As a middle school teacher I would really appreciate a video like this that appeals directly to students. My students don’t know what dopamine is capable of. They don’t know what it is. They don’t know they are addicted.
Constant cell phone usage and the addiction is real and we all know it and need to acknowledge it . I literally just received an email from my son's high school saying all of their campuses will be self free starting this year. I know the kids and maybe even some parents might complain, but I think it's bold and brilliant and I couldn't be more happier. Our kids will be better for it. Even my 16-year-old who I made a snide comment about their new policy agreed it's best for students. It's not rocket science.
As a teacher, you should have an opportunity to educate your students. I don't know if you have the ability to show your students what you want in class but I would certainly talk to the principal because this is something that starts at the top.
Their parents don't want to hear about their own shot out risk reward systems. Just let little Timmy or Jimmy have their electro herion. They're in tic tok withdrawal and I have to call my friends about so and so post on wtfever. Sick sad blind people. Nicholas Kardaras has a great resource in Glow Kids as well as Digital Madness. He's incredibly smart and could be tools to shift perspective or make at least some ripples that lord willing will turn the tide for them.
Although, my father lost boredom since he was alone and separated from my mom, I regretted I gave my father with smartphone. And he became addicted with social media esp facebook. I thought older gens will not adjust to the tech difficulties.
Everyone is looking what they are putting in their stomachs. But no one is looking what they are putting in their heads. And thats one million times more important.
Watching this and seeing it only has 31,000 views kind of backs the concept that no one wants to face this addiction or talk about it because we are almost all dealing with it in some way.
Introspection is difficult and the majority been laid their life down or someone else's for the invisible machine they love so much. That's how much people love tech. They rather become mutes and just spy. Ai is stepping in as the parent to go to work while people become useless babies.
My name is David Riddle, I am 71-years old and have been self-employed as an inventor, designer, and manufacturer of technical products for more than 50-years. As a technologist, I have never seen any product available to the consumer, more rapidly adopted than the "highly addictive, fully programmable, hand-held, Pavlovian device known as the smart phone"! I own an internet based marketing and sales corporation, but I do not want, or own a "smartphone", I use a flip-phone. Because of this, I've been a keen observer of how the smartphone has absolutely altered the human experience, and I believe in the future, sociologists and anthropologists will point at Steve Jobs as the "destroyer of the human mind". I also believe that any parent that provides a child with a smartphone or tablet younger than 18-years old, is committing severe child abuse! How can the human mind possibly be introspective, contemplative, imaginative, and creative when it is being bombarded with millions of highly beguiling images, sounds, and texts? I hope the Dr. Romano's video will be watched by many millions, not just thousands of views.
It’s not child abuse unless the parent knows it is wrong, hides it or lies about it. Sugar and cellphones have destroyed way more young lives in loving homes than the violence and addiction of troubled homes. Gen Z was the first generation that was 100% born at a time when most women had the array of choices avail to them - the first truly wanted generation is the most damaged and at a time we need them most. The solution? Less screen time and make sugar a controlled substance. Very few will agree with me on this.
Honestly can't remember the last time I watched concert footage and didn't see upwards of 70% of the crowd more interested in the "likes" they'll receive from posting their video than they are with actually enjoying the artists in the moment
Yeah. I had a vacation in Hungary recently and went to a ballet at the opera house. Filming was prohibited and they made sure that was followed, so the crowd would be fully immersed in the events on stage. It was a special moment, in these times when everyone carries around their own entertainment device.
This is why I like psychology so much, it raises awareness to stuff like this. I’m 18 and have always thought in the back of my mind that using my phone as much as I do probably isn’t good for me, so I started looking into it more and found this video. Definitely an eye opener for sure.
Even social media used to exist in a fixed place, on a computer that people couldn't put in their pocket. That used to make social media an "opt-in" situation where by default we were offline. Smartphones made social media "opt-out" where by default we are online 24/7.
The issue is more complex than we imagine, I think. Like on TikTok you've got thousands of people diagnosing themselves with ADHD and autism, when it's clear that these people are completely addicted to and absorbed by their phones/social media, which in turn has stunted their abilities to socialise and concentrate on anything for a significant length of time. There's all the political misinformation too, with misinfo/conspiracy theories about important issues such as pandemics and vaccines, subjects that can literally change the face of society in a very short space of time.
Very good points you made. People need self control, but as someone who used to be a drug addict, and I mean the bad kinds, I’m now addicted to my phone, and yah know what, when you go from shooting up random chemicals to just a phone addiction I’d say I ain’t doing so bad lol.
100%. Self diagnosis is rarely an actual diagnosis at all. Most of these ADHD/Autism people are just trying to fit in somewhere. I'm saying this as a father of 4, which includes an actual autistic child with severe behavioural and intellectual challenges.
@@jakeamberson6675, There might also be a huge concern of misdiagnoses. With phone addiction, people's attention spans are lessened, and because of that, it can be mistaken as ADHD or some other disorder. I am probably one of those people as a matter of fact. Been diagnosed with ADD but I hold some suspicions of it. It's even more relevant because I grew up with screens, especially video games or games on computers, even at a younger age than usual.
yes! Everyone keeps saying, "well it's very useful, we can't get rid of them!" But I always think, we have lived hundreds of years without phones, they are not a necessity, it just happens to be that now, everything has been adapted to be acessible through phones, and they have made it a million times harder not to depend on them!! Phones have brought so much trouble it sometimes wrecks my brain how some people just dont see it😣
They're all smart phones these days apart from the nokia and motorola bricks we can still get in certain stores or online. But the problem is they aren't supporting them for very long anymore because of man made environmental problems and how fast technology is advancing now, so they figured it's the only way to repurpose and recycle while keeping up to date with the next breakthrough in technology. It's already possible to create converters to use current fibre optic broadband wires to create 601 terabyte per second internet🤯i can't keep up anymore lol the only way to limit usage significantly is to use only the cheapest contract plans with only 5 to 10 gigabytes of data so they have to be careful how they use it throughout the month. Computers on the other hand though with unlimited broadband you definitely need to limit screen time on that and frankly so do we adults, the only way to lock us out is to use the parental controls but sadly for those who need computers to work there's no helping them until technology changes to be much healthier.
I’ve been saying this about politics for a long time now. Comments sections filled with “We need to do something!!!!” for years with no organizing. It’s so incredibly sad.
