Type in the digital age

Have you thought about the impact of digital technology on type and personality? Or how it affects type practitioners?

Next year’s BAPT Conference is dedicated to this very topic. The conference theme is Type in the Digital Age, and OPP’s John Hackston, Head of Thought Leadership, and David Hunt, Director of Digital Strategy, are delighted to be delivering a keynote speech. 

It promises to be a fascinating exploration. The keynote will cover type and technology, digital natives, artificial intelligence and the role of practitioners in the future – here’s an overview.

‘Our world is evolving. Technology has changed the way we interact with others, spend our time, do our jobs… but is it changing us? For example, it has been suggested that the use of social media has increased our fear of missing out, and thereby our levels of neuroticism. But how has psychological type been impacted, especially among young people who have only ever known a digital world? And what does the future hold for type practitioners in an increasingly digital society?

We will explore the ways in which technology is changing our lives, and draw on MBTI data to examine whether people really are changing their personalities in the digital age. We will introduce the ‘technology lens’ as a way to describe how type relates to our acceptance and adoption of technology. In an interactive session, participants will have the opportunity to apply this model to themselves. We will discuss some of the stresses and strains that people will face in the coming years, and show how a knowledge of type can help to overcome them. 

The possibilities of the digital age may also make us question our role as type practitioners. Could we be supplanted by artificial intelligence in the not so distant future? We believe that technology can and should be our friend; there may be new ways to gather information, but we will discuss whether the practitioner will remain central in applying type insights to help people. We will discuss our ideas for applying technology to type in the future, and we’ll also give you the chance to influence the future direction of MBTI assessment and application.’

Find out more about the 2018 BAPT Conference, 12–14 April, Milton Keynes.