Blurm3not by Sheldon.studio

BlurM3Not is a physical installation that bridges the digital world, leveraging data as a tool to spark conversations and reflections on social behaviors in the digital realm and the biases that shape them.

Presented at Internet Festival 2024 and Turin Graphic Days 2024, BlurM3Not is specifically designed to engage teenagers and enhance their awareness of the internet’s darker phenomena, such as cyberbullying, hikikomori, and online challenges.

The project employs a data-gamification approach, encouraging participants to guess data points—a method that sparks curiosity for accurate answers and triggers a bottom-up demand for information. Participants’ responses are collected and processed in real-time, creating visualizations and insights that expose biases and stimulate meaningful discussions around these critical issues.

Through playful and thoughtfully designed smartphone interactions—such as replying to memes in chat, making funny faces at a front-facing camera, or swiping in the dark—participants engage with themes like cyberbullying, online challenges, and hikikomori in an engaging and metaphorical way. These custom-designed mobile interfaces provide a light-hearted yet thought-provoking environment for teenagers to reflect on the digital phenomena that shape their daily lives.