My 12 yo is struggling with anger rooted in having screen time limits. Her peers at school don’t have these limits. She’s angry when apps and games she plays glitch out because she doesn’t want to lose her precious screen time to troubleshooting. It’s maddening.
I'm starting to feel it. Social media internet everything. Kids will probably never feel this cuz they're so glued into it that they don't understand what's happening. I'm cutting back my internet use more than 50% because it leaves a negative scar on my brain.
Guess what? Your phone knows so much about you and what it can do to add on the burden. That's the love you pay for monthly, for free, and is rewarded in real life with civil law suits.
I owned a phone for about 3 months, about 5yrs ago. I simply couldn't stand it, and i can't understand how others do...maybe i missed something. I'm happier without one.
@@loucura_loucura_ you can live without a smartphone. There was life before smartphones. Theres ways around everything. You could manage with a flip phone if you wanted to
it's scary to see what the new generation glued to the screen phone lacking physical, mental, and emotional development will build as the new world... my heart weeps
I just talked to my 15 years old son. Smart kid, could perfectly read at the age of 4. What I see is that he is becoming less smart every day, to put it gently. He understands this addiction. I will keep trying to explain and set the good example. I just set up my wrist watch to be used as an alarm so I can leave my phone downstairs. The phones are quite distracting. Kids are not able to focus. Their mind is not clear. They have no patience. About the big tech companies. It's not only them, it is a LOT more. What do you think the economical impact would be if we all cut the use of our phones? The capitalism does not want that. They want hard working robots, brain washed and spending their monthly salaries as fast as they come. The phone plays a very big role in that. Phone is ALL ABOUT ADVERTISING, and ADVERTISING IS ALL ABOUT MONEY, and MONEY IS ALL ABOUT CAPITALISM, and CAPITALISM IS DISTROING OUR PLANET AND OUR LIVES. And we are all together in this capitalistic washing machine. Most of us are the laundry, and few of them are pushing the buttons on the machine and programming the machine.
Capitalism overall is a striving way to build society up. It can only be corrupt when it comes to selling instantly gratifying devices or substances. But Capitalism is still overall the most striving method of a society despite its small growing holes of corruption that can still probably be patched or fixed with change into it's system.
I'm surprised people are arguing against capitalism being the driver for companies trying to get people to spend as much time as possible on their phones. Last thing I saw, the CEOs of social media companies are some of the wealthiest people in the world. That should tell you all you need to know.
You too can "multitask"? One screen just isn't enough hey? Gotta have pokemon going on the tablet while you watch the netflix show on the TV, but don't forget zelda on the nintendo switch. All the best, mate.
When I have traveled on public transport in London, UK sometimes you can see the whole tube carriage on their smart phone. People these days are not aware of their surroundings when they are out in public, its like they are smartphone zombies, they really need to work on reducing the amount of time they are glued to their screens and appreciate the world around them.
10 day ago I started my digital detox (spending less than 1 hour a day using internet). I can clearly see a difference in my drive and my mental clarity
Agreed...schools are scary .EVERYWHERE you look.. a kid is on a cell phone..many lack the important skills they will need in the future and don't put effort into their school work
This is what i have been saying for some time now to family and friends. Its worse than anything we’ve ever witnessed before. It has given me great anxiety that i was taking medication for only to find that you dont need the medication if you eliminate the problem.
Hello, I saw your comment about struggling with mobile distractions. I run a program called Clarity-Coach, where I help people stay accountable to their goals while also addressing mobile addiction. We offer strategies to reduce screen time and stay focused. Interested in learning more ? Connect me on insta - anoop_4787
It's rough seeing people attack comments who say they aren't addicted by saying "you're commenting on a youtube video!" Like, people can use phones and youtube with self discipline and without addiction.
And you can acknowledge a problem while still trapped within it. As a matter of fact, there's not really anywhere else you could see a problem from, if you're outside of it, then it really isn't a problem
The problem is they've made it impossible to live without them. I can only pay my rent online. I pay my other bills online also. I shop online as there is no grocery store anymore where I live. Just try to find a payphone. I don't know the answer.
Yeah, for online banking nowadays it's not sufficient to access it on the computer, for security reasons I'm also required to confirm it on the mobile app every time. Meaning they're making the older version of the online bank (accesible from a website) obsolete in favor of the mobile app because I need the mobile app anyway.
One of the biggest reasons I retired early was because every time I looked around everyone was playing on there cell phones. Now its somebody else's problem.
Oh man, this is how I felt in college. I had to sit in the front row because otherwise I was so distracted by everyone just online shopping or playing games on their phones. It seemed so rude to the professor, and made me sad so many people treated their education like that.
Im 63 and worked physically hard, been there and done that throughout my lifetime. Ive only become crippled recently and found my phone, tablet be a wonderful thing that stops me from going crazy. Im addicted to my phone and very happy.
@razvandavid1510 There's plenty of reading available throughout the internet. It's just not watching videos. I spent plenty of time in libraries throughout my life. There's a thing I described called being crippled. This makes it hard to assess anything, including this "paper" you speak of, and having to reply to others for your needs becomes bothersome for all involved. But thanks for your helpful advice.
I know it has changed education and not for the better. I saw the intrusion of phones and then smartphones into the classroom over my years as a high school teacher. It is definitely an addiction.
@@Brian-rs4ug It’s my only internet source at home. I use it for bills, banking, email, and medical stuff. I really don’t want home wifi or to have to go to the library at inconvenient hours. What’s working for me currently is to turn off all notifications and delete all but the necessary apps. Big improvement!!!
I spend the first week of every school year explaining dopamine, phone addiction, and what it does to their focus throughout the day (I teach senior English) The effect lasts one week before they are glued to their screens again.
Love this video. Made it a favourite and sharing it with everyone I know. For those in the thralls of addiction, may I suggest a course of action. Wait until your vacation and travel somewhere nice. Leave emergency number for work and only check that at night. Leave all Smartphones, Tables, Laptops in Hotel Room. DO NOT LOOK AT THEM. The first two or three days are going to be rough, but by the end of the week you are going to feel totally liberated. The addiction is real folks. The narrator is even understating the problem. It is destroying us.
The addiction is so bad that they bring the dealer with them on vacation. No need to answer the phone when the one who got It is laid up giggling and plotting. And it's sooooo many of those than not. Nobody wants to really address the real issue because it includes their active participation being exposed.
