While on Vacation Last Summer I had a Revelation.
It was a glorious day of impeccable weather – the kind of day that makes you want to swim, hike, bike or just be alive, free on the earth. Dramatic? Perhaps. But in contrast to what I started to see all around me, the description is apt.
It seemed every kid I saw was suctioned to their phones, staring down at luminous screens, playing a particularly popular shoot-em-up game for hours (and I mean HOURS on end). While endless adventure awaited all around them, all they saw were their devices.
This is not a new epidemic. We all know the advent of smartphones has literally transformed the fabric of our culture. I don’t even know how to read a map anymore (and don’t even try to tell me how to get anywhere….just give me the address and I’ll put it in my phone so Siri can utter her sweet, sweet guidance.) But to say it’s not disturbing to see how much of our lives have shrunk into addictive technology is naive at best. Our brains seem to get smaller with every savvy advance.
While part of me wants to turn Amish, grow a beard, don suspenders and churn butter for a living, I know such cultural retreat is not the answer. Technology is here to stay whether we like it or dislike it.
So I’ve decided to turn the Tables.
A team of ninja creative and I have channelled our collective skills in storytelling, illustrations, music composition, and computer wizardry and created a brand new app for tablets and phones called StoryDoor. It offers a deeply immersive story experience that will transport users into infinite realms of adventure and possibility. One of the main ways we’ve done it is by putting the power into YOUR hands. That’s right, YOU get to pick what happens in many of our stories, to your success or peril.
Stories have the power to change us. Let’s use technology to channel this power and fight the endless influx of mindless games.
But…
We need your help to make it happen.
We’ve built the train, but we need the track to get us moving. That means funding for a library full of interactive stories. Over the next six weeks, we’re launching a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo. With your contributions, we can see this thing become a reality.
Let’s make technology work for us. For our brains. And avert the apocalypse as computers try to take over the world. I don’t want to live in a mindless wasteland. Do you?
So let’s open up the door!
It was a glorious day of impeccable weather – the kind of day that makes you want to swim, hike, bike or just be alive, free on the earth. Dramatic? Perhaps. But in contrast to what I started to see all around me, the description is apt. It seemed every kid I saw was suctioned…
