Of haptics and media competence
Dealing with media – a stocktaking
We make most of our decisions intuitively from our gut. We rely on our senses and our feelings [years of experience plus unconscious knowledge?].
“You can know many things unconsciously by just feeling them but not knowing them.” This quote comes from the Russian writer Fyodor M. Dostoevsky (1821-1881). So knowledge is not always necessarily dependent on the mind. In the best case, a complement of the two tools may be advantageous. Intuition is anything but to be underestimated. This instinct, which was originally intended to protect us from danger, has certainly contributed to the fact that Homo Sapiens has been able to develop into a highly intelligent creature over the course of time. But that doesn’t make us particularly smart – if we take a look at how we sometimes treat our planet and our fellow human beings. But that is another story.
Why we finally need to grasp more again
Our senses are important tools in our everyday lives. Especially people who have to do without one of these senses (for example the sense of sight) know this and have developed alternatives for it. One of our senses is the sense of touch. Haptics helps us to grasp things and the world in the truest sense of the word. This can be observed particularly well in small children. As much as possible, they take everything in their hands and examine it closely. The famous grasping of the hot cooker is also a way of grasping, but one can gladly do without it. On the other hand, the tender touch of a mother’s hand is a wonderful and beautiful experience for the toddler that promises warmth and security.
When we ask someone “When will you ever grasp this?”, we want to know when the person asked has understood what we have tried to explain to him or her. Because we have learned over the millennia that we can understand many things only or better by touching them. Now the digital world is taking us further and further away from haptic experiences. Instead of taking cash out of our wallets, we now only briefly hold our debit card up to the payment device. Instead of picking up the goods in the shop and checking them, we increasingly order from online retailers and rely almost exclusively on our sense of sight. And handwritten letters are also becoming less and less important. How many postcards did we used to send from our holidays? Well-written with the most beautiful impressions of the destination. And today? If at all, a WhatsApp message is enough. If you have created one or more groups there, you only have to press the send button once.
As far as reading is concerned, printed daily newspapers and many a book in paper form now have a much harder time on the market. The e-paper of the newspaper or the e-book on the reader have been creating their own space for quite some time. What we underestimate with all this modernity is that we, as analogue readers, hold the paper in our hands. Literally! Because we control our reading flow, our selection. We experience print products much more intensively because more senses are addressed. And that makes us a lot richer than just being steered through the world by digital systems and algorithms.
Even in the most modern software forges, there are analogue aids such as the Kanban board, where tasks are recorded with Post-Its and placed in painted fields. And Google still likes to send out postcards frequently to draw attention to itself and its services. So the topic of haptics is still relevant in our everyday lives. Also in the professional environment or in organisations. Being able to touch things boosts our thinking and creativity immensely.
“With the flood of digital tools, the research interest in comparative studies on typing vs. handwriting also increased. Among the recurring findings of relevant studies is that handwritten texts – whether summaries of lectures or collections of ideas – reflect higher creativity and have more complex sentences. The use of magnetic resonance imaging showed that the fine motor acrobatics embodied in handwriting, in contrast to the stereotypical typing movement, activate the complex, networked brain areas for motor and sensory functions much more strongly and thus also shape or promote them. Haptic experiences such as writing by hand are essential for the formation of our personality.”¹
That’s why you should reach for crayons in meetings, go for a walk in the woods with your team and touch a tree trunk with your hands. Create real experiences and touching moments in your organisations. Don’t expect the big miracles right away. However, if you use haptic games and tools in the long run, you will certainly notice a positive change over time!
A competence training for media of all kinds
Now, thanks to our ancestors over thousands of years, we are well positioned in training regarding our senses. As mentioned at the beginning, we always and often use our senses and our gut feeling – mostly on autopilot. And, with a few exceptions, humanity has done quite well with it so far.
In our modern societies, we have acquired a way of dealing with each other that usually allows us to live together peacefully. Discussions are desirable and promote our understanding of democracy. And debates also promote the further development of entire societies and systems immensely.
