Birds and Boxes
Anti App App
Description
The Skinner box is an experimental cage from behavioural psychology used to study how animals can be conditioned to certain behaviours by pressing a button and receiving a food reward. The mechanisms of the Skinner box are reflected in smartphones, where we are conditioned to scroll and use the device. Instead of food, users are rewarded with connection. Likes, comments, news or new posts address a deeply rooted need for community, interaction and recognition.
The app Birds and Boxes encourages users to take the radical step of turning off their smartphones and freeing themselves from the smartphone’s Skinner box. The app tracks the time the smartphone remains switched off. By switching off the device more often and increasing the total tracked time, metaphorical birds are freed from the Skinner box.