We are declaring war on the phone zombie apocalypse
We have found a way to win…
--
If you’re reading this, it’s because you’re probably looking at your phone, mindlessly scrolling while on the bus or train, or toilet ;) No?
Maybe you’re at your desktop at work, pretending to do something you’re being paid to do, but instead you’re secretly here with me. In this magical digital world. This world created for you, by “them.”
Or perhaps I should say created by “us,” because, to be honest, it was me, and other designers just like me who have meticulously created this digital maelstrom shit-show that we collectively call the new normal.
I’m going to reveal a design secret…
I’m a little scared, I must admit, I feel a bit like a magician breaking the sacred oath, but my honour now compels me to come clean with you.
The secret is, you’ll do almost anything to feel a sense of “connection,” and the best designers* in the world, exploit this fact about you, for all you’re worth. Yeah, not cool, I know. That’s why it’s a secret.
*By best, I mean most successful, we certainly aren’t the best in a sense that we are ‘good’
It’s biology kid…
Disclaimer : Before working as a designer, I studied archaeology and ancient human civilisations — So I’m not making this shit up!
It turns out, for most of our history as a species, we (humans) typically did not survive for very long if we were walking around by ourselves. We survived by sharing food, shelter & protection in close proximity to other people, in packs, or tribes. The humans that didn’t figure this out, died — usually before successfully raising offspring.
The ones who formed packs or tribes (or were born into them), managed to have babies of their own that also tended to survive due to the benefits of being in their pack, and over time (a loooooooooong time), this desire to feel connected to other people was reenforced over and over again, until it became second nature, buried deep within our subconscious.
It’s hard wired behaviour, and it’s in all of us. We NEED to connect with other humans.
Another very important ingredient in binding tribes of people together was language and storytelling.
When you’re being told a story, your brain stops worrying about survival for just long enough to switch over into introspection mode, and it has immediate chemical effects. Cortisol levels drop, dopamine levels increase, your resting heart beat drops, and after a little while you find that you begin to feel better. Like some invisible guardian angel is patting you on the back and saying “Well done, you did it, you can rest easy now.”
What’s this got to do with phone zombies?
To feel connected in the world today, you no longer need to sit around a camp fire with your tribe, sharing food & telling stories.
No, you can “connect” by simply looking down at your phone, and immersing yourself into another world that is much faster and easier to dive into. And each time that you dive in, the little dopamine receptors in your brain get tricked into thinking that you’re sitting around a camp fire with your tribe, safe and warm. You get your magical dopamine kick, and you feel better. Everyone wins right?
No. Because the rewards don’t last. It’s transient and ephemeral. You crash faster than you should, and then you need another hit.
That important unseen hand, patting you on the back to tell you good job, is no longer your guardian angel protector who is tasked with helping you connect with people.
No… It’s me. It’s my hand.
It’s the hand of every designer who engineered these feelings for you by offering you something much better than silly real-world connections to other humans. No no. We dangle a much juicier carrot…Content Distraction!
And it’s highly addictive. We designed it to be that way.
It’s why tech companies call humans “users” 🤫
What is content distraction?
If it’s digital and you stare at it with your eyes and/or hear it with your ears, then it’s probably content distraction.
Usually it tricks you into thinking that whatever it is, it’s very important, but in truth, without it, life typically goes on just fine. A few common examples that you probably recognise from your own life are:
- Netflix or youtube — while you’re at home eating dinner (alone or with a partner/friend)
- Instagram or Facebook — while you’re commuting, sitting on a toilet, or waiting for something else to happen
To cast the magic spell well, we must ensure that the content arrives quickly and constantly, on a never-ending production line — an infinity loop. The content must make you ‘feel’ things, even if you can’t put your finger on what those feelings are. The content must distract you from your reality. And most importantly, you must never EVER be able to run out of it.
The average smart phone finger scrolls on a phone screen close to 6 miles, or 10 kms… per year.
For reference, Mount Everest is 5.5 miles (9 kms) high.
So it’s no joke to say that you’re scrolling through mountains of addictive shit!
Yep, you’re an addict, sorry :/
Don’t be offended. It doesn’t upset you when they call you a “user” does it? ;)
I know I know, you can be addicted to good things in life too. Like going to the gym, or fruit smoothies, or crochet. Repetitive action by itself is not considered a mental health issue until that action has tangible negative consequences on your real life.
In other words: if it hurts you, then you are an addict.
So let me ask you this… Since becoming a phone zombie, has your life gotten better? Do you feel good? More enlightened each day? More connected to the people in close proximity to you? Your colleagues? Fellow commuters? The Baker? Your family or friends? Do you find it easier now to talk to a stranger than you did 5 or 10 years ago? Do you walk more? Do you smell the roses?
In the history of our species, we’ve never been more socially isolated and alone than we are today. And what’s worse…
It is not an accident. It is by design.
They make more money if you’re lonely!
They, the companies that own your data, your time, and your attention (so they own you basically), will keep you in this state for as long as they can.
You can tell that they know what they are doing is wrong, because they are beginning to offer bandaid solutions to help you “manage” the addiction they’ve created for you. They offer platitudes, like new settings that turn specific apps off after N minutes (which you can easily dismiss with a tap), or by warning you that you’re still looking at your phone when it’s getting late (which you can also simply ignore).
Do these solutions work? No, but they are important, because now these companies can say that they care about you. That they tried to help you. 😏
The truth is, to keep monetising your distraction and harvesting your personal data, they want you to be as hypnotised by their products as humanly possible, and they will not stop.
They aren’t evil. They are just companies, and making money is what they do.
They won’t change the game…
Why would they? Everyone is winning! Everyone except you.
Bankers, investors and tech experts are all telling us:
“The status quo doesn’t need to change…” There’s nothing to see here. Everything is okay. Just keep swimming. Just keep scrolling… Bla bla bla.
They are making people sick, and they know it, and they are laughing all the way to the bank.
So how do we fix it?
Two years ago I decided to leave Google HQ to begin working on a plan to solve this problem. Not to just offer some mindless bandaid solution, but to really fucking fix it.
In 35 days from today, we will announce to the world what that plan is. And I’m here to tell you, it’s pretty crazy 🤪
We don’t need to change the game… We need to create a way for YOU to win.
We have a plan…
We need an army of people on our side who are ideologically aligned with us in solving this problem.
When we announce our plan, the ‘powers that be’ that maintain the status quo will do their best to crush us, and when they try, we will need your support. Yes. You. Reader.
If what we have built succeeds, it will shake the foundations of how companies treat humans and their personal data forever.
If it fails, we can at least say we tried to fix it with everything we had.
You’re not alone
Change is coming!
If you’re worried for yourself, your friends, your family, your kids, and you don’t want to be a phone zombie anymore, then please let us know.
When the time comes to win the phone zombie war, once and for all, we won’t be able to do it without you — go to simby.com and let us know you’re with us.
Thanks for reading.
♥ Andrew Doherty
www.simby.com
