<nettime> Swipe, a Smart Phone Movie by Mieke Gerritzen/Next Nature

[Geert Lovink via nettime-l <nettime-l@lists.nettime.org>]

Swipe, a Smart Phone Movie by Mieke Gerritzen/Next Nature
Download the app on your phone: https://nextnature.net/projects/swipe

Ever left your phone at home by mistake and felt like you are missing a limb? Turns out, a lot of us feel that way. We need to talk about smartphones. SWIPE is a movie about your phone, on your phone.

Research shows that people who are separated from their smartphones can suffer from strong mental effects, and this all happened in less than twenty years. We need to talk about smartphones.

The average person unlocks their phones 150 times a day, how natural is that? On a global scale, more than 5 bilion people have access to a mobile phone connection, and over half of these are smartphones. And let’s face it: these numbers continue to grow. We are now living in a world where more people have access to mobile phones than clean toilets. This fact is equally alarming as significant. It’s a sign of our times. We are living in the Phone Age.

SWIPE is a typographic movie about you and your smartphone. It celebrates its impact in a playfull manner. Give yourself a break and reflect with us on the increasingly fast-paced developments in (communication) technology.
SWIPE: THE GAME

From 1 January 2024, the Dutch government has banned all smartphones from classrooms in the Netherlands, in an attempt to limit distractions during classes. This asks for a training program to guide these kids to critically examine their own smartphone use. That's why we designed an analog rehab game for students (12+ years) that looks like a phone, but is actually a deck of cards.

This analog rehab game, developed by Next Nature, challenges young students to think in groups about the impact of the smartphone on their lives, today and in the future. Through playful discussion and interactions, they will develop a critical view on the smartphone and perhaps even imagine life after the smartphone.

BEING ONLINE 24/7

A user manual experience for smartphone users, inspired by the "frequently asked questions", this book presents questions about the smartphone that users might (not) have frequently asked themselves. These questions are not followed by single sentences, but by image collections consisting of internet-found visuals, so that you can keep enjoying being online 24/7, even when there's no wifi. Order the book here: https://nextnature.net/shop/products/swipe.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: THE PHONE AGE

A graphic novel to reflect on what it means to co-evolve with smartphones. After all, using our hands as a tools to swipe does something to our body, having access to millions of sources of knowledge does something to our thinking, and being able to continuously interact with your network does something to our identity and autonomy.

More information here: https://nextnature.net/projects/swipe. 
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