Face to Face

Lance spoke to the importance of the face to face aspect of Carapace. He and Joyce (like, probably, many others) experienced communication at work as

constant screens,

constant emails,

constant instant message.

She and I

were working in an environment where

you might have a live

face-to-face interaction with somebody

maybe once a week.

Carapace was meant to be different: “but we wanted to give people that felt this need

to unplug an outlet.” It was meant to be a place where people could communicate without screens. On a side note, I like this outlet where you unplug, rather than plug in.

here, come here,

we are going to get rid of all the cell phones,

we are going to get rid of all the screens

for about an hour

hour and a half and we're just

going to be connected with one another.

I also love this. Calling out to all the lost souls, wandering in a sea of digital communications: “Here. Come here.” And these technologies that we believe connect us - it is when we set them aside that we are truly connected.

When I asked about why people are drawn to Carapace, Lance again mentioned the need to unplug:

I really,

honestly, believe it was that need to unplug.

It was that need to get away from the 21st century

and just sit back and relax

and actually listen to people talk for a while.

21st century, modern technology, is what we need to unplug from. He calls being unplugged and listening relaxing. There is a physicality to this description, like the body feels relief, both due to the absence of modern communication technologies, and at the presence of face to face conversation.