Man I can't believe as humans we go on trips to see places and we go places to visit friends and family just to end up on our phones tryn to communicate with people you may or may not know thousands of miles away ??it litteraly makes zero sense
I’m gonna send those video to my long time friend. I went to meet her at a gathering. On our walk back she spent more time scrolling down the phone than talking to me. Granted she doesn’t have social media. She got chatting with some foreign visitors who exchanged numbers with her and took photos. About 95% of the time I could barely get her attention until we boarded the train where there’s no network
Mental Health Education needs to become a part of our education system. It's become an eye opening experience for me lately to understand the dopamine reward system and how it's impacted by the things we do every day.
Why are some people, like me, not enticed by phones like others? I use around 5 minutes per day. The buzz and dings just annoy me, usually I keep my phone in another room to avoid it. I don't make any conscious effort to avoid it, I just have no desire to use it.
I am saying this for so long and people don’t take me seriously!! I tell people I’m addicted and it ends up being joked about. At therapy I talk about it and he connects it to my childhood problems but I’m aware of my issues and this feels slightly unconnected, like a bit different! Idk! I think you are dead right about it all. Also my continuous tiredness and restless sleep kicked in slowly with my use of my I phone. I have definitely given up hobbies for it!!! Thank you for this!
Your childhood issue may make it easier for you to fall into the rabbit hole of it all this is true but it still doesn’t take away the major pull technology by itself has to the neutral mind.
Yeah I don't think your therapist is helpful if they tried to say your addiction is all because of your life experiences. These devices & apps are expertly designed to be addictive to all people (not just you) because it makes people very very rich. It's a struggle for us all to resist this tidal wave.
@ cheers thank you, yeah I’m doing my best, slowly gaining control by getting a bit more chill about life. Slowing down and imagining what I want for my life instead of getting mad about what I don’t want! Phone addiction is not ideal 😂
It saddens me to see a whole family sitting in a restaurant, present, but not present, all sat on their smartphones. Similarly, phone zombies stepping off the pavement in traffic, unable to divert their gaze from whatever fluff they’re looking at on their phone. What on earth is so fascinating? Surely not Facebook or KandyKrush? I get ridiculed for no longer using a smartphone - how will I bank, buy stuff, navigate through a city or message my friends. Well, somehow I manage just fine……however, I don’t know for how long. I’ve already seen older folk excluded from segments of society simply because they can’t use apps, smartphones, or simply don’t want to use them.
If you don't understand how fascinating Facebook & Candy Crush are expertly designed to be, I feel like you're missing a pretty huge point and not really empathising with people who are struggling with overuse of devices. It's great that you don't use a smartphone & are getting on without it, but I think it's important to still relate to why other people get so addicted to them.
This is absolutely brilliant, right on point, I became aware of this myself and reconfigured my phone to the way it’s layed out to notifications to how much I use it etc. It has a direct correlation to our brains and can affect how we think and feel about things, I’ve also figured out how to reduce my anxiety, depression and allergies by configuring my phone correctly. All in all the less time spent on these things the better, I feel it makes society lazier, less socially active and responsive to things in the real world differently. We need to reshape our society more back to the natural world because most of the time we’re living in this digital matrix that doesn’t really exist and that’s sad. The world was natural in the beginning for a reason, let’s try and get back to it.
We can do it, but we won’t. If it’s profitable for the system, they will simply avoid doing it. Modern smartphones were designed to steal our attention 😢
Who will enforce the ban? There are so many ways to get around it. And who will be liable? The parents? Well, that wouldn’t be fair in all cases. What about the kids? What are you going to do, fine or imprison a kid? And what about the companies? They don’t have the capability to monitor every single user like that without being massively intrusive and Orwellian. Unless there is a strongly reinforced social norm about age and social media, I don’t think we’ll ever get out of this situation. Plus, most adults are addicted to social media. Adults addicted to social media telling kids they can’t use social media has as much weight as a drunk telling people not to drink.
The preoccupation of cell phone use and social media is a particularly important issue for us to pay attention to because it's clearly a passageway to near infinite distraction. We either understand this to be true or we are imprisoned by self-inflicted naivete and ignorance.
What makes it worse is its easy accessibility. You try deleting a couple of apps to get rid of your addiction, but those apps are always waiting for you in the app store. It's like recovering from a drug addiction while living right next door to a drug dealer. It becomes a whole cycle again. It makes it sound like having a flip phone isn't as much of an insult if you're just trying to make your way through daily life.
Simple question: Aside from the person themselves realizing the addiction, how would something like this be controlled? Keep in mind that prohibition never works... This is the challenge...
I like the mobile phone movement. If 30% takes the simcard out of the smartphone and put it in a old fashioned mobile phone we buy, we won't be forced to let our smartphone become our identity. Although they try to have 100% of the people having a smartphone worldwide. The smartphone can still be used for photos, videos, music etc.
Most of the time in developing an app is not used for coding but for designing methods and rewards that releases more dopamine and make you stay in that app for long .
I was a kids teacher before 2007 (first smartphone debut). It is not just anedoctal evidence. A kid with real ADHD was rare to come accross back then. Maybe 1 in 500. Today, I teach small classes of 8 pupils max (private school) and at least 2 out of 8 are certified ADHD. And after covid lockdown, well, I can testify to no longer having a single kid able to sit for longer than 2 minutes. Have had to ditch chairs, let them sit on the floor on cushions and allow them to move their legs and spin, as long as they manage to keep focused and silent for a little while. Some kids are walking testimonies to the irreversible damage that early hyperstimulation has had on them. They actually wish they could calm down, not have crazy legs and feet with a mind of their own, they sometimes even feel bad for not being able to pay attention. But for the most part, even when they enjoy games, dynamic classes, the works, they can't control themselves, wait, control urges and impulses, control their own body... It is super sad and tragic.
And we are glued to UA-cam streaming. We are in serious troubles with these tech addictions. I am now starting minimalist handling of my smartphones, iPads and laptop computer. And reduced my apps consumption.
Thanks for raising awareness. I spend too much time on my phone and I won't from now on. This is a crisis. Smart phone addiction impacts human.potential, well being, mental health and relationships.
Dear Dr. Justin Romano, they way you delivery your speech is amazing, it is mesmerising listening that you arrange your speech into context and elaborating it one by one. Time pass by, just like that. Thank you.
