Punkt. is a relatively little, vibrant and independent business, and we prefer to keep close connections with our customers and with people 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 design courses, and digital detox obstacles where self-confessed smartphone addicts are welcomed to review their relationship with innovation.
Ten years back, smartphones were still really unusual. Now, a life lived outside the structure of the mobile phone is uncommon. 10 years ago, a lot of individuals had smart phones, but they would normally only attract our attention if another person had chosen to call us or send us a text. Now that the majority of people's lives are so much more automated: the brand-new regular is to scamper around within a nonstop assault of status updates, push alerts and a great deal more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running since 2016. The unfavorable aspects of smartphones weren't extensively gone over at that point, but there has since been a surge of interest in the topic. Individual reports are a key aspect of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we aim to keep the conversation of individuals's relationship with innovation popular and on-going - both in terms of tech addiction and the value of premium design in the real (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The huge difference this time round was that the term 'mobile phone dependency' had actually clearly gone into common parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 people were beginning to sound really worried. You can read the reports below, but here are some excerpts from a few of the many applications we got:
" The constant scrolling."
" I attempted it with an old classic 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 should not they be beautiful as well as functional?"
" I'm doing my own version now, however I had to choose a broke ass burner phone that's 10 years old ...".
" As a UI designer for digital products I've often questioned some of the success criteria utilized in my market, particularly 'engagement' as a metric for success. Until that modifications, unfortunately it's very hard to eliminate against 100s of designers who are aiming to hook you into their products. [] There is a certain paradox about this as I create for these products however wish to escape them. I think it's an opportunity for me as a designer to appreciate how valuable our attention is, and try to take that lesson back into my industry, hopefully to affect a modification in technique to innovation.".
" I have actually begun getting rid of all my social media profiles and have actually right away seen the favorable result it's had on me. I am a lot calmer now, and I wish to keep it that method, by likewise removing my mobile phone for good.".
Life is too brief 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 modifications that in its totality, pushing us into realizing what is going on. I've constantly liked using the latest things, however because Punkt. has 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 mobile phone to a phone like this, you realize what does it cost? you can compromise all these applications that keep you hooked all day long: you do not need them.
In a manner, you do end up being type of separated socially from your pals-- let's say if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- however you start to realize that it's for the much better, and the Punkt. MP01 accomplishes simply that. It teaches you simplicity and teaches you that you do not require everything on your phone. Simply 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 provide this phone a shot. A lot of my own member of the family experience this feeling and I seem like passing this difficulty on to others so they can master it. This Challenge has actually become so essential in 2018 because-- as I stated-- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and so on are here to keep us hooked in for the longest time. Don't believe me? Download QualityTime for your Android and you will understand that you do not even focus on exactly 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 great way to tackle it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we invest taking a look at screens, the less essential daytime ends up being-- and often, yes, more of a limitation. Whether you're checking your messages while walking to work, enjoying your mobile phone with your good friends (who are each enjoying theirs), or enjoying a movie, daytime is a hassle.
We started heading this way due to the fact that we wanted to. Nowadays-- to a large level-- we just do it because we do it. And since others want us to do it.
Is this really how you desire to invest your time on Earth?
* * *.
In 2016, Google employee Tristan Harris left his job to found a new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which looked for to broaden the debate on what technology is doing to us and resulted in the development of the Center for Humane Technology. Ever since, the topic has blown up into the mainstream and it has become clear that it is not doing good ideas to our general sense of well-being.
The web page of the Center's site includes a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smartphone is combined with a photograph of a woman. However she is not provided as being on the screen. She is 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, enjoying the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Perhaps it makes sense to use these brighter evenings for something other than taking a look at pixels? When bedtime methods, matching sundown with a digital sunset: everything changed off, leaving simply a land-line with a number known only to household and close pals, and a dedicated alarm clock.
Joining those who have actually dumped their mobile phones completely, combining a standard phone with a laptop computer or tablet (much better for typing on). Nowadays these concepts might sound practically extreme, however as far as biology is concerned, they're exactly what your brain desires. The medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Due to the fact that of the obvious reduction in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is said to increase life expectancy of a nation's citizens. Ditto prohibiting phone use while driving, of course (with a much clearer causal link). Phones are unsafe in other ways, too: scrollers walking into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one risk too many, etc. Over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another method as well-- incrementally and inevitably. It offers us a narrower existence where we are less focussed, less rested and therefore less awake. Over-use consumes our lives, and it's becoming the standard.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that anywhere you go, you constantly end up in the very same place: in front of your mobile phone? Using it, or letting it use you, to remain 'connected'? Connected with exactly what people are up to back house. Connected with the newest report. Gotten in touch with work. Gotten in touch with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Linked with photos from the last vacation you took, and the one prior to that. What kind of 'connection' is that, truly? This situation is something that's sneaked up on us, and maybe it's time to start making some choices ...
A vacation is a chance to switch off, to experience brand-new things. If we do not likewise change off our gadgets, if we continue to outsource our awareness to image sensors and memory cards, if we're still attached to 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 vacation tax. Part of the experience is subtracted-- and not to help the regional economy, but to assist line the pockets of shareholders of social media companies.
Think of a timeless travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There would not be much. As well as if we're trying to find something a bit less extreme for our fortnight away, the principle still applies. Whether it's a case of pings on the beach, or livestreaming from the Louvre, something's acquired however something's lost. And on the subject of getting lost, yes, without a smart device it might occur. And perhaps you'll end up somewhere that turns out to be the highlight of your trip. Perhaps you'll discover some appealing dining establishment that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You may wind up speaking with some locals. Nothing ventured, nothing got. This connect the growing sluggish travelmovement, and the recovering of overland travel as a mainstream and realistic 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 vacation that doesn't revolve around processing huge information, there are a few options. We can go to the other severe, and leave home without any sort of phone or tablet. (That never ever used to be a severe, however we live in severe times.) And we have alternatives like altering our device'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 only does calls and texts. Then immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some adventures, or merely 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 popularity: whether a low-cost, old-tech model or something more elegant and current, opting to in some cases use a basic phone is something that everyone can connect to nowadays. detox challenge They may refrain from doing it themselves, but they definitely know why some individuals do.
There are practical advantages, too. Only needing to charge your phone occasionally is popular with everybody but if you're going someplace without mains electricity, your greedy mobile phone will be no use at all. Also, with a basic phone you don't have to keep checking that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly discovered some method of running up monster-sized information roaming charges-- it can still take place. It's the 'actually being there' that really counts. Sure, travelling without a smart device will indicate a couple of mix-ups, a lowered capability to plan, to understand ahead of time exactly what's going to occur. But taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on simple phones are typically much harder than the big locations of glass found on their more complicated cousins. Changing a damaged smart device screen is a trouble at the finest of times; multiply that by ten if you're abroad.
It's the 'in fact being there' that actually counts. Sure, taking a trip without a mobile phone will suggest a couple of mix-ups, a reduced ability to strategy, to understand ahead of time 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.