No Signal
Delving into the Profitable (and Often Surprising) World of Digital Detox.
To block or not to block
Throughout history, the act of blocking has carried significant meanings. Whether it's warding off an attack, stifling an emotion, or obstructing a path, these actions have often symbolized strength, defense, or strategy. In the modern digital era, this concept evolves uniquely. We're not only blocking access to social media but also filtering out unwanted emails, silencing endless notifications, and even restricting certain apps or websites.
From Adblock, the pioneer, to Freedom, the range of blocking tools has expanded. Their impact is increasingly palpable, particularly through innovations like "phone boxes," where phones are locked away with a timer. This trend, far from being minor, sparked 40.5K Google searches in December alone, doubling in just two years. On Amazon, the search for "Phone lock box with timer" reflects a marked increase in sales, as illustrated by the chart below.
Locking away our phones, a mirror of our own feelings of captivity, represents an attempt to regain control. Yet, merely blocking access treats only the symptoms, not the addiction's root. It can even foster a new dependence on restriction, leading to frustration.
Aro has grasively understood this challenge and turned restriction into a ritual. The wooden "lockbox" is reimagined as a sleek piece of design, while a gamified app brings the family together around a shared challenge. This approach, bolstered by behavioral therapy, seeks to firmly establish lasting change.
In this process of becoming more conscious, we also find apps like Opal or Jomo. One Sec, for its part, momentarily restricts access to social networks, urging us to "take a deep breath" and ponder our intentions, thereby breaking free from impulsivity or passivity-dominated habits.
Not « smart » not « dumb »... but « wiser »
Another path is unfolding: rethinking, and possibly reinventing, our tools. Pause for a moment to consider this: smartphones might be making us less sharp, creating a cognitive exchange between human and machine. If intellect is to be divided between both, it's wise to lessen the machine's part and reclaim our own. Enter the era of 'dumbphones'.
Google sees about 65k searches for "dumbphones" monthly, a 300% jump in three years. The dedicated subreddit's following leaped from 1k in January 2020 to 42k by January 2023, signaling a shift towards simplicity. Prominent brands like The Light Phone and Punkt lead this movement. For those hesitant about a drastic switch, the Minimalist Phone app, turning your smartphone into a "dumbphone," launched in 2022 and quickly drew over a million Android users.
Yet, in our quest to cut out the clutter, do "dumbphones" risk pushing us too far from reality? The critical issue isn't merely adopting low-tech in a high-tech world but questioning its necessity. This debate becomes crucial in professional settings, where reliance on technology is a given, exposing a digital divide that leans more towards dependence than access. The challenge lies in striking a balance.
This pursuit of equilibrium, aiming to blend benefits while reducing drawbacks and balancing control with liberation, is shaping the market's direction.
Hence, the GabbWatch3, targeted at teenagers, emerges as a fashionable accessory, cleverly redefining the basic phone stereotype that young people often lament for its lack of style. Meanwhile, the brand Techless seeks to advance this idea further. It's not about being "smart" or "dumb," but rather "wiser." This device reduces unnecessary notifications while still offering the connectivity we've come to expect, adopting a more harmonious approach. The aim is to facilitate genuine interactions and engagement with the real world.
This pursuit of a technological middle ground mirrors a wider movement. As the West has watched the ascent of super apps like WeChat in China, there's a noticeable tilt towards "single-purpose" technologies. In the U.S., Ash makes its mark with its educational AI focused on biodiversity, essentially a Pokédex for kids.
In Australia, Swarovski Optik unveiled at CES 2024 binoculars capable of identifying 9,000 bird species, signaling a renewed interest in technologies that connect us directly and enrichingly with the natural world.
I have a dream
In today’s world, where seeking silence and reconnecting with our surroundings are paramount, a dynamic market is taking shape. The remarkable sales figures for Loop Ear Plugs (5 million sold in 2023, with 600,000 Google searches last month) alongside the rising demand for "silent travels" and Unplugged's Digital Detox cabins, illustrate a burgeoning trend towards tranquility. Equally striking is the surge in interest for Hatch's dawn simulator alarms, marked by 201,000 Google searches and an estimated $601,000 in revenue on Amazon US, as per Jungle Scout's last month's data. This shift is driven by the growing preference to keep phones out of the bedroom, combined with a longing for an alarm that softly mimics the dawn's early light.
This trend also manifests through an increase in "phone-free" initiatives, exemplified by Samy’s Diner near Albi, France, where Adrien Martin rewards patrons with coffee and a digestif for setting aside their phones, thereby fostering human interaction. The movement reaches into concerts as well, where artists strive to forge a more genuine connection with their audience, hoping to alleviate "nowstalgie," the melancholy for a present often obscured by experiencing life through a phone screen.
However, such measures are not without ulterior motives. Banning phones at concerts isn't solely about restoring authenticity; it also serves commercial interests, giving artists the chance to monetize exclusive content. As an interesting aside, Prince, one of the first to ban phones at a concert in 2013, was ironically sponsored by Samsung!
This contemplation of our relationship with the digital world echoes distantly in the story of Ozymandias...
Like the reign of the pharaoh, now just a memory carved in stone, our quest to tame technology speaks to our longing for a meaningful imprint in a transient world. It's not merely the technology that shapes our legacy; rather, it's how we wield it to enrich both our own lives and those of generations to come.
In navigating the space between hyperconnectivity and disconnection, perhaps our goal should extend beyond merely returning to reality. We should seek a reconciliation with our innate capacity to dream beyond the confines of our screens. Ultimately, the essence of true immortality doesn't reside in stone or pixels but in the depth of the human heart and the actions we take.
Marie - Article co-written with Julien Rousset from Screenbreak (content in french ;)
echoing the lyrics:
The mobile phone is both a connection and disconnection device, and is typically placed between the human and its surroundings
Tuning the surroundings out
from: https://k7v.in/children-of-the-internet