DENVER, Colo. – No matter if you’re a grandparent, parent or even a child, our phones are how we stay connected. Now, one company is taking the cellphone experience to a whole new level.
Beth Veen and the rest of the team at Visible created a clever way of marketing their new phone plan by poking fun at the digital culture we can’t get away from. They created an art installation in Denver called “#Phonetopia” that lets visitors go inside their phones.
"People are more likely to turn their car around if they forget their phone than when they forget wallet," said Veen.
Abby Simonis is one of those people. Being a millennial, Simonis is pretty tech savvy. She knows how to dodge notifications, push through alerts, but she's had to teach her mom, a baby boomer, how to navigate her phone.
"She thinks that I’m somehow better at it than her," said Simonis. "I'm the one who set up Facebook on her phone, Instagram on her phone, helping her with her email, like I’ve done all that for her."
She’s showed her mother how to scroll through her social media feeds, how to take a selfie and even taught her what “sliding into the DMs” means.
No matter your age, these are all things we go through using a smartphone.
"It's a very universally understood thing,” said Veen. “There are a lot of relatable things regardless of your experience with the phone."
Although, the interactive art installation is a fun and unique way to experience our phones, it reminds Simonis these little devices keep her connected with her mom.
"Moving away from Wisconsin, if my mom didn't have a smartphone and didn't have all the apps that we are able to connect with, then I would stay in touch with her far less."
