KT Corporation and Playground Seoul introduce seeds of the heart app to reduce mobile useage

In Korea where smartphone penetration rate is high, family and friends often experience communication breakdowns due to their over use of smartphones. In order to solve this issue, Korea’s largest telecommunication company KT Corporation in conjunction with Playground Seoul introduced an app called “Seeds of the heart” to help users change their smartphone use behavior and understand the importance of communication. 

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This app allows users to grow virtual flowers. When the flowers are fully-grown the app will send actual flowers to people named by users. In order to make virtual flowers grow, users have to leave their smartphone unused for a certain number of hours. In other words, the app began from the idea that people would be able to pay attention to more important things in their life when they don’t spend so much time looking at their phone.  

“The idea is to highlight the essence of communication by creating an app that encourages users to reduce their smartphone usage, which might be opposite to what telecommunication companies normally do,” said Chief Creative Officer, Thomas Hong Tack Kim.

In order for flowers to bloom, users have to change their smartphone usage behavior and wait for the seeds to grow with patience. By doing so, Playground Seoul are intending to make users check their smartphone usage and think about their relationships with people who they aren’t able to spend enough time with.

Users can download the app via a link sent through their cell phone bills or KT’s social media sites. When the seeds are in full bloom it will be notified to KT and KT sends actual flowerpots to pre-selected recipients with messages written through the app.

Credits –

Sound: Il Ho Jeon, Gorilla Sound