In October 2015 an open online community was formed to gather opinion from 125+ members of the public. Discussion topics included social media, email and messaging, the “always on” lifestyle, notification overload, data deluge and device addiction.
From these attitudes and insights emerged three core themes:
Empowered But Dependent
Digitisation empowers us, saves us time and delivers tangible daily benefits. Because of this, we’ve grown ever more reliant on our devices; but any dependency has a downside. How can we avoid becoming restricted by the technologies we love?
The Curated Self
Social networks have allowed us to craft entirely new personas. These personas shine a light on how we feel about ourselves and how we wish to be perceived by others. This theme is about the upkeep of our new realities, and the demands this places on us.
Compulsive Behaviours
The idea of being always-connected is often too much to resist. Behaviours prompted by digital communication are beginning to interfere with—even shape—our daily activity. Are we controlling our impulses or are they controlling us?