The Haptic Instance - Where Technology and Feelings Intersect

It’s hard to imagine that people can get anymore integrated with technology than they are today without becoming part of a sci-fi movie, complete with implanted chips in our brains. Smartphones, Bluetooth, smartwatches are all examples of how technology continues to shrink in size but expand exponentially in influence and integration.  Today an average Smartphone controls nearly every aspect of a person’s life, going well beyond basic communication to include shopping, banking, and job searching.  Smartphones can now even control the home’s environment from someplace else, allowing homeowners to turn off the lights remotely or checking security cameras while on vacation. The rapid shrinking and evolution of technology offers many possibilities for nonprofit organizations, along with a host of challenges.

According to the article From Ticks and Tocks to Budgets and Nudges: The Smartwatch and the Haptics of Information Culture by James N. Gilmore, computer systems are information mediators – they provide information for a person to interpret at will. But as technology continues to evolve, computer systems are poised to become a much more personal (2017).  Most people have heard of smartwatches, but since they are still relatively new, few nonprofits have thought of ways to leverage the power of wearable technology. Although like a Smart Phone or iPhone, Apple Smartwatches are notably different in that they create what is known as a ‘haptic instant’ – a physical reaction to information (Gilmore, 2017). For example, a smartwatch wearer gets a gentle buzz or vibration when he or she has a new email or a new social media notification.

Image Source: Christopher Neto CTS Twitter https://twitter.com/chris_neto/status/536504563466244098

This haptic sensation has many possibilities for healthcare and public health. Imagine a diabetes patient getting a gently nudge from their smart watch to check their insulin levels or a heart patient to take their morning medication.  Unlike a timer, which can be ignored or forgotten, the sensation of the smartwatch has the potential to rewire the way we think and respond to environmental cues.  According to Gilmore, Haptic Instant also has the potential to reduce information overload and eliminate the second screen multitasking that is common place, but not necessarily healthy (2017). 

So what does this mean for nonprofits? It means challenges of course. Many smaller nonprofits have a hard enough time keeping up with just social media, let alone creating apps for smart watches. The key is to think in terms of technology being flexible and fluid; like the ocean it is always moving, always changing the shoreline – taking things away and bringing in different things. Nonprofits who can stay abreast of trends and be forward thinking will have an easier time to embrace technology as it comes. The haptic instant is just one way that technology will change how audiences respond to technology. While not adopted widely, as seen in previous technology trends – when it does it will be fast furious and people will have forgotten life without their smartwatches and other wearable technologies. 

Reference

Gilmore, J. N. (2017). From ticks and tocks to budges and nudges: the smartwatch and the haptics of informatic culture. Television & News Media , 189-202.