For my thesis I dealt with the topic of trying to answer whether it is possible to restore engagement when we are constantly being distracted by the technology that we have at our fingertips.
Using design fiction i chose to make a comment on our relationship with our phones and how we use it. I created a fictitious app called Present.
Present is a fictional app that charges your phone through your presence or when you engage with the world around you. When your battery is fully charged you are a 100% present, when your battery is about to die, you are in “low attention mode.” Your phone charges when you are being present, or rather when you’re engaging with the world around you. It starts to die when you engage with your phone regularly. Another way to get your presence up is to earn goals that relate to human interaction or engagement like eye contact or an appreciation goal when you take in your surroundings rather than taking a photo of it.
Other features of this app include collecting your screen time, which provides insight into how much time you spend on your phone and coach, which gives you goals to set like observe something or go without an app for the day.
To show how this app works, here are two short videos: