Punkt. is a fairly small, vibrant and independent company, and we want to keep close connections with our clients and with individuals and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we routinely run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These consist of design difficulties that form part of postgraduate style courses, and digital detox challenges where self-confessed smartphone addicts are welcomed to revisit their relationship with technology.
Ten years back, smart devices were still very unusual. Now, a life lived outside the framework of the mobile phone is uncommon. 10 years earlier, many people had cellphones, however they would generally only attract our attention if another human being had decided to call us or send us a text. Now that many people's lives are a lot more automated: the new typical is to scamper around within a nonstop assault of status updates, push notices and a great deal more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running since 2016. The unfavorable elements of mobile phones weren't commonly discussed at that point, however there has actually considering that been a surge of interest in the topic. Participant reports are a crucial component of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we intend to keep the discussion of individuals's relationship with innovation prominent and on-going - both in terms of tech addiction and the significance 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 common parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, but in 2018 individuals were beginning to sound truly worried. You can check out the reports listed below, but here are some excerpts from a few of the numerous applications we got:
" The consistent scrolling."
" I tried it with an old timeless phone, it resembled returning to an ex - with all the old pros and cons. Who does that?"
" We use our phones a lot - why shouldn't they be lovely along with functional?"
" I'm doing my own variation now, but I had to go for a broke ass burner phone that's 10 years old ...".
" As a UI designer for digital items I've frequently questioned a few of the success criteria used in my market, specifically 'engagement' as a metric for success. Up until that modifications, regrettably it's extremely hard to eliminate versus 100s of designers who are aiming to hook you into their items. [] There is a particular paradox about this as I design for these products however wish to avoid them. I believe it's an opportunity for me as a designer to appreciate 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 begun getting rid of all my social media profiles and have actually right away observed the positive effect it's had on me. I am a lot calmer now, and I want to keep it that way, by also removing my mobile phone for good.".
Life is too short to keep our heads down.
Technology has 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 modifications that in its whole, pressing us into recognizing what is going on. I've constantly loved utilizing the most recent things, but given that Punkt. has been around, I wished to change that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's precisely what occurred. When you go from a continuously ringing smartphone to a phone like this, you understand how much you can compromise all these applications that keep you hooked all day long: you do not need them.
In a manner, you do become type of apart socially from your pals-- let's state if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- but you begin to realize that it's for the much 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 fundamentals.
If you seem like you are hooked on your phone, like many people I have actually met, it might be a great time to give this phone a shot. A number of my own relative experience this feeling and I seem like passing this obstacle on to others so they can get the hang of it. This Challenge has actually ended up being so important in 2018 because-- as I said-- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and so on 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 take notice of what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it might be a great time to obtain that took a look at, and a good way to tackle it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we invest taking a look at screens, the lesser daytime becomes-- and sometimes, yes, more of a limitation. Whether you're examining your messages while strolling to work, enjoying your smart device with your friends (who are each delighting in theirs), or enjoying a movie, daytime is an inconvenience.
We began heading by doing this due to the fact that we wished to. Nowadays-- to a big degree-- we just do it since we do it. And since others desire us to do it.
Is this truly how you desire to invest 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 expand the dispute on exactly what innovation is doing to us and resulted in the development of the Center for Humane Technology. Ever since, the topic has exploded into the mainstream and it has ended up being clear that it is refraining from doing good ideas to our general sense of well-being.
The house page of the Center's site features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a mobile phone is combined with a photograph of a female. 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 seems happy, taking pleasure in the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Maybe 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: everything turned off, leaving simply a land-line with a number known just to family and close friends, and a devoted alarm clock.
Joining those who have actually dumped their smartphones totally, combining a basic phone with a laptop computer or tablet (much better for typing on). Nowadays these concepts may sound nearly radical, however as far as biology is concerned, 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 country's residents. Ditto banning phone use while driving, naturally (with a much clearer causal link). Phones threaten in other methods, too: scrollers strolling into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one threat a lot of, and so on. However over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another method as well-- incrementally and inevitably. It offers us a narrower existence in which we are less focussed, less rested and hence less awake. Over-use eats our lives, and it's becoming the standard.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that wherever you go, you constantly wind website up in the same location: in front of your smartphone? Using it, or letting it use you, to remain 'linked'? Connected with what individuals depend on back home. Gotten in touch with the most recent report. Linked with work. Connected with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Linked with images from the last holiday you took, and the one before that. What sort of 'connection' is that, actually? This circumstance is something that's approached on us, and maybe it's time to begin making some decisions ...
A holiday is an opportunity to turn off, to experience brand-new things. If we do not likewise switch off our gadgets, if we continue to outsource our consciousness to image sensors 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 kind of holiday 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.
Imagine a traditional travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There wouldn't be much. And even if we're looking 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 gained but something's lost. And on the subject of getting lost, yes, without a smart device it might happen. And perhaps you'll end up someplace that ends up being the emphasize of your journey. Maybe you'll find some intriguing restaurant that isn't on tripadvisor.com. You may wind up talking with some residents. Nothing ventured, nothing acquired. This ties in with the growing slow travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and practical option to flying, demonstrated by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's all about existing.
If we do choose to have a vacation that doesn't revolve around processing huge data, there are a few alternatives. We can go to the other severe, and leave home with no type of phone or tablet. (That never used to be a severe, however we live 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 different phone. One that just does calls and texts. And after that immerse ourselves in a various culture, have some experiences, or simply 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 appeal: whether an inexpensive, old-tech design or something more stylish and current, deciding to often use an easy phone is something that everyone can associate with nowadays. They may refrain from doing it themselves, but they certainly understand why some individuals do.
There are useful benefits, too. Only needing to charge your phone periodically is popular with everyone but if you're going somewhere without mains electrical energy, your greedy smartphone will be no use at all. With a basic phone you do not require to keep examining that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some method of running up monster-sized data roaming charges-- it can still occur. But it's the 'really being there' that truly counts. Sure, travelling without a smartphone will imply a few mix-ups, a decreased ability to strategy, to know in advance exactly what's going to happen. However taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on simple phones are typically much harder than the large locations of glass found on their more complex cousins. Replacing a broken smart device screen is an inconvenience at the very best of times; increase that by ten if you're abroad.
However it's the 'really existing' that truly counts. Sure, travelling without a smart device will imply a couple of mix-ups, a lowered capability to plan, to understand in advance exactly what's going to happen. But taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.