Punkt. is a reasonably little, dynamic and independent company, and we want to maintain close connections with our clients and with individuals and organisations within the style world. As part of this, we frequently 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 welcomed to revisit their relationship with technology.
10 years earlier, smartphones were still very unusual. Now, a life lived outside the framework of the mobile phone is unusual. Ten years back, a lot of people had mobile phones, however they would usually just attract our attention if another human had decided to call us or send us a text. Now that many people's lives are so much more automated: the new typical is to scurry around within a ceaseless onslaught of status updates, push notifications and a great deal more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running since 2016. The unfavorable elements of mobile phones weren't commonly talked about at that point, but there has given that been a rise of interest in the subject. Participant reports are a key component of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and releasing these reports we aim to keep the discussion of individuals's relationship with innovation prominent and on-going - both in terms of tech dependency and the importance of premium design in the genuine (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The huge difference this time round was that the term 'smartphone dependency' had plainly entered common parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, but in 2018 individuals were beginning to sound genuinely fretted. You can check out the reports below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the lots of applications we got:
" The consistent scrolling."
" I attempted it with an old traditional phone, it was like returning to an ex - with all the old pros and cons. Who does that?"
" We use our phones a lot - why should not they be stunning as well as practical?"
" I'm doing my own version now, however I had to go for a broke ass burner phone that's 10 years old ...".
" As a UI designer for digital products I've frequently questioned a few of the success criteria utilized in my market, specifically 'engagement' as a metric for success. Till that changes, sadly it's extremely tough to eliminate against 100s of designers who are trying to hook you in to their items. [] There is a certain paradox about this as I develop for these items however wish to avoid them. But I believe it's a chance for me as a designer to value how valuable our attention is, and aim to take that lesson back into my market, hopefully to affect a change in method to technology.".
" I have actually started eliminating all my social media profiles and have right away seen the positive effect it's had on me. I am a lot calmer now, and I 'd like to keep it that method, by likewise removing my mobile phone for excellent.".
Life is too short to keep our heads down.
Technology has 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 amount of time. This Challenge changes that in its entirety, pushing us into realizing what is going on. I've constantly liked utilizing the latest things, however given that Punkt. has actually been around, I wished to change that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's precisely what happened. When you go from a constantly ringing smart device to a phone like this, you understand how much you can compromise all these applications that keep you hooked all day: you do not require them.
In a method, you do end up being type of separated socially from your good friends-- let's state if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- but you begin to understand that it's for the better, and the Punkt. MP01 accomplishes just that. It teaches you simplicity and teaches you that you do not need everything on your phone. Just the essentials.
If you seem like you are hooked on your phone, like most individuals I have actually satisfied, it could be a good time to give this phone a shot. A number of my own family 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 ended up being so essential 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 do not even focus on what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it might be an excellent time to get that had a look at, and an excellent way to go about it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we invest looking at screens, the less crucial daytime becomes-- and in some cases, yes, more of a limitation. Whether you're checking your messages while strolling to work, enjoying your mobile phone with your friends (who are each taking pleasure in theirs), or enjoying a film, daylight is a trouble.
We began heading by doing this due to the fact that we wanted to. Nowadays-- to a big degree-- we merely do it since we do it. And due to the fact that others desire us to do it.
Is this actually how you wish to invest your time on Earth?
* * *.
In 2016, Google worker Tristan Harris left his task to found a brand-new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which sought to expand the dispute on what technology is doing to us and caused the creation of the Center for Humane Technology. Given that then, the topic has taken off into the mainstream and it has become clear that it is refraining from doing excellent things to our general sense of well-being.
The web page of the Center's site features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smart device is combined with a photograph of a lady. However she is not presented as being on the screen. She is 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 happy, enjoying the view. And she is bathed in sunlight.
Maybe it makes sense to utilize these brighter nights for something aside from taking a look at pixels? And when bedtime approaches, matching sundown with a digital sunset: everything changed off, leaving simply a land-line with a number understood just to household and friends, and a dedicated alarm clock.
Joining those who have ditched their smartphones completely, combining a basic phone with a laptop computer or tablet (much much better for typing on). Nowadays these concepts might sound almost radical, however as far as biology is worried, they're exactly what your brain desires. The medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Since of the evident decrease in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is said to increase life span of a country's citizens. Ditto banning phone usage while driving, naturally (with a much clearer causal link). Phones threaten in other methods, too: scrollers walking into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one danger too numerous, etc. Over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another method as well-- incrementally and undoubtedly. 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 norm.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that anywhere you go, you always wind up in the very same place: in front of your smartphone? Using it, or letting it utilize you, to stay 'connected'? Gotten in touch with what people depend on back house. Connected with the current report. Gotten in touch with work. Gotten in touch with video games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Connected with photos from the last vacation you took, and the one prior to that. What kind of 'connection' is that, actually? This scenario is something that's approached on us, and maybe it's time to begin making some decisions ...
A vacation is a possibility to turn off, to experience brand-new things. But if we do not also turn off our devices, if we continue to outsource our awareness to image sensors and sd card, 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 help the local economy, however to assist line the pockets of shareholders of social networks companies.
Think of a classic travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There would not be much left. And even if we're searching for something a bit less extreme 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 gotten but something's lost. And on the subject of getting lost, yes, content without a smartphone it could occur. And possibly you'll end up somewhere that ends up being the emphasize of your journey. Perhaps you'll discover some intriguing restaurant that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You may end up talking with some locals. Nothing ventured, absolutely nothing got. This connect the growing slow travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and sensible option to flying, shown 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 doesn't revolve around processing big data, there are a few alternatives. We can go to the other extreme, and leave home with no type of phone or tablet. (That never ever utilized to be a severe, however we reside in severe times.) And we have choices like altering our gadget'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. And after that immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some adventures, or just delight in a little bit of solitude.
The physical act of swapping phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's beginning to acquire in appeal: whether a low-cost, old-tech design or something more trendy and updated, selecting to in some cases use a simple phone is something that everyone can relate to nowadays. They might refrain from doing it themselves, but they certainly know why some individuals do.
There are useful benefits, too. Only needing to charge your phone periodically is popular with everybody but if you're going somewhere without mains electricity, your greedy smart device will be no usage at all. Also, with a simple phone you do not have to keep checking that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some method of running up monster-sized information roaming charges-- it can still happen. However it's the 'actually existing' that really counts. Sure, travelling without a smartphone will suggest a couple of mix-ups, a minimized capability to strategy, to know beforehand exactly what's going to happen. But taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on easy phones are frequently much harder than the big locations of glass found on their more complicated cousins. Changing a damaged smartphone screen is an inconvenience at the very best of times; increase that by 10 if you're abroad.
It's the 'really being there' that truly counts. Sure, taking a trip without a mobile phone will suggest a couple of mix-ups, a minimized capability to plan, to know ahead of time exactly what's going to take place. But taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.