Reflection

For the most part, Flow State was experienced and interpreted in alignment with my intentions, eliciting the expected emotional response and resulting behaviors. Those who interacted with it withdrew after encountering increasing protest and erraticism. Upon discovering that the relay made an audible noise when switching between NO and NC, I intended to use the clicking of the relay as an additional unexpected signifier– to not only convey a change in functional status, but to communicate and elicit an emotional response. The increasingly rapid, insistent clicks successfully acedt as a deterrent against approaching Flow State at work–many participants noted that it instilled a deep sense of anxiety, and was intuitively understood, much like a rattlesnake warns away those who might get too close. My intention was not originally to dissuade phone use as a whole, but many who first encountered it saw it as a "phone prison" of sorts, an unplanned reaction that perhaps speaks to a broader relevant cultural commentary around tech addiction and dependency.