A Rehab Kit for Social Media Addicts

In this world of constant connections there has been a lot of debate recently about the detrimental effects of the internet and whether we are creating and encouraging a culture of distraction where we increasingly disconnect from the people and events around us. According to research done by half of the BBH Barn 2012 team—made up of Sarah Chan, Rhys Hillman and Scarlett Montanaro – we look at our phones on average 150 times a day. In an effort to save the art of conversation and to encourage people to re-engage with their friends without the constant presence of a smartphone, the team created a Social Media Rehab Kit. The kit contains Instagram filter glasses, Twitter notecards, Draw Something doodle pads, and ‘Like’ stickers. “Our message is simple: Connect with life outside of your phone. We want to spark real life social interactions and create enough fun and conversation that people don’t feel the need to awkwardly scroll through their Twitter feeds”, BBH Barn 2012 participant Sarah Chan said.

[via Design Taxi]

Are We Creating a Culture of Distraction?

Here is a great talk by Joe Kraus on a topic called “SlowTech”. When Joe speaks about technology and the culture surrounding it, it’s worth listening. He is a Partner at Google Ventures and his primary area of focus is mobile, gaming and local services. Rather than a chest-beating evangelical endorsement of connectivity, Joe’s talk takes a step back and looks at how our increasing connectivity may be threatening our creativity. His talk covers three key topics:

1. We are creating and encouraging a culture of distraction where we are increasingly disconnected from the people and events around us and increasingly unable to engage in long-form thinking. People now feel anxious when their brains are unstimulated.

2. We are losing some very important things by doing this. We threaten the key ingredients behind creativity and insight by filling up all our “gap” time with stimulation. And we inhibit real human connection when we prioritize our phones over our the people right in front of us.

3. What can we do about it? Is this path inevitable or can balance be restored?

You can watch the video above or read the transcript here.