Getting screen fixated

Okay. So last week we talked about the way we socialize is getting more superficial. We think, by using social media, we are getting more social. But the thing is that we are getting more isolated. Everyone is using their smartphones more and more. It's our world in our hand. But we never talk to the people sitting next to us. Or when we are talking in a group, some people are still busy with their phones, not paying attention to the conversation. We are all guilty.

So, in the last "Case Study" session, we all putted our phones in the middle, so we couldn't be distracted by it.

Everyone started to pay attention to the conversation, and a discussion started by every subject we talked about.

After the session ended, we were aloud to pick up our phones, and immediately we started to isolate ourselfes again with our phones.

Isolation by screen fixation. Face-to-face is replaced by screen-to-face. A worldwide research noticed that 62% of the people are getting their social activities are on the digital world. 46% of the group indicated that member of the family are spending more time on virtual interaction via their smartphones than with each other.

So when we are not aloud to use our smartphones or other digital technologies, who connect us with the digital world, we will getting social with the group. We start talking, and more important, listening to each other. A dialogue will start.

A place, like a smoking area, can be an idea for the design for the community. Only this place will be used for the smartphones. Like the wifi-area in a hotel lobby. Or maybe the other way around: Places where it is forbidden to use your smartphone.

The smartphones is getting more and more important in our lives. Everybody expects the other one to be reachable. When not, we are getting worried. It's a difficult subject to agree on. in case of emergency it is handy to have your smartphone. But in a class room, during a lecture, it is a curse. Maybe it is more about norms and values.

Alana Jansen