Punkt. is a reasonably small, dynamic and independent business, and we want to preserve close connections with our clients and with individuals and organisations within the style world. As part of this, we frequently run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These include design obstacles that form part of postgraduate style courses, and digital detox challenges where self-confessed smartphone addicts are welcomed to revisit their relationship with innovation.
10 years ago, smart devices were still extremely unusual. Now, a life lived outside the framework of the smart device is unusual. 10 years earlier, many people had smart phones, but they would usually only attract our attention if another person had decided to call us or send us a text. Now that the majority of people's lives are a lot more automated: the new typical is to scoot around within a ceaseless assault of status updates, push notifications and a great deal more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running because 2016. The negative elements of smart devices weren't extensively talked about at that point, however there has because been a rise of interest in the topic. Participant reports are a crucial element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we aim to keep the conversation of individuals's relationship with technology popular and on-going - both in terms of tech dependency and the importance 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 gone into typical parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 individuals were beginning to sound genuinely worried. You can read the reports listed below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the numerous applications we received:
" The constant scrolling."
" I tried it with an old timeless phone, it was like going back to an ex - with all the old pros and cons. Who does that?"
" We use our phones a lot - why should not they be stunning in addition to functional?"
" I'm doing my own variation now, however I needed to go 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 used in my industry, specifically 'engagement' as a metric for success. Up until that changes, sadly it's extremely tough to battle versus 100s of designers who are aiming to hook you into their items. [] There is a particular paradox about this as I develop for these items however desire to escape them. However I think it's an opportunity for me as a designer to value how valuable our attention is, and aim to take that lesson back into my market, hopefully to affect a change in method to technology.".
" I have actually begun getting rid of all my social media profiles and have actually right away observed the positive result it's had on me. I am a lot calmer now, and I 'd like to keep it that method, by likewise eliminating my smart device for excellent.".
Life is too short to keep our heads down.
Technology has drastically changed 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 time period. This Challenge changes that in its whole, pushing us into understanding what is going on. I've always liked utilizing the most recent things, however because Punkt. has actually been around, I desired to change that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's precisely what happened. When you go from a constantly buzzing smart device to a phone like this, you understand just how much you can sacrifice all these applications that keep you hooked all day long: you do not require them.
In a manner, you do become sort of separated socially from your friends-- let's say if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- however you begin to understand 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 whatever on your phone. Simply the basics.
If you seem like you are hooked on your phone, like many people I have actually satisfied, it might be a great time to give this phone a shot. Much of my own household members experience this sensation and I seem like passing this difficulty on to others so they can master it. This Challenge has become so essential in 2018 because-- as I said-- 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 recognize 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 get that had a look at, and a great method to tackle it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we spend taking a look at screens, the less crucial daylight ends up being-- and in some cases, yes, more of a limitation. Whether you're inspecting your messages while strolling to work, enjoying your mobile phone with your pals (who are each delighting in theirs), or enjoying a film, daytime is an inconvenience.
We began heading this method because we desired to. Nowadays-- to a big degree-- we merely do it since we do it. And due to the fact that others want us to do it.
Is this really how you wish to invest your time on Earth?
* * *.
In 2016, Google worker Tristan Harris left his task to discovered a brand-new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which looked for to expand the argument on what innovation is doing to us and led to the creation of the Center for Humane Technology. Since then, the topic has exploded into the mainstream and it has become clear that it is refraining from 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 smartphone is combined with a photograph of a woman. She is not provided as being on the screen. She remains 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 appears happy, enjoying the view. And she is bathed in sunlight.
Possibly it makes good sense to use these brighter evenings for something aside from taking a look at pixels? And when bedtime techniques, matching sundown with a digital sundown: everything turned off, leaving just a land-line with a number understood only to household and friends, and a devoted alarm clock.
Joining those who have actually dropped their mobile phones totally, integrating a basic phone with a laptop or tablet (much much better for typing on). Nowadays these concepts might sound practically radical, but as far as biology is worried, they're what your brain desires. Thus the medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Because of the evident reduction in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is stated to increase life span of a country's residents. Ditto prohibiting phone use while driving, of course (with a much clearer causal link). Phones threaten in other methods, too: scrollers walking into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one threat a lot of, etc. But over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another way also-- incrementally and inevitably. It gives us a narrower existence in which we are less focussed, less rested and therefore less awake. Over-use eats our lives, and it's ending up being the standard.
Time for a rethink?
Do you find that anywhere you go, you constantly wind up in the very same location: in front of your smart device? Utilizing it, or letting it read more use you, to stay 'connected'? Connected with exactly what people are up to back home. Gotten in touch with the most recent news reports. Linked with work. Gotten in touch with video games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Linked with images from the last vacation you took, and the one before that. What type of 'connection' is that, truly? This scenario is something that's sneaked up on us, and maybe it's time to start making some decisions ...
A vacation is an opportunity to turn off, to experience brand-new things. But if we do not also change off our gadgets, if we continue to outsource our consciousness to image sensors and sd card, if we're still connected to what we were doing prior to we left and what we'll be doing when we return, 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, however to assist line the pockets of shareholders of social networks business.
Picture a classic travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There would not be much. And even if we're searching for 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 gained however something's lost. And on the topic of getting lost, yes, without a smartphone it might take place. And possibly you'll wind up somewhere that turns out to be the highlight of your trip. Maybe you'll find some intriguing restaurant that isn't on tripadvisor.com. You might end up talking with some residents. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This ties in with the growing slow travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and sensible alternative to flying, demonstrated by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's everything about existing.
If we do choose to have a holiday that doesn't revolve around processing big data, there are a few options. We can go to the other severe, and leave home without any type of phone or tablet. (That never utilized to be a severe, but we reside in extreme times.) And we have alternatives like changing our gadget's settings to 'minimum', leaving it in the hotel safe throughout the day, etc
. Or we can take a various phone. One that only does calls and texts. Then immerse ourselves in a various culture, have some experiences, or just take pleasure in a little peace and quiet.
The physical act of switching phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's beginning to acquire in popularity: whether a cheap, old-tech design or something more elegant and updated, deciding to in some cases utilize a simple phone is something that everyone can connect to nowadays. They might refrain from doing it themselves, but they certainly know why some individuals do.
There are practical benefits, too. Just needing to charge your phone occasionally 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 simple phone you do not require to keep checking that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly discovered some way of running up monster-sized information roaming charges-- it can still occur. However it's the 'in fact being there' that truly counts. Sure, travelling without a smart device will mean a couple of mix-ups, a reduced capability to plan, to understand ahead of time what's going to take place. However taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on easy phones are often much tougher than the big areas of glass discovered on their more complex cousins. Changing a damaged smartphone screen is a trouble at the very best of times; multiply that by 10 if you're abroad.
However it's the 'in fact being there' that really counts. Sure, taking a trip without a mobile phone will imply a couple of mix-ups, a reduced ability to plan, to understand in advance exactly what's going to take place. Taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.