Put Your Digital Aside, Let’s Come Together Closer.
Modifying the intervention (second experiment of Phase 1) was to alleviate the participant discomfort observed in the initial experiment. Unfortunately, this only worked as a short-term solution; this made me unable to explore the problems of excessive media exposure further. This highlights the enormous challenge of an individual effort.
This uncomfortable sensation led me to experiment with a collaborative approach, creating a space where participants could bond. Implementing a shared ‘visualisation’ session aimed to promote connections, particularly among family members, without relying on digital media. This supports our desire for togetherness, contrasting with the isolation of our digital habits.
I invited some companies, especially those whose internal policies require them to be in contact with the company at all times, like IT development and production companies. To do the experiment ‘Dreaming Together: Togetherness.’ I requested a message of just three lines and three minutes of their time in the workplace.
We desire to connect.
Let’s set aside digital, come together, and discover.
The only things needed to envision our dreams are each other.
This initiative is designed to transform the environment and reshape childhood experiences, aiming to change digital habits. However, I believe it’s essential for parents to first experience and understand its value before introducing it to their children. Therefore, I initially implemented it in second place (Bhabha, H. K., 2012), ensuring parents fully grasp its importance and effectiveness.
The main idea is that it’s not important to have a medium for connection. This emphasises the value of direct, unmediated human connections over-relying on the media as an intermediary. My objective is to demonstrate an experiment to recover the shift in human narratives that began when media became the medium. This suggests a focus on exploring how human interactions and storytelling have evolved due to the influence of media and an effort to return to more direct, personal forms of communication and connection.
Perhaps we are making children feel lonely, not digital or technological devices. By not learning how to handle these emotions at home, children might be living life clinging to an addictive “pacifier”.
A scene from memory comes to mind: a cute baby’s hand, holding a smartphone handle designed ergonomically for an infant, moves swiftly with dilated pupils along with the movement of the blue pacifier. I can’t blame that tired mother. She needed an escape, too, and the smartphone was just within reach. She also needs a deep rest, reassurance, and recovery.
Our environment and digital device usage habits have created new barriers for us. While this may feel like a protective shield to some, many people express struggles with loneliness and a sense of suffocation.
This small-scale intervention is a step towards breaking down these invisible barriers, fostering unity, and creating a peaceful space reflecting our intrinsic need for connection in a digitally dominated era. Findings showed a sense of burden in overcoming the awkwardness, but this experience leads to relaxation. Khalil Gibran might have prophesied across an era.
“Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.” from Khalil Gibran’s “The Prophet”
References:
Akesson, B., Burns, V., & Hordyk, S. R. (2017). The place of place in social work: Rethinking the person-in-environment model in social work education and practice. Journal of Social Work Education, 53(3), 372-383.
Bhabha, H. K. (2012). The location of culture. routledge.
Gibran, K. (1973). The Prophet (Illustrated ed.). Knopf Publishing Group