Digital Addition & Digital Detox
A Multimedia Project
Use art & design to awaken awareness, bring attention to digital addiction, and advocate for digital detox.
In 2020, the whole world experienced the covid pandemic, the shadow of which still lingers in many people's minds. Today I want to tell you about a different kind of pandemic, and it has been spreading since 2007 - it is the Pandemic of Addiction, the most widespread pandemic in human history, which swept across the globe in a few years and continues to this day, what do you think that is? People across all ages can become anxious or depressed because of this pandamic, and the most strange thing is people do not seem to be complaining about it. What would you think if I told you that every year, many people commit suicide or die of accidents because of this addition? Wouldn't that cause public outrage? Would you join a protest against it? The answer to what this pandemic is might be just right in your pocket—it's the smartphone. When we think of addiction, we think of drugs, alcohol, sex, or gambling. Now, it could also be computer code, algorithms and apps.
As a designer, while I cannot directly influence the government to write relevant policies or change the profit-driven nature of large software companies, I hope to raise collective awareness through this project. Collective awareness has often led to positive developments, such as vegetarianism, recycling, and women's rights.
This Project includes 3 Parts
The first part is the publication called “UNPLUGGED”
The second project is the Video "US IN THE DIGITAL AGE,"
The final installation art is called "WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE”
Publication Part: UNPLUGGED
I want to share my personal reason for choosing this topic. One reason is that I used to suffer from insomnia and really struggled to sleep in the night, and I later discovered it was because I was always using my phone for a long time before sleep.
Adam Alter, written in his book “Irresistible”: Historically, blue light exposure was limited to daytime. Candlelight and wood fires, emitting red and yellow hues, did not interfere with nighttime rest. However, blue light, indicative of morning, has a different effect. When 95% of people use their phones before bed, it signals the body that a new day is starting, inducing a sense of jet lag.
Book Size：The folded size of a newspaper
Quantitative and qualitative surveys
Dr.Tim Huang
Licensed Clinical Social Worker & Council-Approved Supervisor in the USA, Founder of Mind X
Professor WangJian
PhD Supervisor in AI ethics, Northeastern University
Anita Luo
Product Lead at Samsung Mobile Gaming Center (Europe)
Maximilian Kiefer
Digital Addiction Counselor at Release U21
Interactive Installation: Electric shock device
Video Part: US IN THE DIGITAL AGE
The second part is titled “Us in the Digital Age.”
It serves as a supplement to the book design introduced earlier. While working on this project, I received tremendous support from many friends, and they also raised some curious questions on this topic. I’ve collected a few of them: The first question: “What does a university professor’s digital footprint look like?” The second question: “For professionals who work full-time, it seems they should reduce their phone usage—so what does their digital footprint look like?” In response to these questions, I provided a brief introduction for each interviewee. The third question: “Why do you pick up your phone even though you know it will distract you?”
The remaining questions are ones I find personally interesting.
Installation Art: WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE
