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Coinciding with World Meditation Day on 21 May, financial service company MetLife & Dubai-based creative independent agency ◡ and us launched a new wellness website focused on helping people “switch off.”
The partnership tackles a growing issue, internet addiction and its harmful effects through a simple website.
The new innovative initiative embodies the financial service company’s long-standing commitment to the holistic life quality of its customers and the agency’s desire to solve real-world problems through creativity.
This is no ordinary idea but it does serve the purpose.
“Switch Off” provides users with an array of beautifully designed meditation-style videos and wellness content to boost psychological awareness and mental wellbeing. However, the content is only revealed after users have disabled their WiFi and data, completely shutting themselves off from emails, pop-ups, notifications, and distractions.
“Over the last two decades, our phones have become more and more ubiquitous in our daily lives,” said John Thekanady, Head of Digital Marketing, MetLife, Gulf. “But increasingly, they’re becoming less of a tool and more of an extension of our psyche. That’s a problem.”
He added, “The most valuable asset of the 21st century is your attention. So, to truly reconnect with ourselves and do what we love, we first need to learn to disconnect from our devices, however briefly.”
“The world is in the midst of a mental wellness epidemic,” commented Fadi Yaish, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at ◡ and us. “In part, this is due to us living in a hyperconnected world where people’s devices are constantly barraging them with content that stops them from paying attention to the things that matter. There are tons of resources people can turn to for help, but somewhat ironically, all these resources are online – where many people’s problems started in the first place.”
