Digital Detox Challenge



Punkt. is a relatively small, vibrant and independent business, and we prefer to preserve close connections with our clients and with individuals and organisations within the design world. As part of this, we regularly run 'Punkt.Challenges'. These consist of style difficulties that form part of postgraduate design courses, and digital detox challenges where self-confessed mobile phone addicts are invited to review their relationship with innovation.
10 years earlier, smartphones were still extremely uncommon. Now, a life lived outside the structure of the mobile phone is uncommon. 10 years earlier, the majority of people had mobile phones, but they would usually only attract our attention if another human had chosen to call us or send us a text. Now that many people's lives are a lot more automated: the new regular is to scoot around within a nonstop assault of status updates, push notices and a lot more.
Our Digital Detox Challenges have been running given that 2016. The negative elements of mobile phones weren't commonly discussed at that point, however there has actually given that been a rise of interest in the topic. Participant reports are a key element of the Detox Challenges; by running the Challenges and publishing these reports we aim to keep the conversation of individuals's relationship with technology prominent and on-going - both in regards to tech dependency and the significance of premium style in the real (i.e. non-virtual) world.

The big difference this time round was that the term 'smart device addiction' had clearly gone into common parlance - in 2016 it still sounded a bit over the top, but in 2018 individuals were beginning to sound truly stressed. You can read the reports below, however here are some excerpts from a few of the lots of applications we got:
" The consistent scrolling."
" I tried it with an old classic phone, it resembled returning to an ex - with all the old pros and cons. Who does that?"
" We use our phones a lot - why should not they be lovely as well as functional?"
" I'm doing my own variation now, but I needed to opt 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 requirements utilized in my industry, particularly 'engagement' as a metric for success. Up until that changes, sadly it's extremely difficult to battle versus 100s of designers who are aiming to hook you into their items. [] There is a specific irony about this as I create for these products but want to avoid them. I believe it's an opportunity for me as a designer to value how valuable our attention is, and attempt to take that lesson back into my industry, ideally to affect a change in technique to technology.".
" I have begun eliminating all my social media profiles and have actually immediately observed the favorable effect it's had on me. I am a lot calmer now, and I 'd like to keep it that way, by likewise removing my smartphone for good.".

Life is too short 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 connected in as much as it can and for the longest period of time. This Challenge changes that in its whole, pushing us into recognizing exactly what is going on. I've always liked utilizing the latest things, however because Punkt. has been around, I wished to alter that, and with the Digital Detox Challenge, that's precisely what took place. When you go from a continuously ringing smart device to a phone like this, you understand what does it cost? you can compromise all these applications that keep you hooked all day: you do not need them.
In a way, you do become kind of apart socially from your friends-- let's state if they "Snapchat" you or whatnot-- however you begin to recognize that it's for the better, and the Punkt. MP01 achieves just that. It teaches you simplicity and teaches you that you don't require everything on your phone. Simply the basics.
If you feel like you are hooked on your phone, like many people I have actually fulfilled, it could be a good time to offer this phone a shot. Many of my own relative experience this feeling and I feel like passing this obstacle on to others so they can get the hang of it. This Challenge has actually become so important in 2018 because-- as I said-- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. are here to keep us hooked in for the longest time. Do not believe 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 may be a great time to obtain that examined out, and a great way to set about it is with the Punkt. MP01.