At the age of 22. I'm feeling the same as what he is talking about and recently I've checked my phone timing and that shock me 😢 bro it's more then 11 hours the maximum time which is playing games and social media.. So from now i decided that I'll decrease that time to 1 hour a day gradually. And this guy Spot a worse addiction that this and the next generation is facing. Wish me good luck 🤞🏻
I believe people who are addicted to the phone also want instant gratification. It would be difficult for them to watch this talk in a single way. No doubt why this talk has very few views.
I’m afraid this addiction much like the so called war on drugs will never be won. Too much money on the table to stop or slow down. Money in every direction just like physical drugs. Hopefully we will all wake up to break from phones ourselves
It's too much of an invisible problem much like how mental disorders are called "invisible disabilities". Anything psychological is too complex for most to understand, so it only remains a mystery to the masses.
My mom is 65 and ALWAYS scrolling on Facebook and IG. When I'm in the same room with her trying to talk she'll just scroll and not respond to me, so I just walk away. It's so frustrating.
Great TED talk! More play and connection. Device detox is real and I will not be convinced that my daughter did not go through classic withdrawal symptoms when we took her phone away permanently on Monday
The problem is that the people are more addicted to things that destroy them rather than the ones that help them.. So there is more money to be made from things that make them addicted, rather than on things that help them develop.
Is it the phone overall or social media more? Meaning, if we talk about dopamine we are talking about pleasure and rewarding, the excitement of getting or achieving something, but if your working through emails and solving situations at work, now schools send homework through apps so everything seems to be contributing to a forced used of a phone, are we getting dopamine hits if we work through emails???
I believe social media was just alright (except news outlets on these apps) until TikTok came which then brought IG Reels and it just went overboard with usage, content creation and cringe.
When I was young the few social media websites we had were actually used in a social way. Everything I am using now doesn't help me connect in a "social" way. It's an illusion that creates the feeling being connected with others. Capitalism and psychology combined in a nutshell.
As a middle school teacher I would really appreciate a video like this that appeals directly to students. My students don’t know what dopamine is capable of. They don’t know what it is. They don’t know they are addicted.
Read smartphone dumbphone by John dicey
@@iamElon Damn Elon, wouldn't have picked you for such a varied reader, muchas gracias.
Constant cell phone usage and the addiction is real and we all know it and need to acknowledge it . I literally just received an email from my son's high school saying all of their campuses will be self free starting this year. I know the kids and maybe even some parents might complain, but I think it's bold and brilliant and I couldn't be more happier. Our kids will be better for it. Even my 16-year-old who I made a snide comment about their new policy agreed it's best for students. It's not rocket science.
As a teacher, you should have an opportunity to educate your students. I don't know if you have the ability to show your students what you want in class but I would certainly talk to the principal because this is something that starts at the top.
Their parents don't want to hear about their own shot out risk reward systems. Just let little Timmy or Jimmy have their electro herion. They're in tic tok withdrawal and I have to call my friends about so and so post on wtfever. Sick sad blind people. Nicholas Kardaras has a great resource in Glow Kids as well as Digital Madness. He's incredibly smart and could be tools to shift perspective or make at least some ripples that lord willing will turn the tide for them.
Adults are addicted just as much as children. I live with a phone addict and he is 71 and it is frustrating.
This. Older folks love to jump on the bandwagon of calling Gen Z iPad babies while many of them are just as, if not more, addicted
Absolutely. Many are, you’re correct. It’s an epidemic not just among young people.
The irony in this post.
Not irony , it's true
Although, my father lost boredom since he was alone and separated from my mom, I regretted I gave my father with smartphone. And he became addicted with social media esp facebook. I thought older gens will not adjust to the tech difficulties.
Everyone is looking what they are putting in their stomachs. But no one is looking what they are putting in their heads. And thats one million times more important.
nobody looks what they put into their stomachs. They just assume it's safe.
You cant trust either!
both are important and it isn't difficult to put the right stuff into both if you try
True. Even half the food is a slow poison. Never ending battle
@@More_Rowthats exactly the same thing they did 100,000 years ago. Nothing has changed
Watching this and seeing it only has 31,000 views kind of backs the concept that no one wants to face this addiction or talk about it because we are almost all dealing with it in some way.
Introspection is difficult and the majority been laid their life down or someone else's for the invisible machine they love so much. That's how much people love tech. They rather become mutes and just spy. Ai is stepping in as the parent to go to work while people become useless babies.
Well said, I completely agree.
Or…maybe YT is suppressing the video because it will cause a hit to their bottom line.
It looked interesting but I couldn't watch the guy. It's like I'm watching a comedian doing a bit about public speakers.
Sweet fella. Studied psych ok. Dint grow up with POGO: "We have found the Enemy! and it is us🙄"
My name is David Riddle, I am 71-years old and have been self-employed as an inventor, designer, and manufacturer of technical products for more than 50-years. As a technologist, I have never seen any product available to the consumer, more rapidly adopted than the "highly addictive, fully programmable, hand-held, Pavlovian device known as the smart phone"! I own an internet based marketing and sales corporation, but I do not want, or own a "smartphone", I use a flip-phone. Because of this, I've been a keen observer of how the smartphone has absolutely altered the human experience, and I believe in the future, sociologists and anthropologists will point at Steve Jobs as the "destroyer of the human mind". I also believe that any parent that provides a child with a smartphone or tablet younger than 18-years old, is committing severe child abuse! How can the human mind possibly be introspective, contemplative, imaginative, and creative when it is being bombarded with millions of highly beguiling images, sounds, and texts? I hope the Dr. Romano's video will be watched by many millions, not just thousands of views.
Thanks for that diatribe nobody's going to read
It’s not child abuse unless the parent knows it is wrong, hides it or lies about it. Sugar and cellphones have destroyed way more young lives in loving homes than the violence and addiction of troubled homes.
Gen Z was the first generation that was 100% born at a time when most women had the array of choices avail to them - the first truly wanted generation is the most damaged and at a time we need them most.
The solution? Less screen time and make sugar a controlled substance.
Very few will agree with me on this.
There is no issues as long as there are boundaries
@@jeremywilliams9363 I read it. And I agree.
And now AI has taken over creativity we haven't any hope at all!!!
Taking my kids to school in the morning, every kid waiting for the school bus have their faces in their phones. The world is in serious trouble.
Look at the adults. Children model.
