Digital Detox Challenge



Punkt. is a reasonably small, vibrant and independent company, and we prefer to preserve close connections with our customers and with individuals and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we frequently run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These include design obstacles that form part of postgraduate style courses, and digital detox difficulties where self-confessed mobile phone addicts are welcomed to review their relationship with innovation.
Ten years ago, smartphones were still extremely unusual. Now, a life lived outside the structure of the smart device is unusual. 10 years back, many people had mobile phones, however they would typically 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 normal is to scamper around within a ceaseless assault of status updates, push notifications and an entire lot more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running because 2016. The unfavorable elements of smartphones weren't extensively talked about at that point, but there has actually given that been a rise of interest in the topic. Participant reports are a crucial element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and releasing these reports we intend to keep the discussion of people's relationship with technology prominent and on-going - both in regards to tech dependency and the value of high-quality design in the genuine (i.e. non-virtual) world.

The big difference this time round was that the term 'mobile phone addiction' had actually plainly entered typical parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, but in 2018 individuals were beginning to sound truly stressed. You can check out the reports listed below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the lots of applications we got:
" The consistent scrolling."
" I attempted it with an old traditional phone, it resembled 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 in addition to functional?"
" I'm doing my own variation now, however I had to settle for a broke ass burner phone that's 10 years old ...".
" As a UI designer for digital items I've typically questioned some of the success criteria utilized in my industry, particularly 'engagement' as a metric for success. Up until that changes, unfortunately it's really hard to fight versus 100s of designers who are aiming to hook you into their products. [] There is a specific irony about this as I develop for these items but wish to avoid them. But I believe it's an opportunity 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 begun getting rid of all my social media profiles and have actually immediately discovered the favorable impact it's had on me. I am so much calmer now, and I wish to keep it that way, by likewise eliminating my smart device for great.".

Life is too brief to keep our heads down.
Technology has dramatically changed over the last century, from being a handy 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 entirety, pushing us into realizing exactly what is going on. I've constantly loved utilizing the latest things, but because Punkt. has been around, I wanted to alter that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's precisely what occurred. When you go from a continuously ringing 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 need them.
In a manner, you do become sort of apart socially from your friends-- let's say if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- but you begin to realize that it's for the much better, and the Punkt. MP01 accomplishes just that. It teaches you simpleness and teaches you that you don't require everything on your phone. Simply the fundamentals.
If you feel like you are hooked on your phone, like many people I have met, it could be a great time to provide this phone a try. A number of my own household members experience this feeling and I seem like passing this challenge on to others so they can master it. This Challenge has become so crucial 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 realize that you don't even take notice of 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 go about it is with the Punkt. MP01.

The more time we spend taking a look at screens, the lesser daytime ends up being-- and often, yes, more of an obstacle. Whether you're checking your messages while strolling to work, enjoying your smartphone with your friends (who are each taking pleasure in theirs), or watching a film, daylight is a hassle.
We started heading this way because we wished to. Nowadays-- to a large extent-- we just do it since we do it. And since others want us to do it.
Is this actually how you want to spend your time in the world?
* * *.
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 expand the argument on what innovation is doing to us and resulted in the creation of the Center for Humane Technology. Ever since, the subject has exploded into the mainstream and it has ended up being clear that it is not doing good ideas to our general sense of well-being.
The house page of the Center's site features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smartphone is integrated with a photo of a lady. She is not provided as being on the screen. She is 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 seems delighted, delighting in the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Maybe it makes sense to utilize these brighter evenings for something other than looking at pixels? When bedtime approaches, matching sundown with a digital sunset: whatever switched off, leaving simply a land-line with a number understood just to household and buddies, 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 much better for typing on). Nowadays these ideas might sound almost radical, but as far as biology is concerned, they're what your brain wants. For this reason the medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Due to the fact that of the evident decrease in traffic mishaps, Daylight Saving Time is said to increase life span of a nation's residents. Ditto prohibiting phone use while driving, obviously (with a much clearer causal link). Phones are hazardous in other methods, too: scrollers strolling into traffic, selfie trophy-hunters taking one risk too many, and so on. However over-use of tech diminishes our lives in another way also-- incrementally and undoubtedly. It provides us a narrower existence where we are less focussed, less rested and therefore less awake. Over-use eats our lives, and it's becoming the standard.
Time for a rethink?

Do you discover that wherever you go, you constantly end up in the same location: in front of your mobile phone? Using it, or letting it use you, to remain 'connected'? Gotten in touch with what individuals are up to back house. Gotten in touch with the most recent report. Linked with work. Gotten in touch with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Linked with pictures from the last vacation you took, and the one prior to that. What kind of 'connection' is that, actually? This circumstance is something that's sneaked up on us, and perhaps it's time to begin making some choices ...

A holiday is an opportunity to change off, to experience new things. However if we do not also switch off our devices, if we continue to outsource our awareness to image sensors and sd card, if we're still see here 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 sort of holiday tax. Part of the experience is subtracted-- and not to help the regional economy, however to assist line the pockets of shareholders of social media companies.
Picture a traditional travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There wouldn't be much. And even if we're looking for something a bit less extreme for our fortnight away, the concept still uses. Whether it's a case of pings on the beach, or livestreaming from the Louvre, something's acquired but something's lost. And on the subject of getting lost, yes, without a smart device it might occur. And maybe you'll end up somewhere that turns out to be the emphasize of your journey. Possibly you'll find some intriguing restaurant that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You may end up talking to some residents. Absolutely nothing ventured, nothing got. This ties in with the growing sluggish travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and sensible alternative to flying, shown by the underground success of The Man in Seat Sixty-One. It's everything about being there.
If we do decide to have a vacation that doesn't revolve around processing big data, there are a couple of alternatives. We can go to the other severe, and leave house without any sort of phone or tablet. (That never utilized to be a severe, but we reside in severe times.) And we have choices like altering our device's settings to 'minimum', leaving it in the hotel safe throughout the day, etc

. Or we can take a different phone. One that only does calls and texts. Then immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some experiences, or simply take pleasure in 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 a cheap, old-tech model or something more trendy and current, opting to in some cases utilize a basic phone is something that everybody can relate to nowadays. They may refrain from doing it themselves, however they definitely understand why some individuals do.
There are practical advantages, too. Only needing to charge your phone occasionally is popular with everyone but if you're going somewhere without mains electrical energy, your greedy smart device will be no usage at all. Also, with a simple phone you do not require to keep examining that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly found some way of running up monster-sized data roaming charges-- it can still take place. However it's the 'really being there' that actually counts. Sure, travelling without a smartphone will mean a couple of mix-ups, a lowered ability to plan, to understand ahead of time what's going to take place. Taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on basic phones are frequently much tougher than the big locations of glass found on their more complex cousins. Replacing a damaged smartphone screen is a trouble at the best of times; increase that by ten if you're abroad.
However it's the 'in fact being there' that truly counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smart device will mean a few mix-ups, a reduced ability to plan, to know beforehand exactly what's going to occur. Taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is.

SMS 03 - Punkt. MP02 from Punkt. on Vimeo.

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