Stop Trying to Quit Social Media | Max Reisinger | TEDxRutgersCamden
Summary
TLDRThe speaker discusses the impact of social media on society, particularly the negative effects of excessive screen time and the spread of clickbait content. They argue that the problem lies not with social media itself, but with the quality of content being consumed. Drawing parallels with the importance of a healthy diet, they propose that high-quality, meaningful art on platforms like YouTube can provide a more satisfying and less addictive alternative. By promoting 'YouTube New Wave' content that tells stories and adds value, they believe we can counteract the desensitization caused by a constant stream of low-quality information. The speaker calls for guidelines and a greater awareness of our media consumption habits, similar to how we approach our diet, to improve our mental health and foster a more empathetic and connected society.
Takeaways
- đ± The average screen time for 14-year-olds is seven hours a day, which is linked to changes in the brain related to emotional processing and decision making.
- đš The speaker believes that creating and sharing art on social media can be a solution to the negative effects of internet addiction and social media consumption.
- đœïž An analogy is made between the importance of a healthy diet and the need for a 'social media diet' to consume more meaningful content.
- đ The internet has led to a desensitization to shocking news and a rapid oscillation between optimism and nihilism, described as a meta-modernistic state.
- đ Social media has the potential to increase empathy, connection, and reduce bias when used to share meaningful stories and art.
- đ” The speaker's grandmother's experience with Facebook highlights the stark contrast between serious news and trivial content often found on social media feeds.
- đ The consumption of information has increased exponentially, leading to overstimulation and desensitization.
- đ§ There's a lack of guidelines for healthy social media consumption, similar to dietary recommendations, which leaves individuals without direction on navigating online content.
- đ± The idea of 'metaphorical veggies for the mind' suggests that consuming online art could be as beneficial for mental health as eating vegetables is for physical health.
- đ The importance of regulating and being aware of what and how much we consume on social media is emphasized, drawing parallels to food industry regulations.
- đ The speaker is optimistic about the future of social media, with the hope for more guidelines and protections, and encourages choosing art when engaging with online content.
Q & A
What is the main concern discussed in the conversation about social media?
-The main concern discussed is the negative effects of social media on people, particularly its potential contribution to internet addiction and structural and functional changes in the brain associated with emotional processing, executive attention, and decision making.
What percentage of 14-year-olds own a phone according to the research mentioned?
-According to the research mentioned, 91 percent of 14-year-olds own a phone.
What is the average screen time per day that is linked to internet addiction?
-The average screen time per day that is linked to internet addiction is seven hours.
How does the speaker believe they are not contributing to the problem despite working in social media?
-The speaker believes they are not contributing to the problem because they think creating and publishing art on social media can be part of the solution to offsetting the negative effects of social media.
What is the YouTube New Wave movement?
-The YouTube New Wave movement is a reaction against clickbait content that dominates most feeds today, pushing for more meaningful content that tells stories instead of begging for attention.
Why does the speaker use the analogy of a nice meal to explain the impact of good art on the brain?
-The speaker uses the analogy of a nice meal because, just as a satisfying meal leaves one feeling full and content, consuming good art or an indie movie leaves them feeling satisfied and less compelled to mindlessly scroll through social media.
What is the speaker's view on the role of art in the context of social media?
-The speaker views art as a vehicle to share stories and emotions that transcend time and bring people together. They believe that art on social media can increase levels of oxytocin, sparking empathy, connection, and reducing bias, thus helping people understand different perspectives.
What is the 'meta-modernistic state' of society described in the script?
-The 'meta-modernistic state' is described as an extreme oscillation between optimism and nihilism about the world around us at a very rapid pace, reflecting the emotional whiplash that people experience due to the constant stream of information from the internet.
Why does the speaker believe that emotional desensitization is occurring as a defense mechanism?
-The speaker believes that emotional desensitization is occurring as a defense mechanism against the hyper-consumption of media, particularly violent news, which can lead to symptoms similar to PTSD.
What is the comparison made between the consumption of food and media in the script?
-The comparison made is that just as there are guidelines and recommendations for a healthy diet, there should be similar guidelines for the consumption of media. The speaker questions why there isn't a 'social media pyramid' or diet to help navigate the complex landscape of online content.
