Put Down The Phone And Save A Life

As a tech site, most of what we deal with is very much considered to be “first world problems” (a phrase already rife with issues of its own). We have the luxury of being concerned about which company bought which, talk about how much we want the newest tablet, or how some pundit said some thing and why you should know. Meanwhile, there are huge portions of the world’s population without sufficient food, drinking water, or toilets. Not as part of any disaster mind you, but as part of their day-to-day existence.

Technological solutions to real world problems have always been a thing. Some of them, like One Laptop Per Child, grab our attention despite dubious results (Seriously? No food sources and child armies, but  a laptop will make life better?). Others are a bit more abstract, like UNICEF’s Tap Project. That’s tap as in water and tap as in tapping a smartphone screen. Here, I’ll let them explain:

For those who can’t watch the video just now, it’s simple. Go to the organization’s website, tap the buttons that say “Begin” and “Continue”, and then put the phone down. From there, your only action is inaction. Based on how long you’re off your phone, donors pay for potable water. The math breaks down like so: 10 minutes can provide a day’s worth of clean water. If you go six hours a day, minus time for lunch and bathroom breaks, without touching your phone, that equals 36 days worth of clean water. As someone who puts down his phone for 25 hours every week, I’m almost dumbfounded by the amount that can be generated.  Oh and for those who don’t have unlimited minutes, you’ll want to do this over wi-fi.

This is not the first attempt at digital fundraising. Take the Rainforest Site. A click a day raises funds. This, however, doesn’t require that you browse or click anything. The opposite, even. This is maybe the most passive form of fundraising I can imagine. Yes, even more passive than that e-mail forward your uncle keeps sending.

“Forward this and we’ll perform our mission statement.” Seriously, Uncle Abe?

For those wondering why the fun and games instead of just giving the money, it’s simple: UNICEF does this stuff all the time to raise awareness. This, however, is a hook to get backers. Sure, Gergio Armani could simply give a truckload of cash to the worthwhile charity, but then who would know? Sleuthy people might find a press release somewhere, but this gets sponsors a much larger mindshare. It’s the same concept behind having charity galas instead of writing the check for what said gala would cost and handing it to a charity. It’s not the purest way to give, but it is giving nonetheless.

With Project Tap, Armani gets to earn good will, UNICEF gets to better lives, and you get to help make that happen, all by doing nothing. Could it be that UNICEF has found a way to make slacktavism that works?