Hours of screen time and endless alerts? Here's how to cultivate a healthier relationship with tech
"Calm technology is about thinking differently about how technology should be used and what technology can do without all the attention-grabbing alerts. For technology to be “calm” it needs to stay at the periphery of our attention and just come into focus when we need it.
Amber Case, author of Calm Technology: Principles and Patterns for Non-Intrusive Design, studies the symbiotic interactions between humans and machines and is a high-profile voice on the issue. She explains that, while technology itself is essential, we need to find a balance in how we use it and ensure that we don’t allow it to take over our lives.
She is keen to emphasise that we should appreciate the value and quality of our time and that technology should generally calmly remain in the background rather than scream for our attention.
According to Amber, the right amount of technology is that which is the minimum needed to solve the problem. A good example is the electric kettle. It sits quietly in a corner of our kitchen and when we need it, we turn it on and it does its job. It alerts us when it’s boiled and then goes back to sitting quietly in the corner. We don’t sit looking at it all day long."
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