Punkt. is a relatively small, dynamic and independent company, and we like to maintain close connections with our customers and with individuals and organisations within the style world. As part of this, we frequently run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These consist of style challenges that form part of postgraduate style courses, and digital detox difficulties where self-confessed mobile phone addicts are invited to revisit their relationship with innovation.
10 years ago, smartphones were still really uncommon. Now, a life lived outside the framework of the smartphone is uncommon. Ten years ago, most individuals had smart phones, but they would usually just attract our attention if another human had chosen to call us or send us a text. Now that many people's lives are a lot more automated: the new normal is to scamper around within a ceaseless onslaught of status updates, push alerts and a whole lot more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have actually been running considering that 2016. The negative elements of mobile phones weren't extensively talked about at that point, but there has actually since been a rise of interest in the subject. Individual reports are a crucial element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we intend to keep the discussion of people's relationship with innovation prominent and on-going - both in regards to tech addiction and the value of high-quality style in the real (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The huge distinction this time round was that the term 'mobile phone dependency' had clearly gotten in common parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 people were beginning to sound really stressed. You can read the reports listed below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the many applications we got:
" The constant scrolling."
" I tried it with an old timeless phone, it resembled going back to an ex - with all the old pros and cons. Who does that?"
" We utilize our phones a lot - why shouldn't they be stunning along with practical?"
" I'm doing my own version now, but 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 utilized in my market, particularly 'engagement' as a metric for success. Till that changes, sadly it's extremely challenging to combat versus 100s of designers who are aiming to hook you in to their products. [] There is a certain irony about this as I develop for these products but want to escape them. I think it's a chance for me as a designer to appreciate how important our attention is, and attempt to take that lesson back into my market, hopefully to influence a change in approach to technology.".
" I have actually begun eliminating all my social networks profiles and have immediately noticed the positive result it's had on me. I am so much calmer now, and I 'd like to keep it that method, by likewise removing my mobile phone for great.".
Life is too short to keep our heads down.
Innovation has actually dramatically altered over the last century, from being a handy tool in our lives to keeping us as connected in as much as it can and for the longest time period. This Challenge changes that in its entirety, pressing us into recognizing what is going on. I've always enjoyed using the newest things, however given that Punkt. has actually been around, I wished to alter that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's precisely what happened. When you go from a continuously ringing smartphone to a phone like this, you understand just how much you can sacrifice all these applications that keep you hooked all day: you don't need them.
In such a way, you do become sort of apart socially from your friends-- let's state if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- but you begin to recognize that it's for the much better, and the Punkt. MP01 achieves simply that. It teaches you simplicity and teaches you that you do not need whatever on your phone. Just the basics.
If you feel like you are hooked on your phone, like most people I have actually satisfied, it might be a great time to offer this phone a shot. A lot of my own relative experience this sensation and I feel like passing this obstacle on to others so they can get the hang of it. This Challenge has actually become so crucial in 2018 because-- as I said-- 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 realize that you don't even pay attention to what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it may be a great time to get that inspected out, and a great way to tackle it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we invest looking at screens, the lesser daytime ends up being-- and sometimes, yes, more of a barrier. Whether you're checking your messages while walking to work, enjoying your smart device with your friends (who are each delighting in theirs), or enjoying a movie, daytime is a hassle.
We started heading in this manner due to the fact that we wished to. Nowadays-- to a large degree-- we just do it since we do it. And since others want us to do it.
Is this actually how you wish to spend your time on Earth?
* * *.
In 2016, Google worker Tristan Harris left his job to found a new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which sought to broaden the argument on exactly what innovation is doing to us and caused the production of the Center for Humane Technology. Ever since, the topic has blown up into the mainstream and it has become clear that it is not doing advantages to our general sense of well-being.
The house page of the Center's site includes a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smart device is integrated with a picture 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 happy, enjoying the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Possibly it makes good sense to use these brighter evenings for something other than taking a look at pixels? When bedtime methods, matching sundown with a digital sunset: whatever turned off, leaving just a land-line with a number known just to family and friends, and a dedicated alarm clock.
Joining those who have actually dropped their mobile phones entirely, integrating a standard phone with a laptop or tablet (much better for typing on). Nowadays these concepts may sound nearly extreme, but as far as biology is worried, they're what your brain desires. Thus the medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Since of the obvious decrease in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is said to increase life span of a country's people. Ditto banning phone usage while driving, obviously (with a much clearer causal link). Phones are dangerous in other methods, too: scrollers strolling into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one threat too many, and so on. But over-use of tech diminishes our lives in another way also-- incrementally and inevitably. It offers us a narrower presence in which we are less focussed, less rested and therefore less awake. Over-use eats our lives, and it's ending up being the norm.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that wherever you go, you always wind up in the very same place: in front of your mobile phone? Using it, or letting it use you, to remain 'connected'? Gotten in touch with exactly what people depend on back house. Gotten in touch with the most recent news reports. Connected with work. Gotten in touch with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Gotten in touch with pictures from the last vacation you took, and the one before that. What sort of 'connection' is that, really? This scenario is something that's sneaked up on us, and maybe it's time to start making some decisions ...
A holiday is a chance to change off, to experience brand-new things. But if we do not likewise change off our gadgets, if we continue to outsource our awareness to image sensing units and memory cards, if we're still connected to exactly what we were doing before we left and exactly 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 deducted-- and not to help the regional economy, however to assist line the pockets of investors of social media companies.
Think of a timeless travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There would not be much left. As well as if we're trying to find 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 mobile phone it could happen. And maybe you'll end up someplace that ends up being the emphasize of your journey. Possibly you'll discover some interesting restaurant that isn't on tripadvisor.com. You may end up speaking with some locals. Absolutely nothing ventured, absolutely nothing got. This connect the growing slow travelmovement, and the recovering of overland travel as a mainstream and realistic option to flying, shown by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's all about being there.
If we do choose to have a holiday that doesn't focus on processing huge data, there are a few options. We can go to the other extreme, and leave home with no type of phone or tablet. (That never utilized to be a severe, but we live in severe times.) And we have choices like changing our gadget's settings to 'minimum', leaving it in the hotel safe throughout the day, etc
. Or we can take a various phone. One that only does calls and texts. And then immerse ourselves in a various culture, have some adventures, this website or merely delight in a bit of peace and peaceful.
The physical act of swapping phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's beginning to acquire in popularity: whether a low-cost, old-tech design or something more stylish and current, selecting to sometimes utilize a simple phone is something that everybody can associate with nowadays. They might not do it themselves, however they certainly understand why some people do.
There are useful advantages, too. Only needing to charge your phone occasionally is popular with everyone but if you're going someplace without mains electrical power, your greedy smart device will be no use at all. Likewise, with a simple phone you do not have to keep inspecting that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some method of running up monster-sized information roaming charges-- it can still occur. It's the 'actually being there' that actually counts. Sure, travelling without a mobile phone will suggest a few mix-ups, a minimized capability to strategy, to know in advance what's going to take place. However travelling sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on easy phones are frequently much harder than the big areas of glass discovered on their more complicated cousins. Changing a broken smartphone screen is a hassle at the very best of times; multiply that by 10 if you're abroad.
It's the 'really being there' that really counts. Sure, travelling without a smartphone will mean a few mix-ups, a minimized capability to plan, to understand in advance 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.