Our group take handcuff as a metaphor to describe the tight bond between people and their phones in 2124, when online service like 3D face time or even electronic odor transmission are all available. These technology makes digital connection more and more fruitful and convenient, replacing people’s face-to-face connection even more. People can have very interactive connection with their family, friends, classmates online, but every conversation and interaction happens through a non-living screen, always leaving a strong sense of isolation when people goes back to only themselves. People still need to see each other in real life, touch each other and be connected with their real body. 

Handcuff is a metaphor of the unhealthy bonding between people with electronic devices, but they can be not handcuff as well. When people get addicted to their electronic devices, the connector on their both hands are tightly connected with the phone, becoming a handcuff. But when they themselves are willing to get away from the phone and connect with other people in real life, the connector become a bridge between different people. Thus, the connector is actually everyone’s need to be connected as a human. Everyone has dual nature of individuality and sociality. The connector is a well symbol of our social identity. The connectors are made by cardboard with tapes on both side, showing it’s capacity to “stick” with other things.

The successful part of our performance is the insight of this metaphor and making connection between the performance and our real life. Although the two students have long-term and nice conversation online, they even don’t know each other in real life even though they were sitting next to each other in the same section of the class. This is an extreme example of the connection paradox. In addition, the phones are designed as large ones to emphasize how they invade into our life.

 However, the part we should improve is the completion and richness of the storyline. We may show how the real-life connection between two people form an essential part in their life as a human. We can also show the difference between the human-phone connection and human-human connection. For example, the human-human connection can be powerful and considered as something that can transformed into one’s inner strength. It can be built as a strong and tight one as two friends exchange the deepest feelings and thoughts in a night talk. Or it can be a light and random one as you had a short chat with a stranger who helped to find the way of the bus stop. The moment we connect should ignite the light in our heart, making us no longer isolated. 

Another thing we can improve is add to the interaction of the device. For example, we can change the idea of handcuff to a intelligent health manager, which help us to balance online and offline connection with other people. In 2124, the connection paradox must have been studied by many researchers, and they might find out as special lifestyle that works the best for people in that era. The main idea might be balance, and the connector would remind people to do more face-to-face interaction with other people. But still, people need motivation to do something that seems to be “troublesome"; the connector (the health manager) can visualize their mental and emotional state and give them hint what to do, either staying alone or make online or offline connection with others. People would be more willing the take the advice when they find the connector is really helping them to make better life during a digital age.