No interaction No hobbies, anger issues, no exposure to sunlight,no exercise 🌟🌟🌟 all side effects of Mobile Addiction
A cyclist nearly went straight into me last week, his face in bedded in his phone!!!
Not just children everyone
They might be reading Shakespeare, who knows..
Honestly can't remember the last time I watched concert footage and didn't see upwards of 70% of the crowd more interested in the "likes" they'll receive from posting their video than they are with actually enjoying the artists in the moment
Yeah. I had a vacation in Hungary recently and went to a ballet at the opera house. Filming was prohibited and they made sure that was followed, so the crowd would be fully immersed in the events on stage. It was a special moment, in these times when everyone carries around their own entertainment device.
This is great. So true how no one is even acknowledging this addiction. I’ve given up preaching. I just worry about myself now. Thanks Dr Justin
...it's because most refuse to see it as, or admit that it's an addiction.
Thats because there's too much money in it for big tech companies.
You can give up preaching about the dangers of smartphones to people, BUT you can still influence the ones around you to live healthier lives.
I've recently gone back to a flip phone after having a smart phone for four years. I feel more peaceful now. ❤️
Still have a computer though so not much change
@@thescrout9831mhmm… you think a computer is the equivalent of a smartphone in terms of convenience? Not so much.
This is why I like psychology so much, it raises awareness to stuff like this. I’m 18 and have always thought in the back of my mind that using my phone as much as I do probably isn’t good for me, so I started looking into it more and found this video. Definitely an eye opener for sure.
Society has never been more in conflict with our biology as in the last two/three decades.
It's only going to get worse in the near future
Our society is extremely sick. Phones used to be mounted on walls. Now people can't live without the cell phone addiction in one hand at all times.
You are part of the problem too
Even social media used to exist in a fixed place, on a computer that people couldn't put in their pocket. That used to make social media an "opt-in" situation where by default we were offline. Smartphones made social media "opt-out" where by default we are online 24/7.
The issue is more complex than we imagine, I think. Like on TikTok you've got thousands of people diagnosing themselves with ADHD and autism, when it's clear that these people are completely addicted to and absorbed by their phones/social media, which in turn has stunted their abilities to socialise and concentrate on anything for a significant length of time. There's all the political misinformation too, with misinfo/conspiracy theories about important issues such as pandemics and vaccines, subjects that can literally change the face of society in a very short space of time.
Very good points you made. People need self control, but as someone who used to be a drug addict, and I mean the bad kinds, I’m now addicted to my phone, and yah know what, when you go from shooting up random chemicals to just a phone addiction I’d say I ain’t doing so bad lol.
100%. Self diagnosis is rarely an actual diagnosis at all. Most of these ADHD/Autism people are just trying to fit in somewhere. I'm saying this as a father of 4, which includes an actual autistic child with severe behavioural and intellectual challenges.
Much of the misinformation stems directly from government and the media corporations in regards to the pandemic and MRNA therapies
Do you trust mainstream news and gov to tell you what to buy into, which so happen to be funded by those disseminating the narratives?
@@jakeamberson6675, There might also be a huge concern of misdiagnoses. With phone addiction, people's attention spans are lessened, and because of that, it can be mistaken as ADHD or some other disorder. I am probably one of those people as a matter of fact. Been diagnosed with ADD but I hold some suspicions of it. It's even more relevant because I grew up with screens, especially video games or games on computers, even at a younger age than usual.
I think the inventing of the smartphone is a curse more than a blessing
same
yes! Everyone keeps saying, "well it's very useful, we can't get rid of them!" But I always think, we have lived hundreds of years without phones, they are not a necessity, it just happens to be that now, everything has been adapted to be acessible through phones, and they have made it a million times harder not to depend on them!! Phones have brought so much trouble it sometimes wrecks my brain how some people just dont see it😣
@@lifesagiftt GIRL LITERALLY I feel like as a society there should be a balance between how long you should be on your smartphone.
They're all smart phones these days apart from the nokia and motorola bricks we can still get in certain stores or online. But the problem is they aren't supporting them for very long anymore because of man made environmental problems and how fast technology is advancing now, so they figured it's the only way to repurpose and recycle while keeping up to date with the next breakthrough in technology.
It's already possible to create converters to use current fibre optic broadband wires to create 601 terabyte per second internet🤯i can't keep up anymore lol the only way to limit usage significantly is to use only the cheapest contract plans with only 5 to 10 gigabytes of data so they have to be careful how they use it throughout the month.
Computers on the other hand though with unlimited broadband you definitely need to limit screen time on that and frankly so do we adults, the only way to lock us out is to use the parental controls but sadly for those who need computers to work there's no helping them until technology changes to be much healthier.
yes. we were just fine before that.
This is scary and it's ONLY getting worse
Thanks for this. As a teacher, I’ve bee watching our children become unmotivated, apathetic zombies for years.
been
Problem is no one looks up or listens long enough to do anything about it.
So true
I’ve been saying this about politics for a long time now. Comments sections filled with “We need to do something!!!!” for years with no organizing. It’s so incredibly sad.
This video is so underrated
I have never owned a cell phone, but I see what this young man is talking about every day all around me.
So you’re watching this on your laptop/pc?
@@nothinglastsforever0000 PC, yes.
@@nacarreira777 youtube is also addictive imo
@@nothinglastsforever0000 I can vouch for that
@@nothinglastsforever0000As Addictive as TV
My 12 yo is struggling with anger rooted in having screen time limits. Her peers at school don’t have these limits. She’s angry when apps and games she plays glitch out because she doesn’t want to lose her precious screen time to troubleshooting. It’s maddening.
Yikes
I'm starting to feel it. Social media internet everything. Kids will probably never feel this cuz they're so glued into it that they don't understand what's happening. I'm cutting back my internet use more than 50% because it leaves a negative scar on my brain.
My whole family and colleges have this problem, while i just sit there without using my phone.
I just like face to face talk.
Talking about this is so important...people don't usually believe me when I tell them I feel addicted to my phone
..❤
But are you holding yourself accountable and taking steps to decrease your screen time? Because just acknowledging is not enough
Guess what? Your phone knows so much about you and what it can do to add on the burden. That's the love you pay for monthly, for free, and is rewarded in real life with civil law suits.
Ditto, they think I'm crazy.
