Smartphones / mobile devices and social media – boon or bane? On the one hand there can be no doubt the ‘phone we carry in purse, pocket or holstered to hip or dangling from wrist strap can be a really positive thing to have. It allows us to stay connected – be it with each other or the world at large and the “news”; we can use it to capture precious (or embarrassing!) moment as a picture or video; it can be a life-saver and / or health aide in multiple ways, and so on.
On the other there are the ways it keeps us “connected”. All too often this means “convenient” texts rather than actual conversations, or seeking exchanges with people across town – or in a completely different town (and / or country) rather than those sitting in the same room as us; they set us on ultimately pointless hunts of “followers”, “likes”, “emojis” – even the temporary “thrill” of diving into this or that app for the rush of a vapourware “reward”, and more.
Whether we like it or not, for all the “freedom” mobile devices and social media have given us – so too have they, in so many way, enslaved us; it’s no accident the terms doomscrolling and doomsurfing have entered many a lexicon: the increasingly reality is that, whether we’re aware of it or not, the little screens in our hands are a form of addiction; and like all addictions, can be harmful more than helpful. Worse, they have within them the power to alter our reality, large and small.
It is these points that are explored in the February 2025 exhibition at Nitroglobus Roof Gallery, operated and curated by Dido Haas. Presented as a visual essay, The Digital Maze by Christian Carter (XJustFriendX), encourages us to look anew at how we interact with our smartphones and the apps they put in front of us.
Some of the risks inherent in our digital dependence are obvious – far from opening broadening our horizons of thought, social media is increasingly a tool for limiting perspectives; we seek “like minds”, we slavish adhere to (aka “follow”) those who only express the same outlook, entrenching, rather than expanding views. Others are more subtle; just how much freedom do we have when we constantly feel the need to scroll, to tweet, to see how many “likes” our last comment generated – as if this is some kind of grand validation?
What does it say of intimacy – on all levels, from shared love through companionship to simple conversation – when rather than using the the full richness of expression found in voice, tone, expression and pause, we hide behind flat words thumb-tapped on a screen “because it’s more convenient”? What is happening to our social skills when it is considered acceptable to ignore those we are with – family at home, people at a party, friends at the restaurant dining table – in favour of those to whom we can type or because it simple allows us to escape the reality of personal engagement?
Through this series of quite magnificent pictures, each one balancing message with considered use of colour, image, framing and focus, Christian provides food for thought on all of the above – and far more. So much more, in fact, that I’ve honestly struggled with this article, because Christian’s images resonate so deeply with me (we appear to have similar thoughts and outlooks in this matter) that it has been hard for me to keep my own subjectivity in place, and instead allow The Digital Maze the freedom to talk in its own voice.
Which is why I’ve said enough here; go and see – and listen – for yourself.
SLurl Details
- Nitroglobus Roof Gallery (Sunshine Homestead, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 