Hermits in our digital AgeLecture: Public Spaces – spring 2010

Florian WeilUniversity of Art Linz – Master: Interface Culture

Agenda● Hermits

● History● Nowadays

● Social Splitting● Conscious and unconscious decisions

● Thoughts and ideas

● Related Art Projects and Movements

Hermits in history● Religion based background● Spatial based

● Living in hermitages, caves, desert or forest

● Social based● They have a solitary lifestyle

● Motivation● Sometimes misanthropy, refusing the social rules● Sometimes a life's work (avoid distraction)

Hermits nowadays● Spatial based (not obligatory)

● Living in hermitages, caves, desert or forest● They can still live in our society

● Social based● They refuse the virtual (social) media● They have a complicated solitary lifestyle (not obligatory)

● Motivation● Avoiding to be a part of the acceleration of the society● Sometimes a life's work (avoid distraction) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9G2vX4CTsc

Interview

● Überleben offline - 3sat neues April, 18th

● http://wstreaming.zdf.de/3sat/veryhigh/100418_sendung_neues.asx● http://www.3sat.de/page/?source=/neues/sendungen/magazin/143390/index.html&cx=25

● Interview: 6:20

● Results: distraction, acceleration, focus, concentration, seperation, organization

Social splitting

Impacts of splitting

● Conscious decision to be an hermit● Impacts: no problems

● Unconscious decision to be an hermit● Social splitting under constraint● Impacts: conflicts will appear

Characteristics of social splitting● Age-based (temporary)

● Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants

● Knowledge-based● Digital Divide situation● Unfair access infrastructure of communication technology● Smart people learn much faster than less smart people,

because they are able to use the advantages of the internet.

● Problem: Big knowledge and communication gap between different societies

THOUGHTS

Thoughts #1● No real free choice of media, if you still want to be

a part of the society● Reminds me on „Zwang des Mediums“ from

Gerhard Maletzke: Feldmodell der Massenmedien

● New media services (like facebook, twitter, youTube, blogs etc.)● Disadvantage:delivers us too much information● Advantage: Best access and infrastructure for

liberalise the human knowledge and communication

Thoughts #2

● Acceleration of the society will increase rapidly● More and more and faster information perception● Faster transport infrastructure (trains, air planes...)

● Acceleration causes stress → stress kills creativity and health of humans● This progresss is a desaster for a creative and knowledge

based society (our society)

A try to solve Problems● Two main approaches for the future

● Reduction (via Filtering) of perception● Create deceleration infrastructure

Book resource: (Springer Verlag)Conceptions of the Desirable: What Cities Ought to Know about the Future

● Be inspired from hermits!

IDEA - Cocoon

Also Turmeremit Project in Linzhttp://www.linz09.at/de/pressefotos/download/1924857.html

Concept of the Cocoon● Strong separation of an environment● Avoiding any kind of distraction● Timeless space (deceleration space) for relaxing and

thinking/concentration

● Hermits and the nature create these kinds of seperate environments

● Possible project for public spaces. ● Cocoons everywhere (in parks, forests, public

transport, etc.)

Examples – Artworks & ...

Urban Camouflage Movement

Urban Camouflage Movement● http://www.youtube.com/iNspIreNewMedia#p/a/u/0/Pfiywvh_Rls● http://urbancamouflage.de

● Context: Hiding in an normal environment

● Can give an impression of deceleration in an accelerate environment

Social Media Suicide Machine

● http://suicidemachine.org/

● Context: Finding the exit – Deleting your profiles

● The first step to become a digital hermit

Social Bits Newsleak

Social Bits Newsleak● http://socialbits.org/

● Content: Twitter Messages● General News● Location based news

● Context: Location based Filtering

● Getting news from the internet society without being a part of it

The End

● Thank you for your attention!

● Any questions?

Sources of the pictures● http://www.flickr.com/photos/floridamemory/3295450246/sizes/o/ → hermit

● http://www.flickr.com/photos/bones_nl/4639651564/sizes/l/ → house

● http://www.flickr.com/photos/tattoodevil/1403449454/sizes/o/ → Generation Conflict

● http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulfloyd/3559266527/sizes/o/ → thoughts

● http://www.flickr.com/photos/15693951@N00/1545029206/sizes/l/ → nature cocoon

● http://www.flickr.com/photos/oliviamiao/142940840/sizes/o/ → cocoon chair