still, moving: Motion saturation and the perceptual future of Generation Beta

Abstract

This thesis explores how motion saturation in digital media affects perception, attention, and emotional regulation, particularly for Generation Beta, the first to grow up entirely within kinetic, algorithmically-driven environments. As motion becomes the infrastructural norm, stillness risks becoming unfamiliar or undervalued. Drawing from media theory, semiotics, cognitive psychology, and original survey data, the study examines how motion produces both engagement and fatigue, shaping not only user behavior but perceptual norms. These dynamics are translated into the design installation Still, moving, which inverts typical interface logic by making stillness the trigger for visual chaos. Survey insights are embedded into the interaction, encouraging users to confront the sensory impact of constant motion. Rather than offering solutions, the project calls for a perceptual rebalancing—an intentional revaluation of stillness as a cognitive and cultural resource within design practice.