[0:05]Tell your story. Change the conversation. Organized by students. TEDx Youth at SHC.
[0:17]In many ways, I'd say, I'm your average teen. I sleep in late on the weekends, spend too much time talking to my friends when I should be doing homework, and cringe at my parents being embarrassing on a daily basis. But something that makes me different is that I have one of these. Yes, you saw it correctly. I have a flip phone. Some of the most common reactions I get when I tell my friends I have a flip phone are, oh wow, is that a fossil? Or, I didn't even know they made those anymore. Or, oh my god, that's so retro. Or, my personal favorite, how do you live? Well, I'm alive and I've got a flip phone of my own free will. Back when I was in seventh grade, I begged my parents for a cell phone. I brought up the fact that I wanted a cell phone at every possible moment. Whenever there was a really beautiful sunset, I'd say, well, gee, that's a really pretty sunset. If only I had a cell phone to take a photo of it with. Long story short, I wanted that cell phone more than anything. I think my intense desire for a cell phone really stemmed from the fact that everyone else in my grade had one. For me, having a cell phone seemed like the easiest way to fit in and be cool. I also longed for independence, instead of having to ask my parents every time I wanted to text a friend. I'd have a cell phone of my own and wouldn't have to ask them every single time I wanted to do something. I longed both for that independence and to fit in with the other kids in my grade. Well, finally my parents gave in and gave me this. While all the other kids in my grade were running around with shiny new cell phones, I was stuck with a relic from the nineties. But now, having a flip phone is really truly my own choice. So, what caused the shift from the seventh grader who begged your parents for a cell phone at every possible moment to the ninth grader who loves her flip phone? Well, for me, it really stemmed from the fact that I kept finding myself in group situations where I'd be ignoring my friends for my laptop. They'd be talking about something that was really important to them, and I'd be on my computer scrolling through Gmail or on Instagram. I realized that having a cell phone would would only allow me to do that more, and I didn't want that. Now, when I use technology, I am making a conscious decision to do so, as I have to physically pull out my big bulky laptop as opposed to just mindlessly pulling out a cell phone. It is so easy to fall into the trap of using technology without an intention as the device is right in our hands. As I cut down technology usage in my own life, a fundamental truth was revealed to me. Teens are spending way too much a harm. Teens are spending a harmful amount of time on devices and not enough people are talking about it. This is strange, as 54% of teens themselves have acknowledged that teenage technology use is, in fact, a problem. On average, a teen spends up to six hours a day using screen media. Six hours. Admittedly, when I saw the statistic, I was stunned. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I'm a flip phone user, and I can't even think of spending more than five minutes on my flip phone, whose greatest source of entertainment is the calculator app. Still, six hours. Theoretically, one could argue that these six hours are productive ones, as there are tons of apps that help you get homework help, uh, stay in touch with team and stay in touch with teachers and just get your homework done, as most homework nowadays is online. But, as we all know, but isn't often the case, what usually ends up happening is these six hours are used for Netflix, YouTube or other social media. Oftentimes, our notifications distract us, causing us to get done in six hours, what could have easily been done in three. When you really start to think about it, teenage technology use looks an awful lot like addiction. This actually makes sense because cell phones, by nature, are addictive. According to Dr. David Greenfield, a leading technology usage ex, a leading technology usage researcher, cell phones, like every time you successfully Google something, send a text, or just get something done on your cell phones, your brain releases dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and satisfaction. Dopamine is also known as the neurotransmitter that is associated with addiction. Take the classic example of going on your phone to quickly Google something, and then ending up on Facebook for an hour, scrolling through memes. When you first successfully Google something, your brain releases dopamine, associated with that pleasure center of our brain. That release of dopamine feels good, so we start to want more, and we start seeking more, until we've ended up spending an hour on Facebook. And just like any other addiction, the longer you spend on your cell phone, the longer it takes to reach that high of dopamine release. As Sherry Turkle, another leading researcher of technology usage describes, phones are so central to who we are, that we're sharing our thoughts and feelings even as we're having them. So before it was, I have a feeling, I want to make a call. Now it is, I want to have a feeling, so I need to send a text. So how did this happen and why is it continuing to happen? Well, 81% of teens report feeling more connected to their peers because of the internet. And that feeling of connectedness is super hard to give up due to a type of social anxiety called FOMO, or fear of missing out, that is super prevalent among teenagers. Admittedly, as some Okay. FOMO is basically the omnipresent fear that all your friends are hanging out without you. Usually aroused by social media. Admittedly, as someone who has major FOMO and a computer, I still feel the pressures of technology and the social implications that can come along with it. If you're not online constantly, it can feel like you're not a part of your friend group. During middle school, some days I'd walk in ready to have a great day, and then everyone would be talking about the latest controversial thing someone had posted on their Snapchat story. I didn't have Snapchat and I didn't know what was going on. It is this mixture of wanting to be connected and technology being the main way to do that that makes cell phones so addictive for teens. In addition, according to a recent study, 51% of teens have reported that their parent or caregiver was distracted by their cell phone when they were trying to tell them about something important. This behavior, in some ways, is learned. When we see adults in our lives on their phones all the time, we see that and we start to imitate that. This addiction, in some ways, is an inherited one. The problem of teenage technology use is not just a matter of teens losing time that could have been used for something more productive. No, teenage technology is an issue that directly impacts our health and wellbeing and is directly linked to other issues of this generation. For example, teen depression and bullying among teens is a huge problem. According to a recent study, heavy users of technology increased their chances of depression by 27%, and 59% of US teens have reported being bullied or harassed online. In addition, 87% of teachers in the US agree with the fact that cell phones are giving their students limited attention spans, because of how quickly we can access things on our cell phones. Lastly, it has been shown that the blue light from our cell phones makes it difficult to sleep, a process that is so crucial to our growing bodies and developing brains. When I started to learn all this, I couldn't help but wonder, can many of the world's major problems with teens these days be directly linked back to technology usage? But, I believe there are ways we can combat this. First, many high school freshmen, such as myself, are required to take a health class. Something that I believe should be included in that health class is technology usage, as that is an issue that directly impacts our health and our wellbeing. I believe that teens should be taught strategies to spend less time on their phones and the harmful effects that can come from spending too much time on technology. Second, parents need to model behavior for their children. If we see adults in our lives making an active effort to spend less time on their phones, then we will be more likely to see that and start to emulate that. Lastly, what you as an individual can do is download an app that monitors your own cell phone usage and blocks you from apps that may suck you in like Facebook or Instagram. When I was telling my friends about this issue that is so important to me, a lot of them asked me, what can I as an individual do to spend less time on my cell phone? That was my number one piece of advice for them and for you. As Sherry Turkle said, phones are so psychologically powerful that they not only change what we do, but who we are. And in this crazy world, the only thing we can control is who we are, who we want to be, yet technology is taking that away from us. It's time to take responsibility for our relationship with technology and choose, the man or the machine. Thank you.
