here is Lookup, rewards those who disconnect from their smartphone – Libero Quotidiano

2023-11-29 00:48:00

Rome, 28 Nov. (Labitalia) – Together, but absent. Who has never observed an engaged couple or a group of friends sitting at the same table or on the tram, each with their gaze fixed on their smartphone? It is now common practice to look at the latest posts published on Facebook or Instagram, or respond to Whatsapp chats or check your email while ignoring the interlocutors present. This attitude, which has now become habitual, is called phubbing, and combines the words phone and snubbing and describes when the use of the smartphone is preferred to social interaction. But in this way you lose precious moments to live offline but also concentration and productivity at work and study and also safety on the roads if you drive while looking at your phone screen. So why not incentivize those who manage to disconnect?

Lookup (‘look up’, in English) was born from this bet by Luca Panseri, the social startup that created the social gaming app of the same name which, for the time spent with its active timer, is self-binding the smartphone not to leave the app screen to accumulate points, convertible into prizes and discount vouchers, promotions and various experiences to be enjoyed in the physical world, offline. Lookup combats digital burnout, encourages the conscious use of technology and safeguards social interactions and psychophysical well-being. Founded in 2019, the idea of ​​creating a tool to make people more aware of the use and time spent online was born from a personal experience of Lookup’s founder, Luca Panseri.

“I experienced firsthand – explains Panseri – a digital burnout, a state of mental, emotional and physical exhaustion resulting from the hyperconnection and prolonged use of digital devices: it was an unpleasant and negative experience that always led me to more to blur the boundaries between private life and working life and not to fully experience my social relationships in real life. After two months of ‘disconnection’ from the digital world, I managed to regain authentic moments and experiences to live in the offline world, aiming mainly at my psychophysical well-being. Hence the idea of ​​wanting to help people use technology consciously.”

And so the spark: creating a game, a smartphone app that unites two worlds, conscious disconnection and gamification and proposing alternatives to the passive use of the smartphone, creating active participation between people in the real world. Thus, Lookup was born in 2021, which every 20, 40, 60 minutes of online break, awards points (balloons) convertible into prizes and discount vouchers, promotions, products, donations, and various experiences to be enjoyed in the physical world, offline. An example? A paper book to read at the seaside or in the mountains, an entrance to the cinema or museum with your family, or a free session in the gym to improve physical and mental health or a donation to a non-profit organisation. The incentives are chosen based on environmental sustainability and psychophysical well-being.

With over 5 thousand active users thanks to word of mouth, 22.38 years of offline quality time given to users and almost over 196 thousand hours of looking up from the screen, Lookup has around 100 partnerships with companies and to date offers more than 500 prizes . The team is made up of 4 partners in hybrid mode, all with successful entrepreneurial experiences behind them and above all all fathers, with the awareness of creating something that brings benefit to the new generations. Among the partners are Red Bull, Atalanta, Despe, Pasticceria Filippi (with challenges underway at the moment) and the new entries Amref and Airc.

So far, 8 out of 10 people have benefited from the newfound time to participate in physical events, pursue their hobbies or do physical activity; 9 hours a week is the average time per user spent with the active app, which translates into quality time and 8 out of 10 users have used Lookup at least once while driving. And Lookup also promotes digital sustainability: it reduces smartphone CO2 emissions generated by their use by 97%, going from 663g of CO2 daily to 11g. Furthermore, it doubles the battery life of your smartphone, with consequent electricity savings for recharging.

The startup has just launched a new version of the app with better features that will allow it to promote the collective disconnection of multiple users and have an even more specific target to reach: parents of pre-adolescents to counteract parental phubbing. As? Through the creation of groups, divided into social categories, such as family, friends, sport and work, which allows users to play and accumulate points together. This will allow everyone to get involved together, collaborating to complete objectives, but above all a topic to start talking about digital well-being at home without friction or prohibitions, making it a game and not a compulsion.

“The excessive use of technology – states Luca Panseri – can be an obstacle. Looking each other in the eyes while conversing with another person. Work or study without distractions. Sharing precious moments or playing with your children is priceless. We must reclaim our time and return to living the reality that surrounds us and at the same time teach our children the conscious use of digital devices by setting an example first. Parental phubbing naturally also has a negative impact on our children, conveying a very clear message: looking at your smartphone is more important than your children.”

The startup is preparing to complete an investment round in the coming months aimed at speeding up the growth processes in making itself known to a community of parents (first and foremost), increasing the team members and being recognized as the point of reference in digital well-being at companies and brands that want to become part of a solution and not fuel an increasingly dangerous problem. Among the future objectives to be achieved is consolidating its presence in the Italian market and, in the medium term, internationalization and expansion into the US market. “Our goal, after having achieved a change of direction in conscious detoxification from smartphones in Italy to regain possession of our time and our social relationships, will be to promote it abroad, starting from the USA where there is a high rate of digital burnout between individuals”, concludes Panseri.