Finally someone talked about it ! We are in crisis mood ! And that crisis is smart phone addiction
If we dont stop this and listen to this man and take steps we are doomed
I owned a phone for about 3 months, about 5yrs ago. I simply couldn't stand it, and i can't understand how others do...maybe i missed something. I'm happier without one.
Probably you didn’t know how to use it properly.
I wish i knew how to stop using my phones. I don’t think i can live without one.
@@loucura_loucura_ you can live without a smartphone. There was life before smartphones. Theres ways around everything. You could manage with a flip phone if you wanted to
It’s not that simple, it’s a competitive vicious cycle between peers
It's more likely that he did.@@Python343
it's scary to see what the new generation glued to the screen phone lacking physical, mental, and emotional development will build as the new world... my heart weeps
Glad I came across this video.....currently re-examining my own addiction to the internet........
Yes, we must hold tech companies accountable, like we did with tobacco companies, to end smart phone addiction 😊
I’m vaping while commenting this and watching this video on my phone lmao
@@DirtTrackRacing410 thats sad
no we shouldn,t
@@DirtTrackRacing410 Are you also happy? Happy as in fulfilled?
I just talked to my 15 years old son. Smart kid, could perfectly read at the age of 4. What I see is that he is becoming less smart every day, to put it gently. He understands this addiction. I will keep trying to explain and set the good example. I just set up my wrist watch to be used as an alarm so I can leave my phone downstairs. The phones are quite distracting. Kids are not able to focus. Their mind is not clear. They have no patience. About the big tech companies. It's not only them, it is a LOT more. What do you think the economical impact would be if we all cut the use of our phones? The capitalism does not want that. They want hard working robots, brain washed and spending their monthly salaries as fast as they come. The phone plays a very big role in that. Phone is ALL ABOUT ADVERTISING, and ADVERTISING IS ALL ABOUT MONEY, and MONEY IS ALL ABOUT CAPITALISM, and CAPITALISM IS DISTROING OUR PLANET AND OUR LIVES. And we are all together in this capitalistic washing machine. Most of us are the laundry, and few of them are pushing the buttons on the machine and programming the machine.
Don't worry, capitalism will fix this issue.
@@Luke-eo6kp Capitalism creates a sick society. Sick and perverse stimuli...
Capitalism isn't the issue my friend 😅 one look at history clears that misconception up.
Capitalism overall is a striving way to build society up. It can only be corrupt when it comes to selling instantly gratifying devices or substances. But Capitalism is still overall the most striving method of a society despite its small growing holes of corruption that can still probably be patched or fixed with change into it's system.
I'm surprised people are arguing against capitalism being the driver for companies trying to get people to spend as much time as possible on their phones. Last thing I saw, the CEOs of social media companies are some of the wealthiest people in the world. That should tell you all you need to know.
Who else is watching this while also doom scrolling through the comments? 😅
Bro I'm in the underground everyone staring at their mobile 😮
I am here lol😂
You too can "multitask"?
One screen just isn't enough hey?
Gotta have pokemon going on the tablet while you watch the netflix show on the TV, but don't forget zelda on the nintendo switch.
All the best, mate.
I’m cleaning the bathroom
If you scroll down before click the comments tab, only the video apears.
When I have traveled on public transport in London, UK sometimes you can see the whole tube carriage on their smart phone. People these days are not aware of their surroundings when they are out in public, its like they are smartphone zombies, they really need to work on reducing the amount of time they are glued to their screens and appreciate the world around them.
10 day ago I started my digital detox (spending less than 1 hour a day using internet). I can clearly see a difference in my drive and my mental clarity
Agreed...schools are scary .EVERYWHERE you look.. a kid is on a cell phone..many lack the important skills they will need in the future and don't put effort into their school work
I'm horrified by what smartphones and screen time is doing to our society.
what are they doing?
Dr. Justin, you're a wonderful speaker. Thank you for raising awareness of this topic.
Thank you for your kind words. :)
Really because I found it really melodramatic and patronizing. Had me grimacing the whole time.
@@apathyguy8338totally agree, wish I had a filter to make his voice sound like a normal person talking.
It’s so serious! I don’t know why people laugh about it!!!???
This is what i have been saying for some time now to family and friends. Its worse than anything we’ve ever witnessed before. It has given me great anxiety that i was taking medication for only to find that you dont need the medication if you eliminate the problem.
Most medication is like that. It only cures the effects of an ongoing problem, not the root cause.
Hello,
I saw your comment about struggling with mobile distractions.
I run a program called Clarity-Coach, where I help people stay accountable to their goals while also addressing mobile addiction.
We offer strategies to reduce screen time and stay focused.
Interested in learning more ?
Connect me on insta - anoop_4787
It's rough seeing people attack comments who say they aren't addicted by saying "you're commenting on a youtube video!" Like, people can use phones and youtube with self discipline and without addiction.
People also love to blame others instead of looking at themselves
And you can acknowledge a problem while still trapped within it. As a matter of fact, there's not really anywhere else you could see a problem from, if you're outside of it, then it really isn't a problem
I'm glad I'm old. I don't want to be around when this addiction becomes a full blown crisis. You can't duck this one.
Phone addiction often reduces face-to-face interactions, weakening real-life social skills and relationships.
phone addiction literally ruined my real life.
😢 I hope things are getting better 🙏
Same
Awesome talk; it breaks my heart when I see little children with phones, their parents just giving it to them.
The problem is they've made it impossible to live without them. I can only pay my rent online. I pay my other bills online also. I shop online as there is no grocery store anymore where I live.
Just try to find a payphone.
I don't know the answer.
Yeah, for online banking nowadays it's not sufficient to access it on the computer, for security reasons I'm also required to confirm it on the mobile app every time. Meaning they're making the older version of the online bank (accesible from a website) obsolete in favor of the mobile app because I need the mobile app anyway.
You can think of it this way. A smartphone is a weapon. And it's pointed at you. Protect your mind.
Nice metaphor
One of the biggest reasons I retired early was because every time I looked around everyone was playing on there cell phones. Now its somebody else's problem.
Oh man, this is how I felt in college. I had to sit in the front row because otherwise I was so distracted by everyone just online shopping or playing games on their phones. It seemed so rude to the professor, and made me sad so many people treated their education like that.
Im 63 and worked physically hard, been there and done that throughout my lifetime. Ive only become crippled recently and found my phone, tablet be a wonderful thing that stops me from going crazy.
