To show how disconnect we are from our social lives, photographer Eric Pickersgill has released a series of photographs from everyday life with an adjustment: Removing all electronic devices!
According to the Pew Research Center, 65% of American adults use social networking websites. A number that has risen steadily from 7% in 2005 when their research began. The digital pandemic has become so severe that it is almost more common to see a person looking at their phone as you pass them by on the street than it is to actually make eye contact with them or share a smile.
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To further portray how significant this physical disconnect has become, photographer Eric Pickersgill has released a series of photos from everyday life with one minor adjustment: All electronic devices have been removed.
The project, which he has titled “Removed,” was inspired by an observation he made one morning while sitting in a local café:
“Family sitting next to me at Illium café in Troy, NY is so disconnected from one another. Not much talking. Father and two daughters have their own phones out. Mom doesn’t have one or chooses to leave it put away. She stares out the window, sad and alone in the company of her closest family. Dad looks up every so often to announce some obscure piece of info he found online. Twice he goes on about a large fish that was caught. No one replies. I am saddened by the use of technology for interaction in exchange for not interacting. This has never happened before and I doubt we have scratched the surface of the social impact of this new experience. Mom has her phone out now.”
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Below are some of the photos that Eric has posted on his website:
For all of those who are part of the problem, this project is a reminder so that we can be conscious of our electronic dependence and usage. We all should make an effort to slowly replace our digitally connected life with a physical presence.
Sources: https://www.peacequarters.com/photographer-removed-phones-images-show-addicted-weve-become/
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-2005-2015/
http://notable.ca/a-photographer-is-removing-phones-from-his-images-to-show-how-addicted-we-are/
http://www.ericpickersgill.com/Removed