But a few years ago, in the course of our digital evolution, we began to move into a world we had created ourselves, without really having had the time to build up the corresponding competence here. The so-called social media play a central role in this. The spoken – or even written – word can be a sharp sword. Where this takes place in an uncontrolled and anonymous way, it then sometimes becomes unbearable or even dangerous. Then there are the many channels that want to inform us with news and facts. But where does neutral information end and where do opinions begin? What are the intentions of the authors of the news? What is the right tone for comments? Where is anonymity useful and where does it have a destructive effect? The boundaries are sometimes fluid and the inexperienced media consumer is often unable to recognise the dividing lines. Some don’t want to recognise them either and “shoot” at their fellow human beings from ambush. This can be observed on platforms that even call for the murder of politicians, journalists and people who think differently.
The multitude of television channels is now vying for every viewer and with some formats the only thing that comes to mind is the saying of the now deceased satirist Dieter Hildebrandt: “We only believe what we see. That’s why we believe everything since television has existed.” Here lies the danger that we can no longer distinguish reality from show. And we know very well from our own history what abuse of power can be achieved by means of the media. On the other hand, there is the current example in the USA, where former US President Trump stirred up his supporters so emotionally via the short message service Twitter because of the allegedly manipulated election result, until around 1,000 fanatics stormed the Capitol and people lost their lives.
We therefore need a kind of digital gun licence. A skills training for media of all kinds so that we learn to use language better. In the “good old days” with a manageable supply of print products in the form of daily and tabloid newspapers and a public radio and television programme, this was actually somewhat easier. Anonymous bombardment from the digital world was not yet known. Of course, each genre has its strengths and weaknesses. The increase in possibilities alone makes it difficult for us to acquire media competence in the long term. This is especially true in organisations that have to be professional in their internal and external communication. We should acquire this “gun licence” as early as possible. In other words, in school. It is best to start in primary school, before children get their first smartphone of their own and then often race unchecked into the digital world.
Media literacy, which should cover all facets, is then expanded as they get older. The point here is not to put people on an equal footing. Nor will it succeed in completely banishing hate and misinformation. However, it can be a good approach to making our world and our togetherness in this society a little better. Because what little Hans learns, Hans can later use and implement wonderfully in companies and organisations. Then these institutions will also gain better and sustainable media competence through the team.
Strong together and the best of everything
Anyone who thinks that one is only possible without the other is mistaken. So far, it has almost always been shown that new channels can also create an opportunity for the traditional. Hybrid models create access to broad sections of the population, people can be reached and picked up exactly where they usually are. Teams and organisations can work more optimally when everyone has access to their preferred means. “Don’t lump everything together” is the motto here. So when we combine the benefits of haptics with the benefits of digital models, something great can only come of it.
Haptic marketing can also be wonderfully combined with the online sector. We can also observe the combination of haptics and digital models in some places in the retail sector. The classic stationary retailer with its space in the city centre simultaneously operates an online shop, concept stores combine a good selection of offers and services under one roof. Classic online providers are increasingly relying on flagship stores so that the customer not only sees the product on the screen, but perceives it on site with as many senses as possible (especially the sense of touch) and experiences the feeling associated with the product. And the café on the corner, with the best Wi-Fi and discreet seating areas, is now also the new office – in other words, a kind of coworking space.
Companies and organisations that manage to blend the existing and the tried and tested with new ideas are on the right path to a successful future. Radical upheaval may be the best course of action in some places, but in most cases gently turning the steamer is a guarantee of success. In doing so, it is important to bring people along with you from the very beginning. Those who can participate in the change process themselves will also implement it much more intensively and joyfully.
Notes (partly in German):
Daniel van Steenis runs JIVE, a German regional magazine for health, wellness and living. It is certainly worth a visit.
Daniel van Steenis
Daniel van Steenis can look back on over 30 years of experience in the media industry. As a trained publishing businessman and business economist, he has worked for various publishing houses, primarily in the Freiburg area. His focus is on marketing, marketing and project management. He stands up for the medium of print and believes in its future – as long as the products are well made and continue to develop in dialogue with the digital world.
(Photo by: Sabine Rukatukl)