Im addicted to my phone and very happy.
There's this thing made of paper, that you can hold in your hand and read. You know, might want to give it a try as an alternative.
@razvandavid1510
There's plenty of reading available throughout the internet.
It's just not watching videos. I spent plenty of time in libraries throughout my life.
There's a thing I described called being crippled. This makes it hard to assess anything, including this "paper" you speak of, and having to reply to others for your needs becomes bothersome for all involved.
But thanks for your helpful advice.
Someone said - smartphones make you close to those who are far and far from those who are close
It is I agree, I've never had a full on panic attack from partying but I had one from social media.
Of the forty-three ted talks I've watched today, this one hits the closest to home.
😂
E1DOLHANZ: HOW MANY TED TALKS TODAY? Whoa.
I know it has changed education and not for the better. I saw the intrusion of phones and then smartphones into the classroom over my years as a high school teacher. It is definitely an addiction.
The trouble is, the teachers are addicted too. And no teachers’ education course even mentions it.
They knew....it ruined everything. I hate it. My mind is polluted
His voice is soothing
Watching this on my smartphone while wishing I had an alternative.
You do. A cellphone with talk and text only.
@@Brian-rs4ug It’s my only internet source at home. I use it for bills, banking, email, and medical stuff. I really don’t want home wifi or to have to go to the library at inconvenient hours.
What’s working for me currently is to turn off all notifications and delete all but the necessary apps. Big improvement!!!
I spend the first week of every school year explaining dopamine, phone addiction, and what it does to their focus throughout the day (I teach senior English)
The effect lasts one week before they are glued to their screens again.
Is there a book that provides the same type of information you teach your students?
Love this video. Made it a favourite and sharing it with everyone I know. For those in the thralls of addiction, may I suggest a course of action. Wait until your vacation and travel somewhere nice. Leave emergency number for work and only check that at night. Leave all Smartphones, Tables, Laptops in Hotel Room. DO NOT LOOK AT THEM. The first two or three days are going to be rough, but by the end of the week you are going to feel totally liberated. The addiction is real folks. The narrator is even understating the problem. It is destroying us.
The addiction is so bad that they bring the dealer with them on vacation. No need to answer the phone when the one who got It is laid up giggling and plotting. And it's sooooo many of those than not. Nobody wants to really address the real issue because it includes their active participation being exposed.
Agree , im working on that now, thanks
Man I can't believe as humans we go on trips to see places and we go places to visit friends and family just to end up on our phones tryn to communicate with people you may or may not know thousands of miles away ??it litteraly makes zero sense
I’m gonna send those video to my long time friend. I went to meet her at a gathering. On our walk back she spent more time scrolling down the phone than talking to me. Granted she doesn’t have social media. She got chatting with some foreign visitors who exchanged numbers with her and took photos. About 95% of the time I could barely get her attention until we boarded the train where there’s no network
Mental Health Education needs to become a part of our education system. It's become an eye opening experience for me lately to understand the dopamine reward system and how it's impacted by the things we do every day.
Why are some people, like me, not enticed by phones like others? I use around 5 minutes per day. The buzz and dings just annoy me, usually I keep my phone in another room to avoid it. I don't make any conscious effort to avoid it, I just have no desire to use it.
How old are you?
mid 30s@@nychris2258
@@nychris225819 years old. And I am in the same situation he described.
If i didnt have a business which requires me to have attention to my phone i would use it way less.
@@nychris2258 mid 30s
LOUDER!!!!
I am saying this for so long and people don’t take me seriously!! I tell people I’m addicted and it ends up being joked about. At therapy I talk about it and he connects it to my childhood problems but I’m aware of my issues and this feels slightly unconnected, like a bit different! Idk! I think you are dead right about it all. Also my continuous tiredness and restless sleep kicked in slowly with my use of my I phone. I have definitely given up hobbies for it!!! Thank you for this!
Your childhood issue may make it easier for you to fall into the rabbit hole of it all this is true but it still doesn’t take away the major pull technology by itself has to the neutral mind.
@@donjon8382yes I agree and thank you for commenting as a reminder of this video and the fact I am stilladdicted. Okay we keep trying 😂🫠
@@donjon8382 yes I agree and thank you for the reminder of this video coz I is still addicted 😬
Yeah I don't think your therapist is helpful if they tried to say your addiction is all because of your life experiences. These devices & apps are expertly designed to be addictive to all people (not just you) because it makes people very very rich. It's a struggle for us all to resist this tidal wave.
@ cheers thank you, yeah I’m doing my best, slowly gaining control by getting a bit more chill about life. Slowing down and imagining what I want for my life instead of getting mad about what I don’t want! Phone addiction is not ideal 😂
It saddens me to see a whole family sitting in a restaurant, present, but not present, all sat on their smartphones. Similarly, phone zombies stepping off the pavement in traffic, unable to divert their gaze from whatever fluff they’re looking at on their phone. What on earth is so fascinating? Surely not Facebook or KandyKrush? I get ridiculed for no longer using a smartphone - how will I bank, buy stuff, navigate through a city or message my friends. Well, somehow I manage just fine……however, I don’t know for how long. I’ve already seen older folk excluded from segments of society simply because they can’t use apps, smartphones, or simply don’t want to use them.
If you don't understand how fascinating Facebook & Candy Crush are expertly designed to be, I feel like you're missing a pretty huge point and not really empathising with people who are struggling with overuse of devices. It's great that you don't use a smartphone & are getting on without it, but I think it's important to still relate to why other people get so addicted to them.
It’s very scary how much mobile phone addiction can get
This is absolutely brilliant, right on point, I became aware of this myself and reconfigured my phone to the way it’s layed out to notifications to how much I use it etc. It has a direct correlation to our brains and can affect how we think and feel about things, I’ve also figured out how to reduce my anxiety, depression and allergies by configuring my phone correctly. All in all the less time spent on these things the better, I feel it makes society lazier, less socially active and responsive to things in the real world differently. We need to reshape our society more back to the natural world because most of the time we’re living in this digital matrix that doesn’t really exist and that’s sad. The world was natural in the beginning for a reason, let’s try and get back to it.
We can do it, but we won’t. If it’s profitable for the system, they will simply avoid doing it. Modern smartphones were designed to steal our attention 😢
Wow…. He’s an amazing speaker….. so much hit home. Really makes me want to change ….
