Teens, Technology, and the Antidote | Ilana Nguyen | TEDxOakland
Summary
TLDRIn this powerful speech, 15-year-old I Wanna Win addresses the impact of technology on teen relationships, highlighting both its benefits and the 'poison' of cyberbullying and social isolation. She emphasizes the importance of meaningful connections, both online and offline, and calls for a global community to take responsibility in creating and using technology responsibly. She advocates for active listening, diversity in STEM, and prioritizing human connection to combat the negative effects of technology.
Takeaways
- 📱 The speaker, a 15-year-old tenth grader at Stanford Online High School, discusses the impact of technology on teens and the importance of meaningful connections despite the prevalence of online interactions.
- 🌐 Technology has enabled a connected world, allowing the speaker to maintain strong friendships with people across the globe, highlighting the positive aspects of technological advancement.
- 💔 The unintended negative consequences of technology include cyberbullying, anxiety, eating disorders, addiction, violence, and mental health issues like depression and suicide, which the speaker encounters in daily life.
- 🌿 The antidote to technology's 'poison' begins with individuals and the quality of their connections, emphasizing the need for strong, meaningful relationships to combat loneliness and isolation.
- 🤳 The speaker notes a societal shift towards preferring digital communication over face-to-face interaction, which can lead to a lack of meaningful relationships and feelings of isolation.
- 📉 Statistics show a decline in the number of confidants and an increase in feelings of loneliness, with younger generations being increasingly affected, termed by some as a 'loneliness epidemic'.
- 🏫 The speaker's personal experience with online school counters the notion that online relationships cannot be meaningful, attributing the quality of connections to being truly present and engaged with friends.
- 🌟 The importance of active listening and being present in the moment is emphasized as a way to build strong connections, both online and offline.
- 🌍 A call to action for global responsibility in technology innovation, urging for diversity in STEM fields and inclusive decision-making to create technology that benefits everyone.
- 👂 The speaker advocates for active listening across disciplines and perspectives as a means to improve technology, society, and humanity.
- 💕 The script concludes with a message of hope, encouraging the audience to prioritize genuine human connection and to listen with open hearts and minds as the antidote to the problems technology can perpetuate.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the speaker's speech?
-The main theme of the speech is the impact of technology on human connection, the importance of meaningful relationships, and the need for an antidote to the negative consequences of technology.
How does the speaker describe their experience with friends in an online school?
-The speaker describes forming strong connections with friends who live thousands of miles away, despite the distance, by using technology such as computers and smartphones.
What are some of the positive aspects of technology mentioned by the speaker?
-The positive aspects include the ability to easily keep in touch with friends across the globe, the community-building potential of digital tools, and the unifying force of social media platforms.
What negative consequences of technology does the speaker discuss?
-The speaker discusses consequences such as cyberbullying, negative exposure, anxiety, eating disorders, addiction, violence, child pornography, depression, and suicide.
What does the speaker define as the 'antidote' to the negative effects of technology?
-The antidote is the improvement of the quality of our connections and the active listening and engagement in both our personal lives and in the development of technology.
What personal experience does the speaker share regarding the impact of technology on their social life?
-The speaker shares that they were initially scared to meet people in person because they were unsure if they would be liked as much as their online persona, which highlights the anxiety and loneliness that can come from a lack of strong connections.
What statistics does the speaker provide about the loneliness epidemic in the United States?
-The speaker states that two out of five Americans feel their relationships are not meaningful, and one out of five feel lonely or socially isolated. They also mention that most Americans now report having no confidants, compared to three in 1985.
What is the speaker's perspective on the role of technology in amplifying social problems?
-The speaker believes that while technology is not the root cause of social problems, it amplifies them by providing an illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship, leading to less meaningful interactions.
What is the speaker's advice for making meaningful connections in an online environment?
-The speaker advises to be truly present and enjoy the moment without being distracted by social media or thinking about documenting the experience for followers, which can lead to strong connections built on trust.
What responsibility does the speaker believe innovators and guardians of technology have?
-The speaker believes that innovators and guardians should listen to each other across perspectives and disciplines, include everyone in the decision-making process, and create responsible technology for the world to enjoy.
What is the speaker's final call to action for both individuals and the global tech community?
