Should This Exist?

A world without our devices

Could you, would you, go one full hour without your phone? The average American spends one-third of their waking hours on a smartphone; we’ve been told our devices make life better, faster, and easier. What happens when we choose to live without them – or when we are forced to? In this episode, we’ll talk to media studies professor Douglas Rushkoff, get the down low from a U.S. senator who sat in a “digitally sequestered” hearing for three weeks (guess which one) – and travel to the WiFi-free town of Green Bank, West Virginia, to find out exactly what happens when we unplug.Listen to Douglas Rushkoff’s podcast Team Human: <a href="http://teamhuman.fm/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://teamhuman.fm</a>Get Douglas’ book Team Human: <a href="https://rushkoff.com/books/team-human-book" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://rushkoff.com/books/team-human-book</a>Find more resources about this episode at <a href="https://shouldthisexist.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shouldthisexist.com</a>Subscribe to our excellent newsletter at <a href="http://eepurl.com/gnZTf9 " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://eepurl.com/gnZTf9 </a> See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

It's the question of our times: How is technology impacting our humanity? "Should This Exist?" invites the creators of radical new technologies to set aside their business plan, and think through the human side: What is the invention’s greatest promise? And what could possibly go wrong? Show host Caterina Fake (Partner, Yes VC; Cofounder Flickr) is a celebrated tech pioneer and one of Silicon Valley’s most eloquent commentators on technology and the human condition. Joined by a roster of all-star expert guests who have a knack for looking around corners, Caterina drops listeners into the minds of today’s ingenious entrepreneurs and guides them through the journey of foreseeing what their technology might do to us, and for us. Should This Exist? is a WaitWhat original series in partnership with Quartz.