Ban ALL social media for minors.. this will seriously help.
This is good. There should be an age restriction of 18
Bans, unfortunately, do the opposite of their intentions.
@@smallstudiodesignmake it illegal
Who will enforce the ban? There are so many ways to get around it. And who will be liable? The parents? Well, that wouldn’t be fair in all cases. What about the kids? What are you going to do, fine or imprison a kid? And what about the companies? They don’t have the capability to monitor every single user like that without being massively intrusive and Orwellian. Unless there is a strongly reinforced social norm about age and social media, I don’t think we’ll ever get out of this situation. Plus, most adults are addicted to social media. Adults addicted to social media telling kids they can’t use social media has as much weight as a drunk telling people not to drink.
that's so naive
Thank you Dr. And TED Team 🙏, and it's not overwhelming, it's essential, thank you.
The preoccupation of cell phone use and social media is a particularly important issue for us to pay attention to because it's clearly a passageway to near infinite distraction. We either understand this to be true or we are imprisoned by self-inflicted naivete and ignorance.
What makes it worse is its easy accessibility. You try deleting a couple of apps to get rid of your addiction, but those apps are always waiting for you in the app store. It's like recovering from a drug addiction while living right next door to a drug dealer. It becomes a whole cycle again.
It makes it sound like having a flip phone isn't as much of an insult if you're just trying to make your way through daily life.
Simple question: Aside from the person themselves realizing the addiction, how would something like this be controlled? Keep in mind that prohibition never works... This is the challenge...
I like the mobile phone movement. If 30% takes the simcard out of the smartphone and put it in a old fashioned mobile phone we buy, we won't be forced to let our smartphone become our identity. Although they try to have 100% of the people having a smartphone worldwide.
The smartphone can still be used for photos, videos, music etc.
Most of the time in developing an app is not used for coding but for designing methods and rewards that releases more dopamine and make you stay in that app for long .
The hardest part is when you give it up, everybody you bump into in public is addicted as well so you end up feeling just as alone
I was a kids teacher before 2007 (first smartphone debut). It is not just anedoctal evidence. A kid with real ADHD was rare to come accross back then. Maybe 1 in 500. Today, I teach small classes of 8 pupils max (private school) and at least 2 out of 8 are certified ADHD. And after covid lockdown, well, I can testify to no longer having a single kid able to sit for longer than 2 minutes. Have had to ditch chairs, let them sit on the floor on cushions and allow them to move their legs and spin, as long as they manage to keep focused and silent for a little while. Some kids are walking testimonies to the irreversible damage that early hyperstimulation has had on them. They actually wish they could calm down, not have crazy legs and feet with a mind of their own, they sometimes even feel bad for not being able to pay attention. But for the most part, even when they enjoy games, dynamic classes, the works, they can't control themselves, wait, control urges and impulses, control their own body... It is super sad and tragic.
HALEY. ANOTHER TEACHER HERE. ITS TRAGIC.
Spot on this
And we are glued to UA-cam streaming.
We are in serious troubles with these tech addictions.
I am now starting minimalist handling of my smartphones, iPads and laptop computer. And reduced my apps consumption.
Great speaker , needed and educative talk. This issue needs a lot more attention !
Thanks for raising awareness. I spend too much time on my phone and I won't from now on. This is a crisis. Smart phone addiction impacts human.potential, well being, mental health and relationships.
So true. Everywhere I go, I see people glued to their phone.
Dear Dr. Justin Romano, they way you delivery your speech is amazing, it is mesmerising listening that you arrange your speech into context and elaborating it one by one. Time pass by, just like that. Thank you.
This is a major topic to look into and focus on. Appreciate this talk.
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
The best video I have ever seen online 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
At the age of 22. I'm feeling the same as what he is talking about and recently I've checked my phone timing and that shock me 😢 bro it's more then 11 hours the maximum time which is playing games and social media..
So from now i decided that I'll decrease that time to 1 hour a day gradually.
And this guy Spot a worse addiction that this and the next generation is facing.
Wish me good luck 🤞🏻
I'll also try to reduce it gradually
Love that you offered solid ideas for the tech companies to be good guys instead of bad guys.
I believe people who are addicted to the phone also want instant gratification. It would be difficult for them to watch this talk in a single way. No doubt why this talk has very few views.
This guy spitting the truth 👍
This message deserves to be more widespread!
It stresses me out we aren’t talking more about this
we shouldn,t take about phone addiction unless if it is shown to decrease life span
I’m afraid this addiction much like the so called war on drugs will never be won. Too much money on the table to stop or slow down. Money in every direction just like physical drugs. Hopefully we will all wake up to break from phones ourselves
It's too much of an invisible problem much like how mental disorders are called "invisible disabilities". Anything psychological is too complex for most to understand, so it only remains a mystery to the masses.
"hold the tech companies accountable" is what should be happening
💯
@@numbercode2486 no
stop blaming teck compainies
@@JeremiahDavid-ll5qo Shut up dumb4ss
My mom is 65 and ALWAYS scrolling on Facebook and IG. When I'm in the same room with her trying to talk she'll just scroll and not respond to me, so I just walk away. It's so frustrating.
We need this handled on the government lvl and restrict manipulative tactics used to design products
Great TED talk! More play and connection. Device detox is real and I will not be convinced that my daughter did not go through classic withdrawal symptoms when we took her phone away permanently on Monday
I have no social media, but I do watch a lot of informative content such as this on UA-cam.😂
The problem is that the people are more addicted to things that destroy them rather than the ones that help them.. So there is more money to be made from things that make them addicted, rather than on things that help them develop.
Is it the phone overall or social media more? Meaning, if we talk about dopamine we are talking about pleasure and rewarding, the excitement of getting or achieving something, but if your working through emails and solving situations at work, now schools send homework through apps so everything seems to be contributing to a forced used of a phone, are we getting dopamine hits if we work through emails???
Social media use, games, etc. Anything you do on your phone to avoid boredom counts.
I believe social media was just alright (except news outlets on these apps) until TikTok came which then brought IG Reels and it just went overboard with usage, content creation and cringe.
When I was young the few social media websites we had were actually used in a social way. Everything I am using now doesn't help me connect in a "social" way. It's an illusion that creates the feeling being connected with others. Capitalism and psychology combined in a nutshell.
Instagram before reels was SO MUCH better 😢
Tech developers don't call their customers "users" for nothing