-The speaker calls for a return to making meaningful connections a priority, practicing active listening, and persevering in relationships. They also encourage the tech community to continue collaborating across perspectives and disciplines to improve technology and society.
Outlines
😣 The Impact of Technology on Teen Relationships
The speaker, a 15-year-old from Stanford Online High School, addresses the audience about the influence of technology on teen relationships. Despite the benefits of technology in connecting people across the globe, the speaker highlights the negative consequences such as cyberbullying, anxiety, and social isolation. They share personal experiences and statistics to emphasize the loneliness epidemic and the rise in suicide rates among high schoolers in their area. The speaker calls for an antidote to these issues, starting with improving the quality of connections on an individual level and fostering a global community that listens and collaborates across disciplines.
🌟 Fostering Meaningful Connections in a Digital Age
Continuing the discussion, the speaker emphasizes the importance of being present and engaged in relationships, both online and offline. They share insights on how genuine connection and active listening can lead to strong bonds built on trust. The speaker advocates for diversity in STEM fields and the inclusion of various perspectives in technology development to create responsible and beneficial innovations. They also stress the need for open conversations and the value of authenticity in personal relationships, suggesting that enduring through conflicts and resolutions is essential for growth and understanding. The speaker concludes with a call to action for the audience to prioritize meaningful interactions and to listen with open hearts and minds as the antidote to the problems technology can perpetuate.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Technology
💡Connection
💡Cyberbullying
💡Anxiety
💡Loneliness
💡Social Isolation
💡Authenticity
💡Active Listening
💡STEM
💡Diversity
💡Responsible Technology
Highlights
The speaker, a 15-year-old named I Wanna Win, addresses the issue of technology's impact on social connections and the need for an antidote.
I Wanna Win is a tenth grader at Stanford Online High School, highlighting the reality of forming connections through technology.
The speaker emphasizes the advantages of technology in connecting people across the globe, as experienced in their own life.
The negative consequences of technology, such as cyberbullying and anxiety, are discussed as major societal problems.
The antidote to technology's negative effects begins with improving the quality of our connections, both individually and as a global community.
The importance of being truly present in interactions, rather than being distracted by technology, is stressed.
A statistic is shared: two out of five Americans feel their relationships are not meaningful, and one out of five feel lonely or socially isolated.
The speaker describes the 'loneliness epidemic' and its alarming increase, especially in younger generations.
The high rate of suicide among high schoolers in Northern California is cited as a dire consequence of social isolation.
The speaker argues that technology amplifies existing social problems rather than creating new ones.
Dr. Sherry Turkle's concept of 'the illusion of companionship' without the demands of friendship is mentioned.
The importance of making meaningful interactions a priority, both online and offline, is emphasized.
The speaker shares personal experiences of not feeling lonely despite having online relationships, due to the quality of connection.
The need for diversity in STEM fields and the speaker's passion for teaching workshops to underrepresented groups is highlighted.
The importance of listening across disciplines and perspectives to create responsible technology is discussed.
The speaker calls for open conversation and collaboration to improve technology, society, and humanity.
A dream of a better world through genuine connection and listening with open hearts and minds is shared as the antidote to technology's negative effects.
The speech concludes with a call to action for both creators of technology and individuals to prioritize meaningful connections.
