Competences need to be trained. If we practise understanding, practising and learning in the small everyday things, then growth can take place. Even those who want great things should start small in order to get bigger/better in the process - that's simply how humans work. Environments that cut off the little things prevent the starting signal, consecutive expansion and transfer to larger contexts. Who should be surprised if basic skills are lacking at some point?
Who hasn't seen the Deutsche Bahn sign that says, ›Please leave this room as you would like to find it‹. Nobody has the time, materials or inclination to prepare the public transport toilet as they would have liked to find it in return for using it ... in the best case scenario, the lowest common denominator is agreed without comment to remove all traces of use. What has happened? Why does the naturalness of leaving the toilet clean seem to have been lost? Even the request to name the toilet rarely works.
The omnipresence of motion detectors, infrared switches etc. damages the willingness to touch the tap again after cleaning your hands in order to close it manually: The manual tap in public spaces (see illustration of a sign) no longer works! We may smile at the loss of what we take for granted in this context and point to the availability of automated solutions, but the question nevertheless arises as to how we can counter the inflation of traditional things we take for granted.
Changing habits place new demands on the design of products: Automation may alleviate hygiene problems, but it favours the loss of a sense of responsibility and trust in self-efficacy within small and large contexts. Today, we are looking for product solutions that meet both challenges.