Punkt. is a relatively small, dynamic and independent business, and we prefer to keep close connections with our consumers and with people and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we routinely run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These include design obstacles that form part of postgraduate design courses, and digital detox obstacles where self-confessed mobile phone addicts are invited to review their relationship with technology.
10 years ago, smartphones were still very unusual. Now, a life lived outside the structure of the smartphone is unusual. 10 years earlier, the majority of people had smart phones, however they would typically just attract our attention if another human being had chosen to call us or send us a text. Now that many people's lives are a lot more automated: the brand-new typical is to scamper around within a continuous onslaught of status updates, push alerts and a great deal more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running because 2016. The unfavorable aspects of smart devices weren't widely discussed at that point, but there has since been a surge of interest in the topic. Individual reports are a key component of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we intend to keep the discussion of people's relationship with technology popular and on-going - both in regards to tech addiction and the value of top quality design in the genuine (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The big distinction this time round was that the term 'mobile phone dependency' had plainly entered typical parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 people were beginning to sound truly worried. You can check out the reports below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the many applications we received:
" The consistent 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 lovely along with practical?"
" I'm doing my own version now, however I needed 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 requirements utilized in my market, particularly 'engagement' as a metric for success. Till that modifications, sadly it's extremely challenging to eliminate versus 100s of designers who are attempting to hook you in to their products. [] There is a particular paradox about this as I create for these products but want to get away from them. However I think 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 industry, hopefully to affect a modification in technique to innovation.".
" I have actually started getting rid of all my social media profiles and have actually instantly observed the favorable result it's had on me. I am so much calmer now, and I 'd like to keep it that method, by likewise eliminating my mobile phone for good.".
Life is too brief to keep our heads down.
Technology has considerably 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 whole, pressing us into realizing what is going on. I've always enjoyed utilizing the latest things, but because Punkt. has actually been around, I wished to change that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's exactly what happened. When you go from a continuously ringing smartphone to a phone like this, you realize what does it cost? you can sacrifice all these applications that keep you hooked all day long: you do not require them.
In a way, you do end up being kind of separated socially from your buddies-- let's state if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- however you begin to realize that it's for the better, and the Punkt. MP01 accomplishes simply that. It teaches you simplicity and teaches you that you do not need everything on your phone. Simply the basics.
If you feel like you are hooked on your phone, like many people I have actually met, it might be a good time to offer this phone a shot. A lot of my own member of the family experience this feeling and I feel like passing this obstacle on to others so they can master it. This Challenge has ended up being so crucial 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 realize that you do not even pay attention to what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it may be a great time to obtain that took a look at, and a great way to set about it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we invest taking a look at screens, the less crucial daytime becomes-- and sometimes, yes, more of an obstacle. Whether you're inspecting your messages while walking to work, enjoying your mobile phone with your buddies (who are each enjoying theirs), or enjoying a film, daytime is an inconvenience.
We started heading by doing this because we wished to. Nowadays-- to a large extent-- we merely do it since we do it. And because others desire us to do it.
Is this truly how you wish to invest your time in the world?
* * *.
In 2016, Google employee Tristan Harris left his job to found a new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which looked for to broaden the argument on what innovation is doing to us and caused the development of the Center for Humane Technology. Ever since, the topic has blown up into the mainstream and it has actually ended up being clear that it is not doing excellent things to our basic sense of well-being.
The home page of the Center's website features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smartphone is integrated with a photo of a lady. 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 seems happy, taking pleasure 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 techniques, matching sundown with a digital sunset: everything changed off, leaving simply a land-line with a number understood just to household and buddies, and a dedicated have a peek here alarm clock.
Signing up with those who have dumped their mobile phones entirely, combining a standard phone with a laptop or tablet (much much better for typing on). Nowadays these concepts might sound almost extreme, but as far as biology is concerned, they're exactly what your brain desires. Hence the medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Due to the fact that of the evident reduction in traffic accidents, Daylight Saving Time is said to increase life span of a country's citizens. Ditto prohibiting phone usage while driving, of course (with a much clearer causal link). Phones threaten in other ways, too: scrollers walking into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one danger a lot of, and so on. But over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another method as well-- incrementally and inevitably. It provides 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 norm.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that any place you go, you constantly end up in the very same location: in front of your smart device? Using it, or letting it use you, to stay 'linked'? Connected with exactly what individuals depend on back home. Gotten in touch with the current report. Gotten in touch with work. Gotten in touch with video games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Linked with photos from the last holiday you took, and the one before that. What kind of 'connection' is that, really? This situation is something that's sneaked up on us, and possibly it's time to start making some choices ...
A vacation is an opportunity to turn off, to experience new things. But if we do not likewise turn off our gadgets, if we continue to outsource our consciousness to image sensing units and memory cards, if we're still attached to exactly what we were doing before we left and exactly what we'll be doing when we get back, it's as if we're paying a type of vacation tax. Part of the experience is deducted-- and not to assist the regional economy, however to assist line the pockets of investors of social networks companies.
Envision 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 intense for our fortnight away, the concept still applies. Whether it's a case of pings on the beach, or livestreaming from the Louvre, something's acquired however something's lost. And on the subject of getting lost, yes, without a smartphone it could happen. And maybe you'll wind up somewhere that turns out to be the emphasize of your journey. Perhaps you'll find some interesting restaurant that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You may wind up talking to some residents. Nothing ventured, absolutely nothing gained. This connect the growing sluggish travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and sensible option to flying, demonstrated by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's all about being there.
If we do decide to have a holiday that does not revolve around processing big data, there are a few options. We can go to the other severe, and leave house with no type of phone or tablet. (That never ever utilized to be a severe, but we live in extreme times.) And we have alternatives like altering 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 then immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some experiences, or just take pleasure in a little peace and peaceful.
The physical act of switching phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's beginning to gain in appeal: whether a cheap, old-tech model or something more stylish and current, opting to sometimes use an easy phone is something that everybody can connect to nowadays. They may not do it themselves, however they certainly know why some individuals do.
There are useful advantages, too. Only needing to charge your phone periodically is popular with everybody but if you're going someplace without mains electrical energy, your greedy smartphone will be no use at all. With a simple phone you do not require to keep inspecting that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly discovered some way of running up monster-sized data roaming charges-- it can still happen. However it's the 'really existing' that actually counts. Sure, travelling without a mobile phone will imply a few mix-ups, a minimized ability to plan, to know in advance what's going to take place. Taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on basic phones are frequently much harder than the big locations of glass found on their more complex cousins. Replacing a broken smartphone screen is an inconvenience at the very best of times; multiply that by 10 if you're abroad.
It's the 'in fact being there' that actually counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smartphone will suggest a couple of mix-ups, a minimized ability to plan, to understand in advance exactly what's going to occur. But travelling sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.