A new smartphone app called Pooductive allows toilet goers to chat anonymously worldwide, for free. Delta asked Marian Loth, PhD researcher on sanitary design and ergonomics at the faculty of Industrial Design, for her appraisal of this development that links the WC with social interaction.
Four out of five people admit using their smartphone while in the WC and this app caters to those wanting to combat boredom while on the toilet. It has around 20,000 users who must follow some simple rules: be respectful, and post no offensive material or pornography.
Loth identified an interesting historical parallel of the app with ancient Roman customs. The Romans dined, bathed and defecated in company. People chatted as a matter of course in public toilets without cubicles, decorated with marble and equipped with running water. Nowadays we visit the WC alone in complete privacy, free from any social pressures. We can dedicate the time to other solitary activities such as reading or just having a quiet moment to ourselves.
For her, our toilet going moments have value as a time to truly be by yourself. She believes that we should take advantage of such moments of retreat for ourselves, not for social interaction.
Loth considers the app a clever combination allowing us to be social on the toilet but masking any embarrassment with anonymity. She sees western sanitary culture as a result of increasing civilisation bringing with it increased embarrassment. Though she also recognises this as an instinct to avoid dirtiness and maintain health, it has resulted in us viewing a natural bodily function with shame. “It is a taboo we are not comfortable with. We have literally put a greater distance between ourselves and our sanitation,” she said. Other cultures squat and use water for cleaning, while we sit on our toilet bowls and use toilet paper. “Personally I believe squatting is better as research shows it is healthier, but our western models are also associated with luxury and progress,” she says.
She emphasises that a sanitary crisis exists in other cultures. In some developing countries people have no toilets and are forced to engage in unhealthy open defecation, often socially and for safety reasons. “Women have to go to the toilet together in groups in the morning to protect themselves from being raped” she says. “Sanitation is universal, impacting everyone, but the intersecting social and cultural issues surrounding it can be very complex”.
Comments are closed.