Summary
- In the USA, there is a growing preference for homes with less technology due to discomfort and technical failures in smart homes.
- The Global Wellness Institute highlights the search for digital detox and analogue well-being spaces.
- Technical problems in connected homes highlight excessive dependence on technology.
Smart homes are no longer as attractive as they used to be: researchers and architects point out that, in the United States, the adoption of connected technologies has lost momentum, with applications and voice controls being replaced by buttons and switches.
The trend had repercussions on the website Axioswhich analyzed data and consulted with industry professionals. Architect Yan M. Wang, for example, states that the idea of technology that is always working and listening has become a cause for anxiety. Advertisements on speakers and refrigerators also don’t help in this regard.
The Global Wellness Institute points out that, in addition to greater resistance to technological and complex control panels, some people are starting to think about digital detox spaces in their homes, as part of an “analog well-being” movement.
In an article from Financial Times published in 2024, India Alexander, head of valuations at real estate agency The Modern House, already commented on this preference. “People are busy, and the home is often a retreat from the technology that dominates our lives,” he ponders.
The rental platform Zillow also observes a similar movement: in a report, the company states that there was a 48% increase in mentions of “reading corners” in property descriptions.
Connected home can turn convenience into problem
Even though part of this greater resistance to connected home items is due to the desire for well-being, there are issues inherent to the technology itself. As noted by the Axiosdevices of this type are increasingly expensive, and new generations of products can make already installed equipment obsolete.
And, of course, there is the risk of technical failures. This became clear in the most recent blackout at AWS, Amazon’s cloud computing division. One of the most unusual examples was Eight Sleep’s smart mattresses, capable of monitoring sleep and automatically adjusting heating and elevation.
The application crashed, and product owners were left without access to the controls. On Reddit, some users reported that the temperature stuck at 43°C, while others recommended jailbreaking the mattress — that’s something I never imagined, but apparently exists.
This is the most exemplary problem, but the cases go further: Alexa assistants stopped responding to commands, Ring doorbells (which is also from Amazon) became disconnected, and equipment from different brands stopped working, on a list that ranges from light bulbs to smart cat litter boxes.
There’s no denying that sometimes it’s better to just rely on offline buttons and switches.
With information from Axios and the Financial Times
Source: https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/casas-burras-viram-tendencia-em-meio-a-cansaco-digital-e-falhas/
