Punkt. is a fairly small, vibrant and independent business, and we prefer to preserve 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 mobile phone addicts are invited to review their relationship with technology.
10 years ago, smart devices were still very uncommon. Now, a life lived outside the structure of the smart device is unusual. 10 years ago, a lot of individuals 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 a lot of people's lives are so much more automated: the new typical is to scoot around within a nonstop attack of status updates, push notifications and an entire lot more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running considering that 2016. The unfavorable aspects of mobile phones weren't commonly gone over at that point, but there has considering that been a rise of interest in the topic. Individual reports are a crucial element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we aim to keep the discussion of individuals's relationship with technology prominent and on-going - both in terms of tech addiction and the significance of top quality design in the real (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The big distinction this time round was that the term 'mobile phone addiction' had plainly gotten in typical parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 individuals were beginning to sound genuinely stressed. You can read the reports listed below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the lots of applications we received:
" The continuous scrolling."
" I attempted it with an old classic phone, it resembled going back to an ex - with all the old pros and cons. Who does that?"
" We utilize our phones a lot - why should not they be beautiful in addition to functional?"
" I'm doing my own version now, however I needed to go 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 criteria utilized in my industry, specifically 'engagement' as a metric for success. Up until that changes, unfortunately it's really hard to combat against 100s of designers who are trying to hook you into their items. [] There is a specific irony about this as I design 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 try to take that lesson back into my industry, ideally to influence a change in method to technology.".
" I have actually begun eliminating all my social networks profiles and have actually instantly observed 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 brief to keep our heads down.
Technology has actually dramatically altered over the last century, from being a practical tool in our lives to keeping us as hooked in as much as it can and for the longest duration of time. This Challenge changes that in its entirety, pressing us into recognizing what is going on. I've constantly liked using the most recent things, but since Punkt. has actually been around, I wished to change that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's precisely what happened. When you go from a constantly ringing smart device to a phone like this, you recognize how much you can compromise all these applications that keep you hooked all day long: you do not require them.
In such a way, you do end up being type of apart socially from your buddies-- let's state if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- but you start 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 fundamentals.
If you feel like you are hooked on your phone, like most people I have actually fulfilled, it could be a great time to give this phone a try. Numerous of my own member of the family experience this feeling and I seem like passing this challenge on to others so they can get the hang of it. This Challenge has actually 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 recognize that you don't even focus on what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it may be a great time to get that had a look at, and a great way to go about it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we spend looking at screens, the less essential daytime becomes-- and often, yes, more of a barrier. Whether you're examining your messages while strolling to work, enjoying your smart device with your pals (who are each enjoying theirs), or seeing a film, daylight is a trouble.
We began heading in this manner due to the fact that we desired to. Nowadays-- to a large level-- we merely do it since we do it. And since others want us to do it.
Is this really how you wish to invest your time in the world?
* * *.
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 debate on what technology is doing to us and caused the production of the Center for Humane Technology. Ever since, the topic has taken off into the mainstream and it has actually become clear that it is refraining from doing excellent things to our basic 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 picture of a lady. But she is not provided as being on the screen. She is 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 pleased, enjoying the view. And she is bathed in sunlight.
Maybe it makes sense to utilize these brighter evenings for something besides looking at pixels? And when bedtime approaches, matching sundown with a digital sundown: everything turned off, leaving simply a land-line with a number known only to family and close buddies, and a dedicated alarm clock.
Joining those who have dropped their smartphones completely, integrating a standard phone with a laptop or tablet (much better for typing on). Nowadays these ideas may sound nearly extreme, however as far as biology is concerned, they're what your brain wants. Thus the medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Since of the 7 day smartphone detox obvious decrease in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is stated to increase life span of a country's residents. Ditto banning phone use while driving, obviously (with a much clearer causal link). Phones threaten in other ways, too: scrollers walking into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one risk a lot of, etc. Over-use of tech diminishes our lives in another method as well-- incrementally and undoubtedly. 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 find that wherever you go, you always end up in the same location: 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 most current report. Gotten in touch with work. Gotten in touch with video games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Gotten in touch with pictures from the last vacation you took, and the one before that. What kind of 'connection' is that, truly? This scenario is something that's approached on us, and maybe it's time to start making some decisions ...
A holiday is a possibility to turn off, to experience new things. However if we don't also change off our gadgets, if we continue to outsource our consciousness to image sensors and sd card, if we're still connected to exactly what we were doing prior to we left and exactly what we'll be doing when we get back, it's as if we're paying a sort of holiday tax. Part of the experience is deducted-- and not to help the local economy, but to assist line the pockets of investors of social networks business.
Think of a classic travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There wouldn't be much left. And even if we're trying to find something a bit less intense 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 subject of getting lost, yes, without a mobile phone it could happen. And perhaps you'll end up someplace that turns out to be the emphasize of your trip. Maybe you'll discover some appealing restaurant that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You might wind up talking to some locals. Nothing ventured, nothing got. This connect the growing sluggish travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and realistic alternative to flying, demonstrated by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's all about being there.
If we do choose to have a vacation that does not focus on processing big information, there are a couple of options. We can go to the other severe, and leave home without any type of phone or tablet. (That never ever used to be an extreme, but we live in extreme times.) And we have alternatives like altering our gadget'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. Then immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some adventures, or merely enjoy a bit of solitude.
The physical act of switching phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's beginning to gain in popularity: whether an inexpensive, old-tech model or something more trendy and current, choosing to sometimes use a basic phone is something that everyone can relate to nowadays. They might refrain from doing it themselves, but they certainly know why some people do.
There are useful advantages, too. Just needing to charge your phone occasionally is popular with everyone however if you're going someplace without mains electrical power, your greedy smartphone will be no use at all. Likewise, with an easy phone you do not require to keep checking that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some method of running up monster-sized data roaming charges-- it can still take place. However it's the 'actually being there' that really counts. Sure, travelling without a smartphone will imply a few mix-ups, a reduced capability to strategy, to know beforehand what's going to take place. Taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on simple phones are frequently much tougher than the big areas of glass found on their more complex cousins. Replacing a broken mobile phone screen is a trouble at the finest of times; increase that by 10 if you're abroad.
It's the 'actually being there' that actually counts. Sure, travelling without a smart device will imply a few mix-ups, a lowered capability to plan, to know beforehand what's going to happen. However travelling sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.