Punkt. is a reasonably little, vibrant and independent business, and we like to maintain close connections with our consumers and with individuals and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we frequently run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These include style challenges that form part of postgraduate design courses, and digital detox obstacles where self-confessed mobile phone addicts are welcomed to revisit their relationship with technology.
10 years ago, mobile phones were still extremely uncommon. Now, a life lived outside the framework of the smart device is unusual. Ten years earlier, many people had smart phones, however they would normally just attract our attention if another human being had decided to call us or send us a text. Now that a lot of people's lives are so much more automated: the brand-new typical is to scurry around within a nonstop attack of status updates, push alerts and a lot more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running considering that 2016. The unfavorable elements of mobile phones weren't commonly talked about at that point, however there has actually considering that been a rise of interest in the subject. Participant reports are a crucial element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we intend to keep the conversation of people's relationship with technology prominent and on-going - both in terms of tech dependency and the importance of premium style in the genuine (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The big distinction this time round was that the term 'smart device dependency' had clearly gotten in typical parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, but in 2018 people were beginning to sound truly worried. You can check out the reports below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the numerous applications we got:
" 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 stunning as well as practical?"
" I'm doing my own version now, but I needed to choose a broke ass burner phone that's 10 years old ...".
" As a UI designer for digital items I've frequently questioned a few of the success criteria used in my industry, specifically 'engagement' as a metric for success. Up until that modifications, regrettably it's very challenging to combat against 100s of designers who are trying to hook you into their items. [] There is a particular irony about this as I design for these products however desire to avoid them. I think it's a chance for me as a designer to appreciate how valuable our attention is, and try to take that lesson back into my market, ideally to influence a change in technique to technology.".
" I have actually begun eliminating all my social media profiles and have actually instantly seen the favorable effect it's had on me. I am so much calmer now, and I 'd like to keep it that way, by also eliminating my smart device for great.".
Life is too short to keep our heads down.
Innovation has significantly altered over the last century, from being an useful tool in our lives to keeping us as connected in as much as it can and for the longest time period. This Challenge changes that in its totality, pressing us into realizing what is going on. I've constantly loved utilizing the latest things, however given that Punkt. has actually been around, I wished to alter that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's exactly what occurred. When you go from a continuously buzzing smart device to a phone like this, you recognize what does it cost? you can sacrifice all these applications that keep you hooked all day long: you do not require them.
In a method, you do end up being kind of apart 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 accomplishes simply that. It teaches you simpleness and teaches you that you do not need everything on your phone. Just the fundamentals.
If you feel like you are hooked on your phone, like the majority of people I have actually met, it could be a great time to give this phone a shot. A number of my own relative experience this sensation and I seem like passing this obstacle on to others so they can get the hang of it. This Challenge has ended up being so crucial 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 understand that you do not even take note of exactly what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it may be a great time to obtain that inspected 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 ends up being-- and often, yes, more of a hindrance. Whether you're checking your messages while walking to work, enjoying your mobile phone with your buddies (who are each delighting in theirs), or seeing a film, daylight is a trouble.
We started heading in this manner because we wished to. Nowadays-- to a big level-- we simply do it since we do it. And because others desire us to do it.
Is this really how you wish to spend 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 sought to broaden the debate on exactly what innovation is doing to us and caused the creation of the Center for Humane Technology. Considering that then, the subject has actually taken off into the mainstream and it has actually ended up being clear that it is refraining from doing advantages to our basic sense of wellness.
The home page of the Center's site features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a mobile phone is integrated with a photograph of a lady. 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 appears pleased, enjoying the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Possibly it makes good sense to use these brighter nights for something besides looking at pixels? When bedtime techniques, matching sundown with a digital sundown: everything turned off, leaving just a land-line with a number known just to family and close friends, and a devoted alarm clock.
Signing up with those who have actually dumped their smart devices entirely, combining a fundamental phone with a laptop or tablet (much better for typing on). Nowadays these ideas might sound almost radical, but as far as biology is worried, they're what your brain desires. The medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Because of the apparent reduction in traffic accidents, Daylight Saving Time is said to increase life span of a nation's residents. Ditto prohibiting phone usage while driving, of course (with a much clearer causal link). Phones are dangerous in other ways, too: scrollers walking into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one risk too lots of, etc. But over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another method also-- incrementally and inevitably. It gives us a narrower presence in which we are less focussed, less rested and thus less awake. Over-use consumes our lives, and it's becoming the standard.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that wherever you go, you always wind up in the same place: in front of your mobile phone? Utilizing it, or letting it use you, to stay 'connected'? Linked with exactly what people are up to back home. Gotten in touch with the current news reports. Gotten in touch with work. Connected with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Gotten in touch with photos from the last holiday you took, and the one prior to that. What type of 'connection' is that, truly? This scenario is something that's sneaked up on us, and perhaps it's time to start making some decisions ...
A vacation is an opportunity to turn off, to experience new things. If we don't likewise change off our devices, if we continue to outsource our awareness 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 kind of holiday tax. Part of the website experience is deducted-- and not to help the regional economy, but to assist line the pockets of investors of social media business.
Picture 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 trying to find 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 gotten but something's lost. And on the subject of getting lost, yes, without a mobile phone it might happen. And perhaps you'll wind up somewhere that turns out to be the emphasize of your trip. Possibly you'll find some intriguing dining establishment that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You may wind up speaking with some residents. Absolutely nothing ventured, absolutely nothing acquired. This ties in with the growing sluggish travelmovement, and the recovering of overland travel as a mainstream and sensible option to flying, demonstrated by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's all about being there.
If we do decide to have a vacation that does not focus on processing huge information, there are a few options. We can go to the other extreme, and leave home with no type of phone or tablet. (That never ever used to be a severe, however we live in severe times.) And we have choices like changing our device's settings to 'minimum', leaving it in the hotel safe throughout 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 just delight in a bit of peace and quiet.
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 a cheap, old-tech model or something more trendy and up-to-date, picking to sometimes utilize an easy phone is something that everybody can associate with nowadays. They may not do it themselves, however they certainly know why some individuals do.
There are useful benefits, too. Only needing to charge your phone periodically is popular with everybody but if you're going someplace without mains electricity, your greedy smart device will be no usage at all. With a basic phone you do not require to keep checking that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some way of running up monster-sized data roaming charges-- it can still happen. But it's the 'actually existing' that really counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smart device will imply a couple of mix-ups, a minimized ability to plan, to understand in advance what's going to take place. But taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on basic phones are frequently much harder than the big areas of glass discovered on their more complex cousins. Replacing a damaged smart device screen is a trouble at the very best of times; multiply that by 10 if you're abroad.
It's the 'actually being there' that truly counts. Sure, travelling without a smart device will imply a few mix-ups, a lowered capability to strategy, to understand in advance what's going to occur. Travelling sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.