Digital Dysphoria

Parsons Thesis
Year: 2023
Duration: 6 weeks

In the digital age, there is an increasingly blurred separation between our screen-based interactions and "real-life" experiences. As we grow accustomed to the logic of digital interfaces, our relationship to physical reality starts to feel less familiar. For instance, one may feel the urge to press "undo" in the event of a coffee spill.


This project aims to examine these shared mental representations through a series of daily tasks reimagined in a digital future where the boundary between real and virtual is gradually blurred. By using the “desktop” as a common interface between these two worlds, the project starts by using digital commands to manipulate the state of physical objects, progressing to forming entirely new objects, and ultimately leading to a chaotic reality where the two worlds are completely fused.

Part I. Daily commands

desktop commands assist with daily tasks, manipulating the physical properties of objects.

Part 2. Gestures

a world where the digital interface disappears, and gestures are seaminglessly integrated into the physical world.

Part 3. Chaos Reality

A chaotic reality where the digital reality form entirely new objects, or causing destructions.