Pinga — Reviving the lost sense of community we left in the Stone Age

I stumbled across an article in The Guardian recently which got me thinking about the importance of community and the power of human connection. The article was entitled ‘Were we happier in the Stone Age?’. It discussed how the rise of capitalism, consumerism, and advances in science and technology have inevitably led to the breakdown of communities.

The connection humans have with one another today is very different from the connection humans had with each other during the Stone Age. Back then, people were only able to interact with those who were part of their community. There was no internet or transport, so the only connections made were with people they knew in their local area. Individuals would help each other out, in the knowledge that they would be able to get help in return if they ever needed it. The system in place was one whereby people would help one another out in order to achieve a common goal and survive.

In the present day, we are not limited to connecting with people within a small vicinity of us for survival. As a result, we do not need to form the same connections humans made in the Stone Age. We have access to transport which can take us all over the world, giving us the opportunity to connect with endless amounts of people. Likewise, there are around four billion users of the internet in 2018, who can connect with anyone online and start talking instantly. This means we don’t have to necessarily rely on the people in our local area for help. Not only this, but we can also source help from companies rather than individuals meaning that we do not need to form personal connections with people to receive aid.

“People in the developed world rely on the state and the market for almost everything they need: food, shelter, education, health, security. Therefore it has become possible to survive without having extended families or any real friends.” — Yuval Noah Harari

Although we may be able to survive without human connection or people in our local community, we would definitely be happier with them. Pinga is using the digital technology we have access to in the present day to restore the community feel which permeated through those Stone Age Villages. They create a platform that allows for online connections to continue offline. In doing so, the aim is to make it more normal for people to help others around them.

How does Pinga allow you to help people in your local area?

The app allows you to function using two different modes. You can either send out a task requesting one or more desired items to individuals within a 1km radius of your current location, and a local user will pick up and help you with whatever you need. Alternatively, you can choose to pick up tasks; answering requests and delivering the items other people in your community have requested from you.

Pinga creates a direct connection between the Tasker and Pinga Partner, by allowing the two parties to converse about the order, rather than just feeling like you are being connected to a delivery service. Pinga Partners who choose to help out do not wear a uniform and are from the same area as the tasker requesting the item. The service feels personal and restores the sense of local community which we seem to have lost over the years.

Find out when Pinga is launching in your local area, sign up here.

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