alien•nation documentation

WE ARE ALL ALIENS #aliennation

what is alien•nation?

Alienation is defined as an inability to establish meaningful connections with people, aggravated by societal conditions. It has been a problem for centuries, but there has been a sharp decline in social connectedness in the last 20 years even with the rise of social media. Though we cannot “fix” this problem, we can work on strengthening the community and the individual to reduce its effects.

alien•nation is a series of interactive installations that promote the formation of meaningful social connections and being alone in a positive way. Through these installations and additional materials, alien•nation strives to bring together the community and inspire creativity and interconnectivity among people through fun imagery, activities, and information. In a way, we are all aliens in our society and we should all embrace it!

identity

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features

interactive Installations buttons individual or group experience helps build community multiple contexts

express simple concepts fun takeaway

activity book

social media feed

more personal experience longer lasting impression can take it with you

connects separate parts to create a whole provides connection to community

goals

connect with others

inspire creativity

be happy with yourself

gallery installation The gallery installation piece is the primary focus of alien•nation. With the most flexibility in materials and the controlled atmosphere it creates an environment that is public enough to get the attention it needs to be successful, but does not fall victim to challenges faced by more public, less supervised installations.

It is important with each installation that the branding for alien•nation is present but does not take over the installation so as to avoid coming off as an advertisement. features

mixed media applications more interactive activities takeaways for lasting impressions

other applications bus stop installation

The bust stop proivdes a great place for more conceptual approaches to building connections. Here it is less about direct interaction and more about indirect interaction with others. Activities must be able to be completed quickly and easily so that they are more tempting for people waiting on the bus to complete. features

does not require as much interaction chalkboard wall to inspire creativity multimedia displays more conceptual

other applications Hayes Hall lobby

In smaller, less public spaces, there is more opportunity for activities that participants will interact with multiple times and who can spend more time with overall. Here there is more of a focus on building the community through these activities. features

entire display acts as whiteboard activites to do in passing community focus

other applications activity book

The activity book provides a more personal approach to the subject with activities you can do at home either alone or with others. It is meant to be an extension of the installation pieces and to provide further inspiration for people interested in learning more. features

can be completed alone or with others take home version of installations more personal approach

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“ I realized that being lonely partially is [affected] by external environments but also if you fill yourself up yourself, you don’t need others as much and would be more content [with] being alone” — Anonymous

research Alienation is not a new thing, it has been around for centuries and has been called by many names, but it has not been a major topic of discussion. This is partially due to the fact that it is an abstract concept that has been dealt with by philosophers and artists in the past. Though there have been studies on the effects of isolation on people and other similar psychological issues, there is little scientific information on alienation and what it really is or its place in our society. I found that alienation was a complex, multifaceted problem with varying causes. It centers around a lack of meaningful social connections in one’s life whether by internal or external factors and there is no real solution for it. The best way to fix this problem is to learn to create more meaningful social connections and also learn to become more comfortable with being alone.

Through surveys and participant journals I further explored what alienation meant to people. I found that 65.2% of survey participants said that they do not speak to their close friends every day and 43.5% felt that they are unable to make meaningful connections with people in their lives.

One participant wrote in their journal about how it was difficult for them to connect with other people and that they used to have a friend to talk to about it but that person now had someone else. They wrote “I don’t want to be the last one stuck in here.” These human elements helped me to better understand the problem and made the project feel more personal.

I used these stories moving forward to create my persona and find my direction.

UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS GETTING AWAY

GARDENING

WALKING /HIKING

FAMILIES EATING ALONE

COOKING

MUSEUMS ART

CON TO

READING TV

PETS

CONNECTION TO NATURE

FOSTERING CREATIVITY

MUSIC

RED SOC

TECHNOLO

MEDITATION ISOLATION TANKS

BEING ALONE POSITIVELY

POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH EFFECTS

RELAXATION “ME TIME”

SHARING

TRADITIONS

ALIENATIO

CONCENTRATION

NATURE VS. NUR COLLECT THOUGHTS

DE-STRESS

HUMANS AS PACK ANIMALS

TEMPORARY

CULTURE

FAMILY STRUCTURES

HUNTER-GATHERE SOCIETIES

SUPPORT SYSTEMS

FEELING MORE ISOLATED

POSITIVE CONNECTIONS

NNECTION WORLD

DUCED CIALIZATION

SHORTER INTERACTIONS

SOCIAL MEDIA

INTERNET

DYSPHORIA

DEPRESSION

NEGATIVE PHYSICAL HEALTH EFFECTS

OGY

ON

ANXIETY BIPOLAR DISORDER

LOWERED WORK & ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

TROUBLE FORMING LASTING SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

SECLUDING ONESELF

HIKIKOMORI

ADD/ADHD

INCREASE IN MENTAL ILLNESS

NEGATIVE EFFECTS

RTURE

LONELINESS

S

ER

LESS PERSONAL

ACTING OUT

FAMILIAL CONNECTIONS

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS

FRIENDS

persona Melanie Sharp 20, Psychology Student Loves dogs, coffee, and sleeping.

Melanie has a very busy schedule as a full time student at her college. Because of her this, she has little alone time and struggles to make friends. She has a few close friends, but she only feels comfortable confiding in two of them. She never knows what to do when she does have free time and because of this she spends most of her free time alone. This makes her feel very stressed.

She wants get closer to her friends and spend her time more positively but doesn’t know how.

Melanie sees an alien•nation installation on campus and is inspired to find more creative ways to spend her time.

She picks up the activity book and gets together with her friends to do some of the activites on the weekends to relieve stress. She feels happier and finds herself doing better in school now that she knows she has support!

product associations MORE Modern Intriguing

Increased Understanding Sensitivity Personal

Therapeutic Self Aware Positive Educational

Encouraging Personal Growth Relatable

Forward Thinking Serious Self Reflective

LESS Exclusive Alienating Pessimistic Scary Depressing Uptight Diagnosing Happy-go-lucky Prescriptive

benchmarks

[clockwise] Dallas Clayton, Mikko Kuorinki, Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith, National Gallery of Victoria

thank you Thank you to my friends and family for being so patient and supportive during this entire process. I couldn’t have done it without you. Additionally

I would like to thank Kelly McNicholas for always believing in me and helping me achieve such great things and Urban Arts Space and The Ohio State University Department of Design for everything that made this possible.

Resources who.int psychology.jrank.org Alienation by Rahel Jaeggi Alienation by James Reid Brand Meaning by Mark Batey thealienationexperience.org.uk “Cult Of Despair” By Hal Foster Hikikomori by Ellen Kennedy and Tao Lin Alienation & Freedom by Richard Schmitt “Is the World More Depressed?” by T. M. Luhrmann “Social Isolation: A Modern Plague” by Stephen Ilardi Ph.D. The Truth About Mental Health, Episode 6: Hikikomori on BBC “Social Isolation Growing in U.S., Study Says” by Shankar Vedantam “Design Your Exhibition” from the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences “Developing Interactive Exhibitions at the Smithsonian” by the Smithsonian “Americans Have Fewer Friends Outside the Family, Duke Study Shows” by Sally Hicks “Alienation and Stress: What It’s Like to Be Black and Female at Google” by Kevin Montgomery “Designing Interactive Museum Exhibits: Three Ways to Increase Audience Engagement” by Lilia Ziamou “Hikikomori: Why are so many Japanese men refusing to leave their rooms?” by William Kremer and Claudia Hammond “Designing Science Museum Exhibits with Multiple Interactive Features: Five Common Pitfalls” by Sue Allen and Joshua Gutwill

Bonnie Babb-Cheshul • www.bonceleste.com