Digital wellbeing and deglamourising choice [WorldChanging]
“In our consumer experience, there are three things we value tremendously: choice, results and access,” writes Sarah Rich on worldchanging.com. “Each of these aspects feeds a cycle of spending, unpredictable satisfaction, and eventual disuse. Reducing overconsumption has to go beyond trying to make consumers want less, to giving their desire a new and more appealing target.”
“A number of innovative teams (concentrated particularly in London) have been developing systems and infrastructure that can unsnarl the consumer paradox and take simplicity and sharing into trendsetting domain. At London Design Week, a company called Digital Wellbeing (blog) debuted with a “digital lifestyle” retail concept that puts heavy emphasis on the relationship between user and object, and the streamlining of options to facilitate more authentic customer satisfaction while marketing less stuff.”
“Digital Wellbeing Labs doesn’t directly address sustainability, but they do address a number of market issues whose transformation would shift consumer experience from the root, changing the way we form and pursue our desire to own things. “
“All in all, the concept is a smart formula for a new consumer future, in which ubiquitous digital commodities don’t come with a clutter of useless features and marketing hype. Because electronics manufacturers target early adopters, say the DWB curators, product competitiveness currently boils down to how many fancy functions a new product can be packed with. The Digital Wellbeing rebellion, then, preceeds early adoption, hitting the consumer who hasn’t yet been told what to want.”
“For an individual, this model has fairly clear appeal: it’s more customised and personally-relevant. But higher up the production chain, this argument isn’t currently an easy one to win. Nevertheless, Digital Wellbeing seems to be forging ahead without a doubt that it’s possible to transform patterns all the way from concept through production, to sale and use; it’s only a matter of proving — as with nearly everything in a sustainable future — that the end result of changing old habits is an increased quality of life.”
