10 cautiously optimistic technologies
The last thing we need is yet another blog post about ‘digital detox’. No one really wants to hear that you deleted your Facebook account or that you don’t let your kids touch your phone. If you’ve ever brought it up, you know exactly what I mean: your friends and family probably just rolled their eyes. More likely, they didn’t even hear you because they were too busy scrolling through their feed. But take it from someone who’s been rambling about this stuff for half a decade: there’s a better way to talk about it.
Even if the media narrative about data privacy and the attention economy isn’t always productive or accurate, it is changing the conversation. More and more of us are waking up to a new perspective of all these screens and sensors. Gone is the tech utopianism of the 90s and 00s; it’s been replaced with a healthy skepticism. We lament our phone addictions and joke about Alexa eavesdropping on our private conversations, but it doesn’t stop us from using these products. All the suspicion is warranted, but it’s also starting to feel a bit exhausting.
We don’t need to hear about more doomsday AI scenarios, widespread data breaches or dopamine addictions. We need an inspiring North Star to guide us in the right direction in our personal and professional lives. Where’s the hope? Optimistic technologies need to go mainstream, motivating us all to change our habits, vote with our attention, and transform the internet. If you’re wondering what I mean by ‘optimistic technology’, then boy, is this article for you! There actually is a lot of hopeful tech out there.
Here’s a list of 10 present-day innovations that explore an alternative future for our digital selves. These are inspiring and meaningful examples that remind us that technology itself isn’t the problem; it’s how we use it. Some of these examples are apps you can download and try right away, while others are deeper experiences that you’ll only be able to learn about online. But they each illustrate the power of design to enact change. Let’s dive in:
1. ReadUp
ReadUp is a socially-powered content network that promotes deep reading. The app only lets you comment on an article once you’ve fully read it. Trolls need not apply. Plus, the content served up by the community is excellent, and the app uses gamification metrics to motivate you into long reads. It’s an antidote for our headline-skimming superficial view of the world. I’ll admit, the first time I saw a ReadUp post described as a “29 min read”, I was totally scared off. But after I came back and actually read it, it dawned on me: this app solves a real problem.
2. Planetary
Planetary is a new social network that runs entirely on a decentralized platform. No one owns or tracks your social graph, it all belongs to you. The UI is humane and conversations are organized into threads by interest. It’s still in beta mode, but I got access and there’s a lot of potential here. And if it blows up, the fact that it runs on an open protocol means you remain in control of your data and relationships. You could leave and take your friends with you at any point, so the founders have a lot more obligation to do what’s in your best interests. As your annoying crypto-invested blockchain bros have already told you a million times, this model could destroy the toxic business models plaguing today’s web.
3. TalkLife
TalkLife and TalkCampus are social media apps which focus on mental health. They give you instant access to peer support communities that offer a safe and engaging place to get support. They’re anonymous, they promote no stigma, and the UI emphasizes non-judgment. Moderation includes clinical governance and real-time safeguards. I find it especially cute the way they remix common social media tropes for the mental health context. Instead of ‘likes’, you can offer ‘hugs’. And if you sign up and browse the extremely vulnerable and intimate posts on the feed, you’re going to be smashing that ‘hug’ button. Love this example of positive emotions shared on social media, along with Daily Haloha - which I covered in a previous post.
4. TRIPP
TRIPP is an immersive mindfulness VR experience. I was a bit skeptical about experiencing any sort of mindfulness with a screen strapped to my face, but the experience was pleasantly surprising. It’s tough to describe in writing, as it’s largely an aesthetic thing. It’s a bit more art than science, though they do make some claims about mood tracking. I don’t know how useful the tracking element is, but I got to try one of the experiences and it was beautiful. It was certainly an inspiring glimpse of what’s possible when VR is applied to creating a calm, spa-like experience.
5. Clouds over Sidra
Clouds over Sidra is the most powerful VR experience I’ve ever had. It’s a 10 minute immersive movie where a little girl named Sidra takes you on a tour of her life in a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. The interactive movie - along with another called Waves of Grace - was produced in collaboration with the United Nations. My VR headset was full of tears when I tried it at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens; it really speaks to the power of VR to cultivate empathy. Even though I have read a bit about what’s going on in Syria, I didn’t truly feel it until I had this VR experience. I’m not the only one: installations at UN charity events led to millions more being donated.
6. Liberate
Liberate is a meditation app specifically designed for the black, indigenous, and people of colour communities. Guided meditations and lessons come from a wide range of teachers from every walk of life, and many sessions even cover topics specific to people of colour and other marginalized groups. As I listen to Liberate’s teachers bringing diverse perspectives and cultural contexts to their guided meditations, it becomes clearer and clearer that many of the other meditation apps on my phone are designed by and for a very small subset of people.
7. Social Media Demetricators
Ben Grosser’s Facebook Demetricator, Instagram Demetricator and Twitter Demetricator are hacktivism at its best. These browser extensions play at the interface level, changing your experience of the big three social media platforms. As the name suggests, they completely subtract all numbers and metrics from the interface. No more likes, comments, follower counts, etc. To put it simply, they subtract the popularity contest completely while allowing you to continue to use social media. Try them if you want to directly experience just how much influence social quantification has on your mind. If it wasn’t for Ben, I probably would have left Twitter a long time ago.
8. Kialo
Some platforms are trying to address the siloing effect of internet dialogue. As opposed to echo chambers and filter bubbles, Kialo presents a balanced picture of news, politics and current events by facilitating crowdsourced debates. Browse the homepage for an issue you’re interested in and you’ll see what I mean. You get a detailed depiction of both sides of the issue which can be very eye opening in a world where most media portray one side as the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Who would have thought a social platform for rational debate could be so fun? Change A View is a different take on a similar vein. The world needs a lot more appetite for this kind of constructive dialogue.
9. Self-Monitoring Tools
I’d be remiss if I didn’t include self-monitoring and focus tools. There’s a lot, so I’ll group them together. I’m talking about apps like Inbox when Ready and StayFocusd which help you monitor and limit your own compulsive browsing behaviour. You may also know about Apple’s Screen Time and Google’s Digital Wellbeing tools which do the same thing for smartphone use (fyi: these tech giants shamelessly appropriated indie tech like Checky, Moment, Siempo, and others). These are all basically parental controls for your inner child. Self-tracking is a powerful habit changer. Objectively knowing your own usage patterns naturally leads to more intention. Awareness is powerful.
10. Optimistic Video Games
Last but not least, I had to mention powerful video games like Journey - which I discussed in detail in a previous article - along with Celeste, Senua’s Sacrifice, Night in the Woods, and many more. These titles question the assumptions embedded in mainstream gaming. If you’re not a gamer and you don’t see games as an art form, these titles might change your mind. Some exude an implicit sense of mindful intention, while others explicitly address mental health issues like loneliness, depression and psychosis. But any of them will demonstrate how interactive narrative and inventive gameplay can speak to much broader values than the usual combination of puzzles, violence and adventure.
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If you were reading this list, waiting for me to mention some specific hopeful technology that inspires you, and I never quite got there… let me know! Would love to hear about the technology that has you feeling optimistic.
Jay Vidyarthi