iHobo: trivialising homelessness or conscientising a generation?

8/07/2010 4:28:57 PM, by Simon Moyle

iHobo: Trivialising Homelessness or Conscientising a Generation? (by Simon Moyle)

It’s been billed as a “Tamagotchi with a social conscience,” but the latest iPhone app has generated some controversy as a fundraising strategy for Depaul UK. iHobo gives users the chance to look after a homeless person for three days, keeping him fed and warm as well as providing company.  Critics say it’s a “tasteless” trivialisation of homelessness, but after 200,000 Britons have downloaded the app is it conscientising a generation to First World poverty?

Users are able to interact with their iHobo, receiving round-the-clock notifications on their phone of his progress. If they fail in their task of looking after the virtual homeless person (and some say that no matter what they do, they fail), he is highly likely to overdose and die.  The application is an attempt to connect younger donors with Depaul’s work, as currently the average donor is more than 65 years old.

“Once you’ve tried to help a virtual [homeless person] you’ll feel more inclined to help a real one,” says the promotional video. But is this true?  The Twitter feed on the #iHobo hash tag seems to have generated three broad reactions:

1.   Feeling “guilty” (particularly, but not only, if the iHobo dies).
2.   Delight that they kept the iHobo alive. This is particularly the case when people have taken several tries to be “successful”.
3.   Gleeful amusement that the iHobo died.  This may be false bravado, but at least reveals that it is socially acceptable to react in such a way towards homeless people.

The value of the app in the case of those having reactions 1 and 3 is dubious insofar as it merely entrenches current attitudes towards and stereotypes about those experiencing homelessness.  

Obviously it would be difficult to create an iPhone app which genuinely encompasses the complex range of structural and personal factors that contribute to homelessness, but Depaul UK certainly seems to want to make such claims. “iHobo shows how complex the homeless problem is and that giving a few pennies to someone on the street is not the answer.”  The irony in this claim is that Depaul UK does not offer any real life follow-up option to iHobo users other than giving money to their organisation.  Even within the app itself your options are limited – you can only give the iHobo food, money, or a sleeping bag.

If donations are anything to go by, it’s not been a roaring success: as of May 19, just 2000 pounds has been raised.  While that’s not an insignificant number in and of itself, it amounts to just 1p per download.

The jury is still out on whether this method of connecting people with homelessness will have long term benefits.

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You can read more about iHobo here and download the app here.