Punkt. is a reasonably small, vibrant and independent company, and we like to keep close connections with our consumers and with individuals and organisations within the style 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 smartphone addicts are invited to revisit their relationship with innovation.
Ten years ago, mobile phones were still very uncommon. Now, a life lived outside the structure of the smartphone is unusual. 10 years earlier, many people had mobile phones, but they would generally only attract our attention if another human being had actually chosen to call us or send us a text. Now that many people's lives are a lot more automated: the brand-new regular is to scoot around within a continuous onslaught of status updates, push notifications and a lot more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have actually been running given that 2016. The unfavorable elements of mobile phones weren't extensively gone over at that point, however there has since been a surge of interest in the subject. Participant reports are an essential component of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we intend to keep the conversation of people's relationship with innovation popular and on-going - both in terms of tech addiction and the significance of top quality style in the genuine (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The big difference this time round was that the term 'smart device addiction' had plainly gotten in typical parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 people were beginning to sound really stressed. You can check out the reports below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the lots of applications we got:
" The constant scrolling."
" I attempted it with an old timeless phone, it was like 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 beautiful as well as functional?"
" I'm doing my own version now, however I had to go for a broke ass burner phone that's 10 years old ...".
" As a UI designer for digital products I've frequently questioned a few of the success requirements utilized in my market, particularly 'engagement' as a metric for success. Until that changes, sadly it's very tough to combat against 100s of designers who are aiming to hook you in to their items. [] There is a particular paradox about this as I create for these items but want to avoid them. However I think it's a chance for me as a designer to value how important our attention is, and aim to take that lesson back into my industry, hopefully to influence a change in technique to technology.".
" I have actually started getting rid of all my social networks profiles and have actually right away noticed the favorable result it's had on me. I am so much calmer now, and I 'd like to keep it that method, by likewise removing my smartphone for excellent.".
Life is too brief to keep our heads down.
Technology has actually considerably 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, pushing us into realizing exactly what is going on. I've constantly liked utilizing 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 occurred. When you go from a constantly ringing mobile phone 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 end up being sort of separated socially from your pals-- let's say if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- but you begin to recognize that it's for the much better, and the Punkt. MP01 accomplishes just that. It teaches you simplicity and teaches you that you do not require whatever on your phone. Just the basics.
If you feel like you are hooked on your phone, like the majority of people I have actually met, it could be an excellent time to give this phone a shot. A number 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 ended up being so crucial in 2018 because-- as I said-- 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 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 took a look at, and a good way to go about it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we invest looking at screens, the less essential daylight becomes-- and in some cases, yes, more of a limitation. Whether you're examining your messages while walking to work, enjoying your smartphone with your friends (who are each enjoying theirs), or viewing a film, daytime is an inconvenience.
We began heading by doing this because we wanted to. Nowadays-- to a large extent-- we just do it since we do it. And since others desire us to do it.
Is this truly how you want to invest your time on Earth?
* * *.
In 2016, Google employee Tristan Harris left his task 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 creation of the Center for Humane Technology. Since then, the topic has actually taken off into the mainstream and it has actually ended up being clear that it is refraining from doing great things to our basic sense of well-being.
The web page of the Center's site features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smart device is integrated with a picture of a female. However 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 appears pleased, enjoying the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Maybe it makes sense to utilize dig this these brighter nights for something besides taking a look at pixels? And when bedtime techniques, matching sundown with a digital sunset: whatever changed off, leaving just a land-line with a number understood just to family and close friends, and a devoted alarm clock.
Signing up with those who have ditched their smart devices entirely, integrating a basic phone with a laptop computer or tablet (much much better for typing on). Nowadays these concepts may sound almost radical, however as far as biology is concerned, they're exactly what your brain desires. The medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Because of the evident reduction in traffic accidents, Daylight Saving Time is said to increase life expectancy of a country's people. Ditto prohibiting phone use while driving, naturally (with a much clearer causal link). Phones are harmful in other ways, too: scrollers strolling into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one danger a lot of, and so on. But over-use of tech shrinks our lives in another method too-- incrementally and undoubtedly. It provides 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 find that wherever you go, you constantly wind up in the same location: in front of your mobile phone? Utilizing it, or letting it utilize you, to stay 'linked'? Gotten in touch with exactly what people depend on back home. Gotten in touch with the newest news reports. Gotten in touch with work. Gotten in touch with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Linked with pictures from the last vacation you took, and the one before that. What type of 'connection' is that, really? This scenario is something that's approached on us, and perhaps it's time to begin making some decisions ...
A vacation is a possibility to switch off, to experience new things. If we do not likewise change off our gadgets, if we continue to outsource our awareness to image sensing units and memory cards, if we're still connected to 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 holiday tax. Part of the experience is subtracted-- and not to help the regional economy, however to assist line the pockets of investors of social networks business.
Imagine a traditional 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 gained however something's lost. And on the topic of getting lost, yes, without a smart device it could happen. And maybe you'll wind up somewhere that ends up being the emphasize of your trip. Possibly you'll find some intriguing dining establishment that isn't on tripadvisor.com. You might wind up speaking to some locals. Absolutely nothing ventured, nothing got. This ties in with the growing sluggish 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 all about being there.
If we do choose to have a holiday that does not focus on processing big information, there are a couple of alternatives. We can go to the other extreme, and leave house with no kind of phone or tablet. (That never ever utilized to be a severe, but we live in extreme times.) And we have alternatives like altering our device's settings to 'minimum', leaving it in the hotel safe during the day, and so on
. Or we can take a various phone. One that just does calls and texts. And then immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some adventures, or merely enjoy a bit of peace and quiet.
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 an inexpensive, old-tech model or something more trendy and updated, deciding to often utilize an easy phone is something that everyone can associate with nowadays. They may not do it themselves, however they definitely know why some people do.
There are useful advantages, too. Just having to charge your phone occasionally is popular with everyone however if you're going somewhere without mains electrical power, your greedy smart device will be no use at all. With a simple phone you don't require to keep checking that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some method of running up monster-sized information roaming charges-- it can still happen. It's the 'really being there' that truly counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smartphone will imply a couple of mix-ups, a lowered capability to plan, to know in advance what's going to occur. However taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on basic phones are often much tougher than the large areas of glass found on their more complicated cousins. Changing a damaged smart device screen is a trouble at the very best of times; increase that by 10 if you're abroad.
However it's the 'in fact existing' that actually counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smartphone will mean a few mix-ups, a reduced ability to strategy, to understand beforehand exactly what's going to occur. Travelling sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.