Transcripts
hi everyone you just give me one second
please
I'm so sorry I just have to finish this
message super important how did I make
you feel were you annoyed offended
saddened it's alright
because it's an all too common
experience these days right we want to
listen to a friend or I want them to
listen to us but instead of connecting
they're distracted in favor of their
device hi everyone my name is I wanna
win I'm 15 and I'm here to talk about
teens Tech in the antidote antidote why
do we need an antidote is technology of
poison let's talk about this
I am a tenth grader at Stanford online
high school and being in an online
school my friends yes I have friends
exist on a computer screen here's a
picture of us doing a murder-mystery
birthday party online and the
interesting thing is even though these
people live thousands of miles away from
me I formed really strong connections
with them that I haven't found in many
other places now to the tech the fast
development of technology we've come a
long way from 2007 has brought about
many advantages of living in a connected
world and I feel that firsthand as my
friends live in other states even other
countries and keeping in touch with them
is as easy as pulling out my phone from
my pocket and digital tools offer an
amazing community building platform
think about something like hashtag me -
which is a unifying force to spread
awareness on social media these are the
positive consequences of technology and
these are good things but like anything
there can be unintended or intended
negative consequences
that's the poison technologies ability
of widespread instantaneous connection
has opened the doorway to cyberbullying
and negative exposure of all kinds
leading to anxiety eating disorders
addiction violence child pornography
depression
and suicide these are major problems and
I actually encounter them in my everyday
life and so we did an antidote and the
antidote starts with each and every one
of us and it must be done on two levels
individually and as a global community
the individual antidote lies in the
quality of our connections because the
negative consequences of Technology
affects us all but it is when we lack
strong connections that the effects go
much deeper for example when I only
talked to people through texting I was
scared to meet them in person because I
wasn't sure if they would like the real
me as much as my online persona and if
this is widespread anxiety and
loneliness are sure to follow two out of
five Americans say they feel their
relationships are not meaningful and one
out of five say they feel lonely or
socially isolated and every younger
generation is lonelier than the last in
1985 most Americans reported having
three confidants now most say they have
none some experts are calling this the
loneliness epidemic and I feel it the
area where I live in Northern California
the ten-year rate of suicide for high
schoolers is four to five times the
national average
people are dying my cohorts are dying
and someone might go oh I wanna these
are new problems but the truth is
technology is amplifying the problem in
the words of dr. sherry Turkle a
sociologist and author of alone together
digital connections may offer us the
illusion of companionship without the
demands of friendship we would rather
text than talk common sight in my middle
school was you'd walk in in the morning
you'll be there on our phone sandy snap
shriek scrolling Instagram ignoring each
other even though we're standing right
there together so how is it that were so
connected
yet we feel our relationships are not
meaningful and we suffer from social
isolation we must make the quality of
our connections a priority again in our
lives online and offline because it's
not about our highlight reels or a
perfect online persona it's about human
connection I go to online school so I
should be the most vulnerable to social
isolation right personally I think my
school is pretty great we have an
awesome cafeteria but the answer is no
I'm not lonely even though my
relationships are online because the
time I spend together with my friends we
are truly present just enjoying the
moment enough thinking about what we're
missing out on so in social media or how
we're going to document this moment for
our followers to see and this act of
listening leads to a strong connection
built on trust and just knowing that
we'll have each other's backs no matter
what and on a global level as we journey
into the future and make new technology
by the hour we must face the
responsibility that we have is the
innovators and guardians of the future
the technology we're making images the
entire world so it is more important
than ever that we listen to each other
across perspectives across race gender
nationality field of study and it starts
with diversity in the STEM fields a
cause that I'm very passionate about as
I teach workshops to kids of
underrepresented backgrounds who might
not have had the exposure to stem
otherwise and secondly we must listen to
each other across disciplines we must
listen to those in sociology psychology
law anthropology ethics philosophy
taking a step back having an awareness
and listening is the key by listening we
can collaborate and take action so
listening and connecting they're so
simple right don't we do it already the
thing is we don't we rarely have active
listening and true connection in our
personal lives because relationships get
messy and they require vulnerability and
sometimes things get real and it gets
awkward but if we run
devices every time things get real we
soon lose our most valuable means of
combating the very problems technology
is perpetuating we must make meaningful
interactions of priority again and we
must persevere in our relationships not
just ghosting somebody every time things
get hard because it is through
authenticity conflict and resolution
that we grow learn and truly feel love
and as a collective community it is hard
to hear criticism it is hard to take
into account our perspectives it takes
time and effort but it is through open
conversation that technology society and
humanity improves so to those of us who
are creating tech globally I encourage
us to continue to sit down with each
other across perspectives and
disciplines and include everyone in the
decision-making process to make
Responsible technology for the world to
enjoy and in our personal lives
let's practice do you remember my friend
from the beginning let's connect wasn't
that easy
I truly believe that every single one of
us has a story to tell and our
perspective to share so let us make
meaningful connection with each other a
priority again in the workplace in the
home and most relevantly in our online
interactions as we push the future
forward let's get back to the basics and
make listening and connecting on the
individual and global level a must-have
I'm young sure but I can dream and a
dream of a better world if only we make
genuine connection with each other
by listening with open hearts and open
minds we are the antidote
thank you
[Applause]
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