Technological advancements paved way for an easier way of living. Almost everything has been digitized, and breakthroughs in terms of communications has come a very long way as well.

 

Mobile phones, whether through calls or texts, have made communications a phenomenon, since their development by Motorola (NYSE:MSI) in the early 1970s. While their main clientele originally comprised of metropolitan professionals and business individuals; mobile phones now have gone quite ubiquitous because of their popularity and acceptance. From the executives of big companies to grade-schoolers, they have become everybody’s “need.”

 

Handheld mobile phones were invented, first and foremost, as an easy means of communicating with others. However, further advances in technology led to possibilities for more features, apart from the basics of making calls and sending text messages. Now, you can play games using it, snap and send photos, take videos, play and store music, connect to the Internet for web surfing, download and use third-party applications, etc. The list goes on!

 

Because the device has now evolved into a multi-purpose gadget but mainly for entertainment, it cannot be denied that its usage developed a social pandemic as well: people can no longer seem to be able to spend a minute without touching their phones; being away from one’s phone is not an option. Most importantly, the addiction significantly decreased real human-to-human interactions.

 

While China recently set up a 10 x 164-foot long pavement segment in the Yangrenjie Scenic Spot in Chongqing as a form of toleration of this social disorder, a new Kickstarter project is trying to do the opposite by “curing” it.

 

The start-up NoPhone has already raised $2,500 for their project: just for $12, one can have a plastic wannabe of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone to aid in the withdrawal stage of their mobile phone addiction.

 

NoPhone’s Kickstarter page boasts of honest “features” of the “device” such as battery-free, shatterproof, and waterproof. Testimonials about improvements in eye contact skills and of a girl not drunk-texting her boyfriend for a week are found on their page as well.

 

The team’s goal seems satire, but if one is to think of it, the project probably aims to be the preventive measure of more social issues that can possibly arise due to the lack of normalcy in the way human relationships are being established and fostered in today’s generation and for those to come. While it makes more sense to just either leave your phone on the table or power it off rather than to carry a plastic replica with you, the transition is not going to be easy or smooth.

 

The NoPhone is to act as surrogate to one’s actual phone. The trick is to fulfill the “need” to have a device constantly held but to not forego possible interactions with the people around you. Even if one constantly looks at it, the NoPhone is a mental note that the actual phone has a message tone and ringer, and you will know if you really need to pick it up and check on it, and if the sound does not go off, you don’t need to do so yet.

 

The NoPhone Team aims to raise $30,000 until October 11 to propel the project’s development.

Get Free Updates and Stock Alerts!

*We only send one email per week