That is the only way to explain how something like a “pause pod” could even become a “thing” that people would pay for.
As reported by the UK’s Daily Mail, an inventor has developed a pod that is capable of blocking out 99 percent of outside light in order to allow users to ‘escape the pressures’ of modern life. And all for a measly one hundred dollars.
The Pause Pod is a four-foot blacked-out tent that comes with an extendable leg compartment that permits people to just check out any time they like by sitting or lying down in it. The pod includes add-ons (at $25 each) including a starry sky you can affix to the tent’s roof and tablet compartment so that users can ‘escape’ further by streaming TV or a movie while on break.
As you might imagine, the introduction of the pod has created a raft of comments from people who took to social media to both mock and criticize the pod, with one person calling it “a tent for maladjusted millennial adult children,” the Daily Mail reported, adding:
The pod, which takes just 10 seconds to pop up, is designed for use in the home but it can be taken to the office or used outdoors.
Its inventors, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, say it shuts out almost all external light, allowing for a completely private environment, free of distractions.
Co-founder Adam Mikkelsen, 28, said the initial concept for the pod arose from a discussion with a friend about the pressures and deadlines of modern society.
“We started to talk about when we were younger, when that type of stress did not exist and it was much easier to live in the now,” said Mikkelsen. “When we were children, we used to build blanket forts and then just sit there, which we realized later on is what mindfulness is all about."
As such, Mikkelsen said “we kind of just started to play around with creating a physical space that would be good for doing nothing. It helps you to actually take the time to recharge, which is very easy to forget.”
As opposed to, say, going to the break room for a midday hot tea or smoothie.
What’s even more amazing is that Mikkelsen actually got his project crowdfunded. He raised more than $140,000 across IndieGoGo and Kickstarter.
But still, there was much criticism about both the pod and the concept behind it. Twitter user @TheNewCurrent called the product “a millennial step too far.” Meanwhile, @umersfitness, wrote: “LOL Pause Pod? Its just a TENT!! hahaha.”
And @thebestwolfeman wrote: “To be fair though, the pause pod isn't a tent, it's a tent for maladjusted millennial adult children.” (Related: Feminist California professor goes full libtard: “Science” is racist because so much of it was developed by white men.)
Mikkelsen is already used to the criticism, however.
“We have the ones who get it when they see it and they are really positive. The ones who get it can admit the problem in society,” he said.
“Then, of course, we get the haters - mainly online. There are people making fun of it, which is kind of amusing.”
Just. Wow.
“There are people saying it is just a tent and being very angry about the millennial generation and calling us snowflakes,” he added. “That motivates us because those people should probably try some mindfulness themselves.”
Thankfully, most people are still able to take some stress in their lives and simply deal with it — as people always have. Today’s society isn’t any less “hectic” than life a hundred years ago; the only difference is that a majority of us work indoors in offices and businesses instead of breaking our backs daily on a farm.
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