Like Paper

What screens do and how we relate to them is changing and when I think of an ideal that might provide a bit of guidance I keep landing on paper.

A blank sheet of paper can be almost anything. It is so easy to pick up and do something with it. At the same time it’s an incredibly versatile canvas, a tool for communication, expression and even a medium for preserving thought over time. Paper combines accessibility and versatility effortlessly. And it’s cheap enough to crumple up and forget when you are done with it.

Screen-based devices have approached this ideal in theory, but the cost of creating software was so high that it kept the club of creators rather exclusive. Now, an idea and the will to manifest is enough. Walls teared down. Minds blown.

The Truly Personal Computer

This new idea of a personal computer isn’t just about everyone being able to use one. It’s that everyone can shape the entire experience around their own needs. The software user relationship becomes one to one.

And in a surprising twist it turns out the distance between that potential and reality was mostly cost. Now no creation needs justification. The only measure that counts is whether it matters to you. You build a tool for one task, use it for a minute or a lifetime. You let it go when it stops being useful. The crumple up and forget era of Software. Wasteful but also liberating.

Overcoming Digital Dopamine

It could feel counter intuitive but my hope is that same abundance might also help us to resolve our crisis of digital over stimulation. When screens become everything all at once, we might just grow tired of it after a while. Then the desire for a rush of flashing pixels would fade slowly. Opening up the space to becoming more aware of ourselves, the world and people around us.

In that world screens turn into nearly invisible enablers for doing things when we actually need them, rather than toys we endlessly fidget with and just can’t seem to let go of. Just like paper.