Punkt. is a fairly small, vibrant and independent company, and we prefer to keep close connections with our customers and with individuals and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we frequently run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These consist of design obstacles that form part of postgraduate style courses, and digital detox challenges where self-confessed smartphone addicts are invited to revisit their relationship with technology.
10 years earlier, smartphones were still extremely unusual. Now, a life lived outside the framework of the mobile phone is uncommon. 10 years earlier, many people had smart phones, however they would normally just attract our attention if another person had actually chosen to call us or send us a text. Now that the majority of individuals's lives are a lot more automated: the brand-new regular is to scoot around within a continuous attack of status updates, push notices and a great deal more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have actually been running given that 2016. The unfavorable elements of mobile phones weren't commonly talked about at that point, but there has since been a surge of interest in the subject. Participant reports are a crucial 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 value of top quality design in the genuine (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The big difference this time round was that the term 'mobile phone addiction' had actually plainly entered typical parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 people were beginning to sound truly fretted. You can read the reports listed below, but here are some excerpts from a few of the many applications we got:
" The constant scrolling."
" I tried it with an old traditional phone, it was like returning to an ex - with all the old pros and cons. Who does that?"
" We utilize our phones a lot - why shouldn't they be lovely in addition to practical?"
" 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 typically questioned some of the success requirements used in my industry, particularly 'engagement' as a metric for success. Until that changes, sadly it's extremely challenging to combat versus 100s of designers who are attempting to hook you in to their items. [] There is a specific irony about this as I create for these products but wish to escape them. But I think it's a chance for me as a designer to value how important our attention is, and attempt to take that lesson back into my industry, hopefully to affect a change in technique to technology.".
" I have actually begun getting rid of all my social networks profiles and have actually right away discovered the favorable impact it's had on me. I am so much calmer now, and I 'd like to keep it that method, by also eliminating my mobile phone for good.".
Life is too brief to keep our heads down.
Technology has actually significantly altered 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 totality, pushing us into recognizing what is going on. I've always loved using the newest things, however since Punkt. has been around, I wanted to alter that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's precisely what took place. When you go from a continuously ringing smart device to a phone like this, you recognize just how much you can compromise all these applications that keep you hooked all day long: you don't need them.
In a manner, you do end up being type of separated socially from your buddies-- let's say if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- but you start to realize that it's for the better, and the Punkt. MP01 achieves simply that. It teaches you simpleness and teaches you that you don't need everything on your phone. Simply the basics.
If you seem like you are hooked on your phone, like the majority of individuals I have actually satisfied, it could be a good time to give this phone a shot. A number of my own household members 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 essential 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 understand that you do not even focus on what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it may be a great time to get that checked out, and an excellent way to go about it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we invest looking at screens, the lesser daytime becomes-- and often, yes, more of a hindrance. Whether you're examining your messages while walking to work, enjoying your smart device with your pals (who are each enjoying theirs), or seeing a film, daytime is a hassle.
We began heading this way since we desired to. Nowadays-- to a big level-- we just do it because we do it. And since others want us to do it.
Is this truly how you want to spend your time in the world?
* * *.
In 2016, Google employee Tristan Harris left his task to discovered a brand-new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which sought to expand the argument on what technology is doing to us and led to the development of the Center for Humane Technology. Since then, the topic has exploded into the mainstream and it has actually ended up being clear that it is refraining from doing excellent things to our general sense of wellness.
The web page of the Center's website features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smart device is integrated with a photo of a woman. However she is not presented 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 seems pleased, taking pleasure in the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Maybe it makes good sense to use these brighter nights for something aside from looking at pixels? And when bedtime techniques, matching sundown with this page a digital sunset: whatever turned off, leaving just a land-line with a number known only to family and friends, and a dedicated alarm clock.
Signing up with those who have dropped their smart devices entirely, integrating 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 what your brain wants. Hence the medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Since of the obvious decrease in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is stated to increase life span of a country's residents. Ditto prohibiting phone use while driving, obviously (with a much clearer causal link). Phones threaten in other methods, too: scrollers walking into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one threat too lots of, and so on. However over-use of tech diminishes our lives in another way as well-- incrementally and undoubtedly. It gives us a narrower presence in which we are less focussed, less rested and hence less awake. Over-use consumes 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 smartphone? Utilizing it, or letting it utilize you, to stay 'connected'? Linked with what people depend on back home. Gotten in touch with the current report. Linked with work. Gotten in touch with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Gotten in touch with pictures from the last holiday you took, and the one prior to that. What type of 'connection' is that, really? This situation is something that's approached on us, and perhaps it's time to start making some choices ...
A holiday is a chance to turn off, to experience new things. But if we do not likewise turn off our devices, 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 sort of vacation tax. Part of the experience is deducted-- and not to help the regional economy, however to assist line the pockets of shareholders of social media business.
Imagine a timeless travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There wouldn't be much left. As well as if we're searching for something a bit less extreme 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 gained but something's lost. And on the topic of getting lost, yes, without a smartphone it could take place. And perhaps you'll end up somewhere that ends up being the highlight of your journey. Possibly you'll find some interesting restaurant that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You might end up talking to some locals. Nothing ventured, absolutely nothing got. This ties in with 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 all about being there.
If we do choose to have a holiday that does not focus on processing huge data, there are a couple of options. We can go to the other severe, and leave home without any sort of phone or tablet. (That never used to be an extreme, but we live in extreme times.) And we have options like changing our device's settings to 'minimum', leaving it in the hotel safe during the day, etc
. Or we can take a various phone. One that just does calls and texts. And after that immerse ourselves in a various culture, have some experiences, or merely 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 acquire in appeal: whether an inexpensive, old-tech model or something more stylish and up-to-date, opting to sometimes utilize a basic phone is something that everybody can associate with nowadays. They may not do it themselves, but they definitely know why some people do.
There are useful advantages, too. Only having to charge your phone occasionally is popular with everybody however if you're going somewhere without mains electrical power, your greedy smartphone will be no usage at all. Likewise, with an easy phone you don't 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. But it's the 'in fact being there' that really counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smart device will imply a few mix-ups, a lowered ability to strategy, to know in advance exactly what's going to happen. Taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on basic phones are often 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 10 if you're abroad.
But it's the 'in fact being there' that actually counts. Sure, travelling without a mobile phone will mean a few mix-ups, a lowered capability to plan, to know ahead of time exactly what's going to happen. Travelling sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.