Punkt. is a reasonably small, vibrant and independent business, and we prefer to maintain close connections with our customers and with people and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we frequently run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These include design obstacles that form part of postgraduate design courses, and digital detox challenges where self-confessed smart device addicts are invited to revisit their relationship with innovation.
10 years back, smart devices were still very uncommon. Now, a life lived outside the structure of the smart device is uncommon. 10 years earlier, the majority of people had cellphones, but they would generally only attract our attention if another human had actually chosen to call us or send us a text. Now that many people's lives are a lot more automated: the brand-new normal is to scurry around within a nonstop attack of status updates, push notices and a great deal more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have actually been running because 2016. The negative elements of smart devices weren't extensively talked about at that point, however there has actually since been a surge of interest in the subject. Individual reports are a key element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and releasing these reports we intend to keep the discussion of people's relationship with technology popular and on-going - both in regards to tech dependency and the significance of premium style in the genuine (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The big distinction this time round was that the term 'smartphone dependency' had plainly gone into common parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, but in 2018 individuals were beginning to sound really fretted. You can read the reports below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the lots of applications we got:
" The continuous scrolling."
" I tried it with an old timeless 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 gorgeous as well as functional?"
" I'm doing my own variation now, but I had to opt for a broke ass burner phone that's 10 years old ...".
" As a UI designer for digital products I've typically questioned some of the success requirements used in my market, specifically 'engagement' as a metric for success. Till that changes, unfortunately it's extremely challenging to eliminate against 100s of designers who are aiming to hook you into their products. [] There is a certain paradox about this as I create for these items but want to avoid them. But I believe 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 industry, ideally to influence a change in technique to technology.".
" I have actually started eliminating all my social media profiles and have actually right away noticed the positive impact it's had on me. I am a lot calmer now, and I want to keep it that method, by likewise eliminating my smartphone for good.".
Life is too short to keep our heads down.
Innovation has actually drastically altered over the last century, from being a valuable 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 recognizing exactly what is going on. I've constantly enjoyed utilizing the latest things, but because Punkt. has actually been around, I desired to change that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's exactly what occurred. When you go from a constantly buzzing mobile phone 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 such a way, you do become kind of apart socially from your friends-- let's state if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- however you start to realize that it's for the much better, and the Punkt. MP01 achieves just that. It teaches you simplicity and teaches you that you do not require everything on your phone. Just the basics.
If you seem like you are hooked on your phone, like the majority of people I have satisfied, it could be a good time to offer this phone a shot. A number of my own household members experience this sensation and I feel like passing this obstacle on to others so they can master it. This Challenge has actually become so important 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 understand that you don't even pay attention to exactly what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it may be a great time to obtain that checked out, and a great way to tackle it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we spend taking a look at screens, the lesser daytime becomes-- and in some cases, yes, more of a barrier. Whether you're inspecting your messages while strolling to work, enjoying your mobile phone with your good friends (who are each delighting in theirs), or enjoying a movie, daylight is an inconvenience.
We started heading in this manner since we wanted to. Nowadays-- to a large degree-- we simply do it since we do it. And due to the fact that others want us to do it.
Is this truly how you desire to spend your time on Earth?
* * *.
In 2016, Google worker Tristan Harris left his task to discovered a new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which sought to expand the argument on exactly what innovation is doing to us and led to the development of the Center for Humane Technology. Ever since, the subject has actually exploded into the mainstream and it has actually become clear that it is refraining from doing good ideas to our general sense of well-being.
The web page of the Center's website features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smart device is integrated with a picture of a female. However she is not provided as being on the screen. She remains in reality 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 delighted, taking pleasure in the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Perhaps it makes good sense to use these brighter evenings for something other than looking at pixels? When bedtime techniques, matching sundown with a digital sundown: everything switched off, leaving just a land-line with a number known just to household and friends, and a devoted alarm clock.
Joining those who have dropped their smart devices completely, combining a basic phone with a laptop computer or tablet (much much better for typing on). Nowadays these ideas may sound almost extreme, but as far as biology is worried, they're exactly what your brain wants. The medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Because of the evident reduction in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is said to increase life span of a nation's citizens. Ditto prohibiting phone usage while driving, of course (with a much clearer causal link). Phones threaten in other methods, too: scrollers strolling into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one danger too many, and so on. Over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another way as well-- incrementally and inevitably. It offers us a narrower existence where we are less focussed, less rested and therefore less awake. Over-use consumes our lives, and it's becoming the norm.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that wherever you go, you constantly end up in the exact same location: in front of your mobile phone? Utilizing it, or letting it use you, to remain 'connected'? Gotten in touch with exactly what people are up to back home. Gotten in touch with the most recent news reports. Linked with work. Connected with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Gotten in touch with images from the last holiday you took, and the one before that. What sort of 'connection' is that, really? This circumstance is something that's sneaked up on us, and maybe it's time to start making some decisions ...
A holiday is an opportunity to change off, to experience new things. However if we don't also switch off our devices, if we continue to outsource our consciousness to image sensing units and memory cards, if we're still attached to what we were doing before we left and what we'll be doing when we get back, it's as if we're paying a kind of holiday tax. Part of the experience is subtracted-- and not to help the local economy, but to assist line the pockets of shareholders of social networks companies.
Picture a classic travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There wouldn't be much. 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 acquired but something's lost. And on the topic of getting lost, yes, without a smartphone it might occur. And perhaps you'll end up someplace that turns out to be the highlight of your journey. Perhaps you'll find some interesting restaurant that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You might wind up speaking with some residents. Absolutely nothing ventured, nothing got. This ties in with the growing sluggish travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and sensible alternative to flying, shown by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's all about being there.
If we do decide to have a vacation that doesn't focus on processing big information, there are a few alternatives. We can go to the other severe, and leave home with no kind of phone or tablet. (That never ever utilized to be an extreme, however we reside in extreme times.) And we have alternatives 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 just does calls and texts. And then immerse ourselves in a various culture, have some experiences, or just enjoy a little bit of peace and quiet.
The physical act of swapping phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's beginning to get in popularity: whether an inexpensive, old-tech design or something more elegant and up-to-date, choosing to in some cases utilize a basic phone is something that everyone can relate to nowadays. They may not do it themselves, but they certainly know why some people do.
There are useful advantages, too. Just having to charge your phone sometimes is popular with everybody however if you're going someplace without mains electricity, your greedy mobile phone will be no use at all. With an easy phone you don't need to keep examining that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some method of running up monster-sized data roaming charges-- it can still happen. But it's the this contact form 'in fact existing' that truly counts. Sure, taking a trip without a mobile phone will mean a few mix-ups, a reduced capability to plan, to know beforehand what's going to happen. Taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on easy phones are frequently much harder than the large locations of glass found on their more complicated cousins. Changing a broken smart device screen is an inconvenience at the best of times; multiply that by ten if you're abroad.
But it's the 'really being there' that actually counts. Sure, travelling without a smart device will imply a couple of mix-ups, a decreased capability to plan, to know beforehand what's going to occur. However travelling sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.