Punkt. is a relatively little, dynamic and independent company, and we prefer to preserve close connections with our clients and with individuals and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we routinely run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These include design challenges that form part of postgraduate style courses, and digital detox obstacles where self-confessed smart device addicts are welcomed to review their relationship with technology.
Ten years earlier, smartphones were still extremely uncommon. Now, a life lived outside the framework of the smart device is unusual. 10 years ago, the majority of people had smart phones, but they would normally only attract our attention if another human being had actually decided to call us or send us a text. Now that most individuals's lives are so much more automated: the new normal is to scurry around within a ceaseless assault of status updates, push alerts and an entire lot more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have actually been running considering that 2016. The negative elements of smartphones weren't extensively gone over at that point, however there has actually since been a rise of interest in the subject. Participant reports are a key aspect of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and releasing these reports we aim to keep the discussion of individuals's relationship with technology prominent and on-going - both in terms of tech dependency and the value of high-quality style in the genuine (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The big distinction this time round was that the term 'smart device addiction' had actually clearly gone into typical parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 people were beginning to sound genuinely stressed. You can check out the reports below, but here are some excerpts from a few of the many applications we received:
" The continuous scrolling."
" I attempted 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 stunning as well as practical?"
" I'm doing my own version now, but I had to settle 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 criteria utilized in my industry, particularly 'engagement' as a metric for success. Until that modifications, sadly it's extremely hard to combat against 100s of designers who are attempting to hook you in to their products. [] There is a particular paradox about this as I design for these products but want 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 influence a change in approach to technology.".
" I have begun getting rid of all my social media profiles and have actually immediately noticed the favorable impact it's had on me. I am so much calmer now, and I 'd like to keep it that way, by likewise removing my smart device for excellent.".
Life is too short to keep our heads down.
Innovation has actually considerably 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 time period. This Challenge modifications that in its entirety, pushing us into realizing what is going on. I've always enjoyed using the most recent things, but since Punkt. has been around, I wanted to alter that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's exactly what took place. When you go from a continuously buzzing smart device to a phone like this, you understand what does it cost? you can sacrifice all these applications that keep you hooked all day: you don't require them.
In such a way, you do become sort of separated socially from your buddies-- let's say if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- however you begin to recognize that it's for the better, and the Punkt. MP01 achieves just that. It teaches you simplicity and teaches you that you do not need whatever on your phone. Just the essentials.
If you feel like you are hooked on your phone, like the majority of people I have actually satisfied, it might be a good time to provide this phone a shot. Numerous of my own relative experience this sensation and I feel like passing this difficulty on to others so they can master it. This Challenge has become so important in 2018 because-- as I stated-- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and so on are here to keep us hooked in for the longest time. Do not think me? Download QualityTime for your Android and you will recognize that you do not even take note of what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it may be a good time to get that examined out, and an excellent method to set about it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we spend looking at screens, the lesser daylight ends up being-- and in some cases, yes, more of an obstacle. Whether you're checking your messages while strolling to work, enjoying your mobile phone with your good friends (who are each enjoying theirs), or enjoying a movie, daylight is an inconvenience.
We began heading this method due to the fact that we desired to. Nowadays-- to a big level-- we merely do it due to the fact that 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 job to found a brand-new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which looked for to broaden the argument on exactly what innovation is doing to us and caused the development of the Center for Humane Technology. Given that then, the subject has actually taken off into the mainstream and it has ended up being clear that it is not doing advantages to our basic sense of wellness.
The web page of the Center's website includes a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a mobile phone is integrated with a photo of a lady. She is not presented as being on the screen. She is in fact 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 delighted, delighting in the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Perhaps it makes sense to use these brighter nights for something aside from looking at pixels? When bedtime approaches, matching sundown with a digital sunset: everything changed off, leaving just a land-line with a number understood just to family and close good friends, and a devoted alarm clock.
Signing up with 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.
Since of the evident reduction in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is said to increase life span of a country's people. Ditto banning 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 risk too numerous, and so on. Over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another method 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 eats our lives, and it's becoming the standard.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that anywhere you go, you always end up in the same location: in front of your mobile phone? Using it, or letting it utilize you, to stay 'linked'? Connected with exactly what individuals are up to back home. Connected with the current report. Gotten in touch with work. Connected with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Gotten in touch with pictures from the last vacation you took, and the one before that. What type of 'connection' is that, truly? 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 switch off, to experience new things. If we do not also change off our gadgets, if we continue to outsource our consciousness to image sensing units and memory cards, if we're still connected to exactly 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 vacation tax. Part of the experience is deducted-- and not to help the local economy, but to assist line the pockets of shareholders of social media business.
Envision a classic travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There wouldn't be much left. And even if we're looking 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 acquired but something's lost. And on the subject of getting lost, yes, without a mobile phone it could occur. And maybe you'll end up someplace that ends up being the emphasize of your journey. Maybe you'll find some appealing dining establishment that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You may end up speaking to some residents. Nothing ventured, nothing acquired. This ties in with the growing slow travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and realistic alternative to flying, shown by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's everything about being there.
If we do choose to have a vacation that doesn't revolve around processing huge data, there are a few options. We can go to the other extreme, and leave house with no kind of phone or tablet. (That never utilized to be an extreme, but we reside in extreme times.) And we have choices like altering 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 only does calls and texts. And after that immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some adventures, or merely delight in a little 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 cheap, old-tech model or something more elegant and up-to-date, deciding to often utilize a website simple phone is something that everyone can associate with nowadays. They may refrain from doing it themselves, however they certainly know why some people do.
There are useful advantages, too. Just having to charge your phone periodically is popular with everybody however if you're going someplace without mains electrical power, your greedy mobile phone will be no use at all. Also, with a simple phone you don't need to keep checking that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly discovered some way of running up monster-sized information roaming charges-- it can still take place. It's the 'in fact being there' that actually counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smart device will indicate a few mix-ups, a decreased ability to strategy, to understand beforehand exactly what's going to happen. Travelling sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on easy phones are frequently much tougher than the big areas of glass discovered on their more complex cousins. Replacing a damaged smartphone screen is a trouble at the very best of times; increase that by ten if you're abroad.
But it's the 'in fact being there' that truly counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smart device will indicate a couple of mix-ups, a decreased ability to plan, to understand ahead of time exactly what's going to happen. Taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.