The more time we invest taking a look at screens, the lesser daytime ends up being-- and sometimes, yes, more of a barrier. Whether you're examining your messages while walking to work, enjoying your mobile phone with your good friends (who are each taking pleasure in theirs), or seeing a film, daytime is an inconvenience.
We began heading this method due to the fact that we desired to. Nowadays-- to a big level-- we merely do it because we do it. And due to the fact that others desire us to do it.
Is this truly how you want to spend your time in the world?
* * *.
In 2016, Google staff member Tristan Harris left his task to found a new non-profit organisation called Time Well Spent, which looked for to broaden the argument on exactly what innovation is doing to us and led to the production of the Center for Humane Technology. Ever since, the subject has taken off into the mainstream and it has actually become clear that it is not doing good ideas to our general sense of well-being.
The home page of the Center's website features a striking montage image. A generic graphic of a smart device is combined with a picture of a female. But she is not provided as being on the screen. She is in Get More Information 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, delighting in the view. And she is bathed in sunshine.
Perhaps it makes sense to use these brighter nights for something aside from looking at pixels? And when bedtime techniques, matching sundown with a digital sundown: everything turned off, leaving simply a land-line with a number understood only to family and friends, and a devoted alarm clock.
Joining those who have actually dropped their mobile phones entirely, combining a basic phone with a laptop or tablet (much better for typing on). Nowadays these ideas may sound almost extreme, however as far as biology is concerned, they're exactly what your brain wants. The medical side-effects of tech over-use.
Since of the apparent decrease in traffic mishaps, 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 dangerous in other methods, 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 also-- incrementally and inevitably. It provides us a narrower existence in which we are less focussed, less rested and thus less awake. Over-use eats our lives, and it's becoming the norm.
Time for a rethink?

Do you find that wherever you go, you always wind up in the very same place: in front of your smartphone? Using it, or letting it utilize you, to remain 'connected'? Gotten in touch with exactly what individuals are up to back home. Linked with the latest news reports. Connected with work. Gotten in touch with games, YouTube videos, Wikipedia. Linked with images from the last holiday you took, and the one before that. What sort of 'connection' is that, truly? This scenario is something that's approached on us, and maybe it's time to start making some decisions ...

A vacation is an opportunity to turn off, to experience new things. But if we don't also turn off our devices, if we continue to outsource our consciousness to image sensors and memory cards, if we're still connected to exactly what we were doing prior to we left and what we'll be doing when we return, 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, but to help line the pockets of shareholders of social networks business.
Imagine a classic travelogue like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, minus this tax. There would not be much. And even if we're searching for something a bit less intense for our fortnight away, the principle still uses. Whether it's a case of pings on the beach, or livestreaming from the Louvre, something's gotten however something's lost. And on the subject of getting lost, yes, without a mobile phone it could happen. And perhaps you'll end up someplace that ends up being the highlight of your trip. Maybe you'll find some interesting dining establishment that isn't really on tripadvisor.com. You may end up speaking with some locals. Absolutely nothing ventured, nothing got. This connect the growing slow travelmovement, and the reclaiming of overland travel as a mainstream and realistic option to flying, demonstrated 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 focus on processing big information, there are a few options. We can go to the other extreme, and leave house without any sort of phone or tablet. (That never ever used to be a severe, however we reside in severe times.) And we have choices like changing our gadget's settings to 'minimum', leaving it in the hotel safe throughout the day, and so on

. Or we can take a various phone. One that only does calls and texts. Then immerse ourselves in a different culture, have some experiences, or just delight in a little solitude.
The physical act of switching phones goes deep. It's a bit like flying the nest. And it's starting to get in popularity: whether an inexpensive, old-tech design or something more stylish and current, deciding to in some cases utilize a simple phone is something that everyone can connect to nowadays. They may not do it themselves, however they definitely know why some people do.
There are useful benefits, too. Just needing to charge your phone occasionally is popular with everyone but if you're going someplace without mains electricity, your greedy mobile phone will be no usage at all. Likewise, with a simple phone you do not require to keep checking that your digital factotum hasn't cunningly discovered some way of running up monster-sized data roaming charges-- it can still happen. It's the 'in fact being there' that really counts. Sure, taking a trip without a smartphone will suggest a few mix-ups, a minimized capability to plan, to understand beforehand what's going to occur. However travelling sans algorithms is where the action is. And the screens on basic phones are often much harder than the big areas of glass discovered on their more complex cousins. Changing a broken mobile phone 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 really counts. Sure, travelling without a smartphone will suggest a few mix-ups, a minimized ability to plan, to know beforehand exactly what's going to happen. However taking a trip sans algorithms is where the action is.

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

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