Habit After Technology

The Silence

This theme thread explores how familiar human routines persist, falter, or change when the devices and infrastructures that support them disappear.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Screen to Watch A Screen to Watch from "The Silence". Routine Through Displays Flight as Information Jim follows numbers on the airplane screen while Tessa writes in a notebook.

A Screen to Watch from "The Silence". Routine Through Displays Flight as Information Jim follows numbers on the airplane screen while Tessa writes in a notebook.

Routine Through Displays Flight as Information Jim follows numbers on the airplane screen while Tessa writes in a notebook. Both use small systems of attention to make a long, repetitive journey bearable. A Managed Experience The flight’s conveniences and indicators promise an orderly passage. Their presence makes the later blank screen and emergency landing feel like a breach of an assumed contract.

Football’s Scheduled Ritual Football’s Scheduled Ritual from "The Silence". A Shared Event Familiar Roles Max watches the game, Diane comments on commercials, and Martin offers reflections from outside ordinary sports culture.

Football’s Scheduled Ritual from "The Silence". A Shared Event Familiar Roles Max watches the game, Diane comments on commercials, and Martin offers reflections from outside ordinary sports culture.

A Shared Event Familiar Roles Max watches the game, Diane comments on commercials, and Martin offers reflections from outside ordinary sports culture. The evening is organized around a broadcast everyone expects to function. Entertainment as Infrastructure The game connects private rooms to a national event. When the signal disappears, a routine of collective attention becomes a local experience of isolation.

Neighbors Become Necessary Neighbors Become Necessary from "The Silence". Doorway Contact Leaving the Apartment Max knocks on neighbors’ doors to learn what they have seen.

Neighbors Become Necessary from "The Silence". Doorway Contact Leaving the Apartment Max knocks on neighbors’ doors to learn what they have seen.

Doorway Contact Leaving the Apartment Max knocks on neighbors’ doors to learn what they have seen. The dead communication systems make face-to-face contact the only available route to information. A Temporary Community Residents exchange guesses and observations, creating a limited network through presence and speech. It is slower and less comprehensive than digital contact, but it still works in the moment.

Bodies Replace Devices Bodies Replace Devices from "The Silence". Walking, Waiting, Treating Physical Necessity Jim’s wound requires a person to apply medicine and a bandage.

Bodies Replace Devices from "The Silence". Walking, Waiting, Treating Physical Necessity Jim’s wound requires a person to apply medicine and a bandage.

Walking, Waiting, Treating Physical Necessity Jim’s wound requires a person to apply medicine and a bandage. Jim and Tessa must walk when they cannot count on transit or a working vehicle. The Body’s Mind Tessa later reflects that bodies have their own needs: warmth, food, touch, and rest. The physical remains essential when abstract systems fail.

Old Habits at the Blank Screen

Watching Without Content A Persistent Gesture Max sits before the dead television after the game and its broadcast have vanished. His posture continues even though the device no longer performs its usual role. Dependence and Persistence The scene suggests both attachment to technology and the durability of habit. The screen is useless, yet the act of waiting before it remains emotionally powerful.

early in the return flight

before kickoff

after the first apartment outage

after Jim Kripps and Tessa Berens leave the clinic

near the end of the night