Cell Phone Consumption

My senior year of college I was assigned my final project which was essentially to study a wicked problem and solve for it. The first semester I studied and researched to find a wicked problem. The second semester I studied more, researched more, prototyped solutions, tested solutions, and developed a new design. After I graduated I then came back to this project, as many unsatisfied artists do, and I studied more, researched more, tested more, and designed a new solution.

So here is my journey on cell phone consumption, the problem and solution.

The cell phone was invented in 1973 by Martin Cooper who says “The best way to get people to think outside the box is not to create the box in the first place.” Forget the normal. Imagine a world where Martin Cooper and the idea of cell phones never came to existence. Can we imagine that? Some can’t imagine going a day without using a cell phone, and many more wouldn’t want to. In some situations it appears impossible to function without these devices? They’re such a useful tool, right?

I argue that due to the normalcy of the cell phone, we have been susceptible to overconsumption. Think about it, marketers and designers of the cell phone are creating the device to get consumers to use the device as much as possible. They want everyone to buy one, need one, have one, and not imagine a world without them, no offense to them that's just their job. So far they have been successful wouldn't you say? Many of us own one and it is almost a shock to us if someone does not have a cell phone. Not many are coming up with a different device or way of life substituting for the device. Considering it is a tool that we all use daily, I would say cell phones are winning. It’s a tool the majority of us use everyday. Usually we don’t question how much we use our phones or consider it as enough of a problem to change our ways.

And that is what concerns me..

Last semester I conducted a test with students in this community using the screentime app. If you are not familiar with this app it is for iphone users (androids have alternative apps that do the same job) that allows people to become aware of how much time they spend on their devices. It tells exactly what apps are used and how long they are used. If you have an iphone go ahead and check your hours. (see how normal that was for you to pull it out?) These are a couple of results from those students. Averaging at 6.5 hours per day. This is where I think about what we could be doing instead with those hours. 6.5 hours?? That’s 3 movies on netflix, or a night out bowling, ect. When considering how much we work, how much we sleep, 6.5 hours of our day has been spent solely on our cell phone.

Maybe those numbers are shocking to you and maybe they aren’t. Here’s what I found most interesting. Each participant recorded that they were unsatisfied with the amount of time they spent on their cell phone implying they wished they spent less time on their devices. The majority of the time spent on the screens of these students phones were spent on social media or on some form of communication application. So maybe that’s a good thing? At least we’re communicating with others right? But is that the best way to communicate? Why aren’t we using this time to communicate in person? With all this information coming in and all these questions raising more questions, I began to see how disconnected we are.

As I tried to calculate why there is a disconnection, I began to separate what I know into three realms: the spiritual, physical, and now what we have been spending so much time in, the digital. As I looked at what separates each realm I found that the digital world is the disconnection. It does not follow what we know is true of the other two realms, but somehow this disconnected world is now our new normal. Instead of communicating with one another we bring our phone to our face and scroll through messages, social media, whatever; instead of picking up conversation with the people around us, our neighbors, our brother and sisters, the people next to us in line, in the seat next to you, we play a game, or look through our feeds, or facetime someone else. What if that wasn’t the case? What if instead the community thrived with conversation? What if we knew our neighbors?

After understanding how this digital realm has affected our communication in this world, I came to define my problem. The amount of cell phone consumption has transformed a tool originally created for connection into a world that became so normal that it disconnects our presence in the spiritual and physical realities. We spend so much time in this consumed by our devices that our presence is disconnected from the present worlds. That is the problem. A wicked problem.

I don’t want to accept that our presence is being distracted from both spiritual and physical realities by our cell phones and other digital devices. I want to change that! But not only that, I want that change to benefit those around me. Those who are dissatisfied with the amount of time they spend on their phone. I’m not content with how our society allows the cell phone to play such a huge role in our lives. I understand that we believe we need this tool to function daily as we normally do, but I am not content with how we use it. I believe change regarding cell phone consumption can allow us to be more connected with the present day.

I came up with a two step plan. An app that changes the way the phone is set up. It works for only our need at that directed moment. The home screen deliberately reminds users that the device should only be used for a specific need. Say you needed to use a navigating system, once you get to the maps page you will not be able to go back. The user limits their usage by eliminating the option of lingering. The phone is used for needs only.

While that takes care of the consumption problem the second step is bringing our presence back into society. Raising engagement levels between those around us. Since most of us already have a cell phone and we are not too excited about giving it up, the idea is to enclose the phone and allow for easy engagement with others. I call these cases of engagement. They would be designed personally for users with a referenced 2 or more player game. This allows for strangers to easily build a relationship and become present in this physical reality rather than covering our faces with our cell phones and focusing on the digital world.

These designs can work in the real world. We can get our focus back into the physical and spiritual realities! But it starts with us and it starts now. My challenge to all is to forget the limitations of how society works. Forget the box exists like Martin Cooper said. Reimagine what a world where community members engage with one another looks like. & put your phone down to see it come to life.