Punkt. is a reasonably small, vibrant and independent company, and we prefer to maintain close connections with our customers and with people and organisations within the style world. As part of this, we routinely run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These include style difficulties that form part of postgraduate design courses, and digital detox difficulties where self-confessed mobile phone addicts are welcomed to review their relationship with technology.
10 years back, smartphones were still very unusual. Now, a life lived outside the framework of the mobile phone is uncommon. Ten years ago, the majority of people had smart phones, but they would normally just attract our attention if another human had chosen 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 scamper 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 negative aspects of smartphones weren't commonly discussed at that point, however there has actually since been a surge of interest in the subject. Individual reports are a crucial element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and releasing these reports we aim to keep the discussion of individuals's relationship with innovation prominent and on-going - both in regards to tech addiction and the significance of high-quality design in the real (i.e. non-virtual) world.
The huge difference this time round was that the term 'smartphone addiction' had actually plainly gotten in typical parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, however in 2018 people were beginning to sound truly fretted. You can read the reports listed below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the many applications we received:
" The continuous scrolling."
" I tried it with an old traditional 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 shouldn't they be stunning along with functional?"
" I'm doing my own variation now, but I had 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 used in my market, specifically 'engagement' as a metric for success. Until that changes, unfortunately it's very difficult to combat versus 100s of designers who are aiming to hook you into their items. [] There is a certain paradox about this as I develop for these items however wish to avoid them. 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 market, hopefully to affect a modification in approach to innovation.".
" I have actually started getting rid of all my social media profiles and have actually right away noticed the favorable result it's had on me. I am so much calmer now, and I wish to keep it that way, by also removing my mobile phone for great.".
Life is too brief to keep our heads down.
Innovation has actually drastically changed over the last century, from being a helpful tool in our lives to keeping us as hooked in as much as it can and for the longest period of time. This Challenge changes that in its whole, pushing us into realizing exactly what is going on. I've constantly enjoyed using the newest things, however considering that Punkt. has been around, I wanted to change that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's exactly what took place. When you go from a continuously ringing smartphone to a phone like this, you understand just how much you can compromise all these applications that keep you hooked all day long: you do not need them.
In such a way, you do become sort of separated socially from your good friends-- let's say if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- however you start to understand that it's for the better, and the Punkt. MP01 achieves just that. It teaches you simpleness and teaches you that you don't need everything on your phone. Just the essentials.
If you feel like you are hooked on your phone, like the majority of people I have actually met, it might be an excellent time to provide this phone a shot. Much 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 actually become so essential in 2018 because-- as I stated-- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. are here to keep us hooked in for the longest time. Don't think me? Download QualityTime for your Android and you will understand that you don't even focus on exactly what's going on around you. If you feel an itch, it might be a great time to obtain that had a look at, and an excellent way to tackle it is with the Punkt. MP01.
The more time we invest taking a look at screens, the less important daylight ends up being-- and often, yes, more of a limitation. Whether you're inspecting your messages while walking to work, enjoying your smartphone with your buddies (who are each taking pleasure in theirs), or seeing a film, daylight is a hassle.
We started heading in this manner since we wished to. Nowadays-- to a big degree-- we merely do it due to the fact that we do it. And because others want us to do it.
Is this really how you wish to invest your time on Earth?
* * *.
In 2016, Google employee Tristan Harris left his task to discovered a brand-new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which sought to expand the debate on what technology is doing to us and caused the production of the Center for Humane Technology. Ever since, the topic has actually taken off into the mainstream and it has actually become clear that it is refraining from doing good ideas to our basic sense of wellness.
The web page of the Center's website features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smartphone is integrated with a picture of a woman. But 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 seems pleased, taking pleasure in the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Possibly Bonuses it makes sense to use these brighter evenings for something besides taking a look at pixels? When bedtime approaches, matching sundown with a digital sundown: everything switched off, leaving simply a land-line with a number known just to household and friends, and a dedicated alarm clock.
Signing up with those who have actually dumped their smartphones totally, integrating a basic phone with a laptop computer or tablet (much better for typing on). Nowadays these concepts might sound almost extreme, but as far as biology is worried, they're what your brain desires. The medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Because of the evident reduction in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is said to increase life span of a nation's people. Ditto banning phone usage while driving, of course (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. However over-use of tech diminishes our lives in another way too-- incrementally and inevitably. It gives us a narrower existence where we are less focussed, less rested and hence less awake. Over-use eats our lives, and it's becoming the norm.
Time for a rethink?
Do you discover that wherever you go, you always wind up in the same location: in front of your mobile phone? Utilizing it, or letting it use you, to stay 'connected'? Connected with exactly what people depend on back house. Gotten in touch with the current news reports. Linked with work. Gotten in touch with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Gotten in touch with photos from the last holiday you took, and the one before that. What kind of 'connection' is that, actually? This circumstance is something that's crept up on us, and maybe it's time to start making some choices ...
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 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 kind of vacation tax. Part of the experience is deducted-- and not to assist the local economy, however to help line the pockets of shareholders of social media business.
Envision a classic travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There wouldn't be much left. And even if we're searching for 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 topic of getting lost, yes, without a smart device it might occur. And perhaps you'll end up somewhere that ends up being the emphasize of your trip. Perhaps you'll find some intriguing restaurant that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You may wind up talking to some locals. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. This connect the growing sluggish travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and practical option to flying, shown 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 doesn't revolve around processing big data, there are a couple of options. We can go to the other severe, and leave house without any sort of phone or tablet. (That never used to be an extreme, however we reside in severe 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 various phone. One that just does calls and texts. And then immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some experiences, or simply enjoy a little peace and quiet.
The physical act of swapping phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's beginning to get in appeal: whether a low-cost, old-tech model or something more trendy and up-to-date, selecting to sometimes utilize a basic phone is something that everyone can associate with nowadays. They might refrain from doing it themselves, but they definitely understand why some people do.
There are useful benefits, too. Only needing to charge your phone occasionally is popular with everybody but if you're going somewhere without mains electricity, your greedy smart device will be no use at all. With a simple phone you do not require to keep inspecting that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some method of running up monster-sized information roaming charges-- it can still occur. It's the 'in fact being there' that truly counts. Sure, travelling without a smart device will indicate a few mix-ups, a decreased capability to plan, to know beforehand exactly what's going to happen. However travelling sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on simple phones are typically much tougher than the large locations of glass discovered on their more complicated cousins. Replacing a damaged smart device screen is a trouble at the very best of times; increase that by ten if you're abroad.
It's the 'actually being there' that actually counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smartphone will imply a few mix-ups, a decreased ability to plan, to know beforehand what's going to occur. Travelling sans algorithms is where the action is.
SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.