Technobiophilia and why our digital lives don’t need to be frantic

According to Author Sue Thomas who wrote the book Technobiophilia: Nature and Cyberspace there’s an intimate relationship between the language we use online: clouds, rivers, streams, viruses, and bugs and the way that we use our devices to reconnect with nature.

According to Thomas, technobiophilia is the ‘innate attraction to life and lifelike processes as they appear in technology’.

The restorative qualities of biophilia can alleviate mental fatigue and enhance our capacity for directed attention, soothing our connected minds and easing our relationship with computers.

This interesting book encounters what has become an enduring trend on the internet – people’s reappropriation of language for describing digital phenomena and people’s novel ways of using technology to reconnect with the natural world.

Rather than thinking of technology as taking us further away from nature, perhaps we can instead think of and use technology in novel ways in order to feel more connected to natural spaces. No matter where we are in the world – whether it’s a tiny city apartment or a remote log cabin in a forest.

So here are some digital escapes. Although a few involve the man-made environment, the ones that seem the most powerful and enduring are natural.

 

Calm

This is a beautifully immersive website that’s especially designed to give computer-bound workers some much needed meditation time. There’s also an app for Android and iPhone.  This is possibly my favourite as there’s a visual and aural dimension with a full screen tranquil film that matches the sound. Rated 10/10. Click below to view.

 

Soundrown

A sleek and elegantly designed website that allows you to choose between different ambient sounds like a children’s playground, a train carriage, crackling fire, the ocean, a cafe, and the night time. The most beguiling and satisfying for me was the night time sounds. Turn on several different soundscapes simultaneously for an interesting experience. Rated 9/10. Click to view. 

Rainymood

Play a rain storm and get all snuggled up wherever you are. This is sublimely comforting, especially if you happen to be reading a book in bed. Compared to other rainy ambient music websites this one is the most minimalist, sleek and the sound quality is the best. Rated 9/10. Click below to view. 

Raining.fm

If you adore the sound of rain then this website gives you plenty of options. There everything from the tiny tinkle of rain, to a strong downpour, to a tropical hurricane. This is great because you can set a timer and a pause time and also download an Android and Apple app. Although the website itself is busy and bright and seems to be too distracting to make for a decent relaxation experience. Rated 4/10. Click to view.

Snowy Mood

Inspired by the ever popular Rainy Mood, this is the crackling, unmistakably wintery sound of snow boots in heavy snow. It’s evocative of a time and a place but I wouldn’t say immediately recognisable as the sound of feet walking in snow, nor is it particularly comforting. Rated 4/1o. Click to view.

Coffitivity

That old trick where you listen to a busy cafe and suddenly feel motivated to do work. There’s also the option of choosing between different times of the day within a cafe, or choosing to listen to cafe chatter in Paris or Brazil. However you will need to pay in order to unlock these other more exotic cafe sounds. Why anybody would do that is pretty baffling. Rated 3/10. Click below to view. 

 

Shower time

This is possibly the weirdest incarnation of all ambient music websites. You can pretend that you’re in a shower (why? when you can just have a shower). You can also change the temperature of the water (not sure how how hot water sounds different), change the size of the room and add a radio in there. Probably not very relaxing but it was possibly created as a joke anyway. Rated 2/10. Click below to view.

Was there one that you enjoyed more than others?

On a more serious note. Do you think that the internet is a location where people can feel closer to nature or is it a false economy?