and digital detox difficulties where self-confessed smartphone addicts are welcomed to revisit their relationship with technology.
10 years back, mobile phones were still very uncommon. Now, a life lived outside the framework of the smartphone is uncommon. 10 years earlier, the majority of people had cellphones, but they would generally just attract our attention if another person had chosen to call us or send us a text. Now that many people's lives are a lot more automated: the new typical is to scurry around within a continuous attack of status updates, push notifications and a great deal more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running since 2016. The negative elements of smart devices weren't widely gone over at that point, but there has because been a rise of interest in the subject. Participant reports are a crucial element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and releasing these reports we aim to keep the discussion of individuals's relationship with technology popular and on-going - both in terms of tech dependency and the importance of high-quality design in the real (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The big difference this time round was that the term 'smart device addiction' had clearly gone into common parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 people were beginning to sound genuinely 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 attempted it with an old timeless 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 as well as practical?"
" I'm doing my own variation now, however I had to go for a broke ass burner phone that's 10 years old ...".
" As a UI designer for digital items I've typically questioned some of the success criteria used in my industry, specifically 'engagement' as a metric for success. Until that modifications, sadly it's really hard to combat versus 100s of designers who are attempting to hook you in to their items. [] There is a particular paradox about this as I create for these items but desire to escape them. But I believe it's an opportunity for me as a designer to value how valuable our attention is, and attempt to take that lesson back into my market, ideally to influence a change in technique to innovation.".
" I have actually 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 'd like to keep it that way, by also eliminating my smart device for good.".
Life is too brief to keep our heads down.
Technology has actually drastically changed over the last century, from being a practical 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 realizing what is going on. I've always liked utilizing the latest things, however since Punkt. has been around, I desired to change that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's exactly what occurred. When you go from a continuously ringing smartphone to a phone like this, you realize just how much you can sacrifice all these applications that keep you hooked all day: you do not need them.
In a manner, you do become sort of apart socially from your pals-- let's say if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- however you begin to understand that it's for the 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 seem like you are hooked on your phone, like most individuals I have actually met, it could be a good time to offer this phone a try. A lot of my own household members experience this sensation and I seem like passing this difficulty on to others so they can get the hang of it. This Challenge has actually become so essential in 2018 because-- as I stated-- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. are here to keep us hooked in for the longest time. Do not believe me? Download QualityTime for your Android and you will recognize that you do not even pay attention to what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it might be a great time to get that had a look at, and a good method to go about it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we invest looking at screens, the less essential daytime ends up being-- and often, yes, more of an obstacle. Whether get more info you're inspecting your messages while walking to work, enjoying your smart device with your friends (who are each taking pleasure in theirs), or watching a film, daytime is an inconvenience.
We began heading this method due to the fact that we wanted to. Nowadays-- to a big extent-- we merely do it because we do it. And because others want us to do it.
Is this actually how you wish to invest your time on Earth?
* * *.
In 2016, Google employee Tristan Harris left his task to discovered a brand-new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which looked for to broaden the argument on what innovation is doing to us and led to the creation of the Center for Humane Technology. Given that then, the subject has exploded into the mainstream and it has become clear that it is not doing advantages to our basic sense of well-being.
The web page of the Center's site includes a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a mobile phone is combined with a photo of a lady. But she is not presented 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 appears pleased, taking pleasure in the view. And she is bathed in sunlight.
Perhaps it makes good sense to utilize these brighter evenings for something other than taking a look at pixels? And when bedtime techniques, matching sundown with a digital sundown: whatever turned off, leaving just a land-line with a number known just to household and buddies, and a devoted alarm clock.
Signing up with those who have actually dropped their smartphones entirely, combining a fundamental phone with a laptop or tablet (much much better for typing on). Nowadays these ideas might sound almost extreme, but as far as biology is worried, they're what your brain desires. Hence the medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Due to the fact that of the obvious reduction in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is stated to increase life expectancy of a country's people. Ditto banning phone usage while driving, of course (with a much clearer causal link). Phones threaten in other ways, too: scrollers strolling into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one threat a lot of, etc. However over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another method too-- incrementally and inevitably. It provides us a narrower existence in which we are less focussed, less rested and hence less awake. Over-use consumes our lives, and it's becoming the standard.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that anywhere you go, you always wind up in the exact same place: in front of your smartphone? Using it, or letting it use you, to remain 'connected'? Gotten in touch with exactly what people depend on back house. Linked with the most recent news reports. Linked with work. Connected with video games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Linked with pictures from the last holiday you took, and the one before that. What type of 'connection' is that, really? This circumstance is something that's approached on us, and maybe it's time to begin making some choices ...
A holiday is a chance to switch off, to experience new things. However if we do not likewise change off our gadgets, if we continue to outsource our awareness to image sensors and sd card, if we're still attached to exactly what we were doing prior to we left and exactly what we'll be doing when we return, it's as if we're paying a sort of holiday tax. Part of the experience is deducted-- and not to assist the local economy, however to assist line the pockets of shareholders of social media business.
Envision a timeless travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There would not be much left. And even if we're looking for something a bit less extreme for our fortnight away, the concept still uses. Whether it's a case of pings on the beach, or livestreaming from the Louvre, something's gotten but something's lost. And on the subject of getting lost, yes, without a smartphone it could take place. And possibly you'll wind up someplace that turns out to be the emphasize of your journey. Maybe you'll find some appealing restaurant that isn't on tripadvisor.com. You may wind up talking to some residents. Absolutely nothing ventured, absolutely nothing got. 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 decide to have a holiday that does not focus on processing big data, there are a few options. We can go to the other severe, and leave home with no kind of phone or tablet. (That never utilized to be an extreme, however we reside in extreme times.) And we have alternatives like changing our device's settings to 'minimum', leaving it in the hotel safe during the day, and so on
. Or we can take a various phone. One that only does calls and texts. Then immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some adventures, or simply take pleasure in a bit of solitude.
The physical act of swapping phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's starting to acquire in appeal: whether an inexpensive, old-tech model or something more trendy and current, opting to sometimes use a basic phone is something that everyone can connect to nowadays. They may not do it themselves, however they definitely understand why some individuals do.
There are useful benefits, too. Only needing to charge your phone periodically is popular with everybody however if you're going someplace without mains electrical energy, your greedy smart device will be no use at all. With an easy phone you don't need to keep inspecting that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some way of running up monster-sized data roaming charges-- it can still happen. It's the 'actually being there' that really counts. Sure, travelling without a smart device will mean a few mix-ups, a minimized ability to plan, to understand in advance what's going to happen. But taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on simple phones are often much tougher than the large areas of glass found on their more complex cousins. Changing a broken smartphone screen is a trouble at the very best of times; multiply that by 10 if you're abroad.
But it's the 'in fact being there' that really counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smartphone will suggest a couple of mix-ups, a lowered capability to strategy, to understand ahead of time exactly what's going to happen. However taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.