Is your life a bit ordinary? Looking for a way to spice it up a little? There’s an app for that. Situationist is an iPhone app that removes a little predictability from your day-to-day routine by injecting random human interaction in your life.
Ben Carey and Henrik Delehag—known as Benrik—are the artists behind the app, just one of the ways they are trying to change the world to their liking. They have a book series—This Diary Will Change Your Life—which encourages readers to reinvent themselves every day of their lives by following specific instructions for lateral living.
With the Situationist iPhone app, members of this community receive alerts when others are in their vicinity, prompting them to create a specific situation. These assignments must be done in a five-minute window and end with you walking away. Think Aardvark for interpersonal relationships.
Situationist protests the “Stranger Danger” view of people we don’t know, intentionally trying to overcome inhibitions and connect with others.
This is in direct reference to the Situationist International, a radical movement that sought to transform everyday life and the world through experimental forms of behaviour. Having largely inspired and informed the May 1968 riots in Paris, the situationists then disbanded in 73, riven by internal politics, and paranoid about being recuperated. This was a strategic mistake, and the effective retreat into silence has proved self-defeating. Much of their language was inevitably recuperated anyway, particularly by the advertising industry. “Situationism” itself is no longer a live movement, but a minor ism taught on media studies courses, and argued over by cantankerous survivors on the more obscure fringes of the net.
More detailed background is available.
To participate, you consent to the app sharing your location and photo with other Situationists (There is also the legalese requiring you to be an adult and not to blame Situationist if interactions go wrong). To avoid Chat Roulette kinds of exhibitionism, the photos and situations are all heavily moderated. There is no map of members, either; the prompts come to you in a moment when another member draws near enough to trigger a situation.
The interactions range from physical contact (a hug or neck massage) and provoking (a scare or giving the finger) to trivial acts of humanity (a wave or compliment). These little manufactured moments made me think of a recent encounter a friend had with a security guard. I narrowed my list down to a few that might brighten my day a bit:
- Give me the money in your left pocket
- Ask me for my autograph
- High five me
- Walk alongside me for two minutes
- Ask me what’s wrong
Provided they aren’t violent or obscene, you can also suggest your own situations (although they have to be approved).
As Benrik describes it: “Serendipity doesn’t happen by itself. Force its hand, and turn everyday life back into a joyous and unpredictable free-for-all.”