⚑ A magyar leíráshoz kattints ide, vagy görgess lejjebb! ⚑

ECOLOGICAL IMPACT

OF THE INTERNET?

The effects of the internet have been explored in many ways, but there is one issue that has not been brought into the limelight so far. Have you ever heard of how much power is required by the massive amounts of data to run across the network every second? Of the pollution this involves, and how it is related to climate change? That your phone is likely to be linked to the Congolese Civil War?

We already see the need of change according to a green perspective in many areas of our lives. It is time to extend this view to our digital world, and to the most dynamic industry: IT!

Kick the Bytes is an online educational game designed to contribute to this process. We want to lead you through a road that highlights the major impacts of the IT sector, and we are not leaving you without information about what you can do yourself.

WHY DO WE WANT

TO DEAL WITH THIS?

A few years ago when we first heard of the amount of trace that our e-mails, posts, uploads or downloads leave in the physical world, we were pretty surprised. We both work on computers, often creating content for the web, so it was strange that we haven't heard about the footprint of our internet consumption before. It became clear quickly that we were not alone with this.

Csönge decided that she wanted to draw attention to all of these in her thesis on graphic design. As she began researching the topic, it became clear that this issue was huge. As an interactive website seemed to be the best choice in terms of format, Bence got involved. As a programmer he enthusiastically dived into this aspect of his profession.

This is how we started to work on Kick the Bytes, for which we made the first prototype last year. We would like to continue developing it, so it could reach you. This would allow us to use our creative energies and expertise to reflect not only on an important problem but also to our very own work.

WHAT IS

KICK THE BYTES?

Kick the Bytes is an awareness-raising game,

that we design to serve as a map of the issue,

in which we periodically cover a topic that you can click through, like a level, to guide you through the most important stages of the problem,

that you can click through, like a level, to guide you through the most important stages of the problem, where you can solve puzzles, score points, learn and click around

which will guide you through key information about the environmental impact of the IT sector and help you understand the underlying processes,

where you can get tips on how to use the internet and your tools more consciously , and how you can contribute to the solution in your own authority, whether you are a student, a user, an influencer, a creative professional, a programmer, an activist, a business executive or a decision-maker,

, and how you can contribute to the solution in your own authority, whether you are a student, a user, an influencer, a creative professional, a programmer, an activist, a business executive or a decision-maker, which is entertaining, but still has a small footprint .

WHY IS IT

IMPORTANT?

The IT industry has not really come to the forefront of the green debate so far, somehow we tend to think of digital as environmentally friendly. However, it is the fastest growing sector, the connective tissue of modern economic and industrial system causing our crises. The Kick the Bytes page is intended to fill this gap. We would like to have a look on the internet as the greatest machine ever built by humans – rather than an endless horizon – which is mostly fueled by fossil energy. We consider it extremely urgent that the ecological and social aspects of the industry become more widely known and that the complex processes become more understandable, as knowledge and orientation can drive everyday and systemic change.

BUT THIS IS JUST ANOTHER

WEBSITE, ISN'T IT?

You caught us here. We don't think that the internet is completely devilish – for example, it is great for spreading knowledge. We came to the conclusion that this is the way we are able to raise awareness in the widest possible range, to emphasize the importance of criticism, consciousness and ethical choices, change of attitude and action. In addition, we create the game in terms of sustainable webdesign, concerning both design and programming. Sustainable web design takes the entire life cycle of web applications into account. This means that we try to minimize the amount of data, computing and we host the game on a server powered by renewable energy. By doing so, we represent and support what the project wants to communicate.