Hi Gunhild! You write on news Ytring that you are worried. Thank you for your concern on behalf of our respective better halves. You are not the first to express sympathy because they were left to fend for themselves, while we guys were supposed to live the good, unlogged lives. In fact, this is the feedback we get from pretty much everyone when they hear about “Avlogga”: “Poor wife.” And that is completely understandable. The project “Avlogga” came about precisely because so many, including us, feel exactly what you are aiming for: “It is not possible to live without the smartphone. Everyday life doesn’t go up”. This is said at the same time that many, as many as two out of three Norwegians, dislike all the time they spend on screens. You write about your girlfriends who complain about men who choose scrolling over conversations and closeness and sex. But surely it’s not just everyday logistics at Spond, Vipps and Vigilo that they are absorbed in in the evening? If that is the case, then we can recommend this: Reading the weekly schedule aloud on Sunday evening. Not the sexiest evening activity, of course, but even though this required the wife to read aloud from the weekly schedule, it wasn’t primarily an experience of extra work that presented itself. Rather a stronger sense of “teamwork”, just ask them. This instead of pulling the phone out of our pocket every morning and each of us frantically checking what is on the schedule for today. Yes, because we actually have children too, as you are wondering. And we logged off mostly because we are worried about the digital life they are about to enter. The issue of “family and technology” is very much part of the TV series, so you are welcome to take a look. Is it even possible to be a family man or mother without apps? Our experience in “Avlogga” is by no means conclusive, but the experience we have gained is that it is possible, even without the partner being burnt out. Our partners actually conclude that this year has been better. Here it is important for us to make a big reservation that each family’s logistics are different. We clearly had to find alternative solutions. Have our partners had to take a greater part of the burden when it comes to information exchange and communication on smartphones? Yes. Of course they have. You are absolutely right there. But the extra 47 seconds in daily Spond activity have not broken them. And do we really mean that you cannot take responsibility as a family man without Spond and Vipps? In our families, we distribute responsibilities, and it actually works fine for dad to pack a bag, pack a lunch, cook dinner, accompany him to the nursery, without apps. Is it neglect not to press “participate” in Spond, when you spend afternoons and weekends training a bunch of soccer girls? After the TV series was released, the feedback from people who have actually seen all the episodes has been overwhelming: Many are inspired, and at the same time even more frustrated that the apps have taken over their lives. For the vast majority of people we speak to, it is not Spond and other necessities that are the biggest problem. Sure, all the notifications are bothersome, but the total screen time on these apps is minimal. A far bigger problem for many is that all the follow-up of logistics on screen lures them into everything else that consumes our time, and takes our eyes off the people around us. The question we ask is: Why have so many of us been caught up in the “digital glue”, as you call it? Why have we created a society where being logged off for a year is compared to polar expeditions? Those were your words, not ours. And we couldn’t agree more with you that it is completely absurd. We therefore need to look at what digital life is doing to us as parents, children, families and society, and why it has become so unthinkable to live without a screen in your pocket. Isn’t it then a way to explore this by challenging established truths by doing what you no longer think is possible? This summer you wrote a statement about the new loneliness, holding the screens accountable. After a year without the smartphone, our presence with the people around us, family and strangers, has increased tremendously. But not just for us. It has also led to those around us logging off more, and becoming more aware of how their own screen use affects the environment. Therefore, we should certainly talk more about this, Gunhild. So you are welcome to become our new logout companion. It’s actually quite cozy. And it will probably go well with your Kristian, you’ll see. Before logging off, Sven and Mike have to go through a series of demanding tests. The worst, living for two weeks as 17-year-olds, brings them to breaking point. Published 10.11.2024, at 11.30 am
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We are all in the digital glue – Expression