What solution does the speaker propose to the issue of negative content consumption on social media?
-The speaker proposes that consciously filling our 'e-diets' with meaningful art can improve mental health, foster connection, and make us feel more human. They suggest that art can be the 'metaphorical veggies for the mind' and encourage a shift in what we consume on social media.
What is the speaker's optimism regarding the future?
-The speaker is optimistic that over time, there will be more guidelines, regulations, and protections to help navigate the consumption of online content, similar to how there are for food consumption.
Outlines
đ€ The Impact of Social Media and Art as a Solution
The speaker discusses a conversation with a friend about the negative effects of social media, particularly on younger audiences. They explore the idea that despite their job involving publishing content on YouTube, they believe they are not contributing to the problem. Instead, they argue that creating and sharing meaningful art on social media can help counteract the negative impacts of mindless scrolling and clickbait. The speaker introduces the 'YouTube New Wave' movement, which advocates for more substantive content that tells stories. They use the analogy of a satisfying meal to explain how consuming quality content can leave one feeling fulfilled, without the need for further mindless consumption. The discussion also touches on the lack of guidelines for social media consumption, similar to dietary recommendations, and the importance of changing our relationship with our devices rather than abstaining from them completely.
đ Emotional Desensitization in the Digital Age
The narrative delves into the emotional toll that constant exposure to information via the internet has on individuals. It draws a parallel between the consumption of food and media, noting that while there are established nutritional guidelines, there are no equivalent directives for media consumption. The speaker expresses concern over the lack of infrastructure to navigate the internet safely and the potential emotional desensitization that results from hyper-consumption of media. They discuss the concept of 'meta-modernism,' a state of rapid fluctuation between optimism and despair about the world, which is reflected in our reactions to online content. Art is presented as a potential remedy, capable of fostering empathy and connection, and the speaker questions why there isn't more emphasis on consuming beneficial online content, much like the emphasis on eating vegetables for a healthy diet.
đš Art as a Nutrient for the Mind
The speaker champions art in its various forms as a source of meaning and enrichment in our lives, accessible through platforms like YouTube. They emphasize the role of art in fostering empathy, connection, and understanding of different perspectives. The analogy of a healthy diet is extended to our consumption of digital content, suggesting that just as we need a balanced diet for physical health, we also require a balanced 'e-diet' for our mental well-being. The speaker calls for more guidelines and regulations to help individuals navigate the digital landscape and make informed choices about the content they consume. They conclude with an optimistic outlook for the future, where art can play a significant role in improving our collective mental health and sense of humanity.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄSocial Media
đĄInternet Addiction
đĄEmotional Processing
đĄYouTube New Wave
đĄClickbait Content
đĄArt on Social Media
đĄFood Analogy
đĄDesensitization
đĄMeta-modernism
đĄOxytocin
đĄE-Diets
Highlights
The negative effects of social media on people are being discussed, with a focus on the impact of screen time on the brain.
91% of 14-year-olds own a phone, and the average screen time is seven hours a day, leading to internet addiction.
Internet addiction is linked to structural and functional changes in the brain related to emotional processing and decision making.
The speaker argues that creating and publishing art on social media can be part of the solution to the social media epidemic.
The YouTube New Wave movement is a reaction against clickbait content, promoting more meaningful storytelling.
An analogy is made between satisfying meals and satisfying content, suggesting that good art can reduce the need to mindlessly scroll on social media.
The importance of a 'social media diet' is discussed, drawing parallels with dietary guidelines for physical health.
The speaker questions the lack of infrastructure and guidance for navigating the internet, especially for younger generations.
The emotional desensitization caused by the rapid consumption of media is compared to the effects of a poor diet on physical health.
Art is presented as a vehicle for sharing stories and emotions, capable of fostering empathy and understanding.
Social media has the potential to increase levels of oxytocin, which can spark empathy and connection.
The concept of 'meta-modernism' is introduced, describing society's rapid oscillation between optimism and nihilism.
The impact of the internet on our emotional responses, leading to a form of emotional PTSD, is explored.
The speaker advocates for a conscious 'e-diet' filled with meaningful art to improve mental health and foster human connection.
Guidelines and recommendations for media consumption are called for, similar to nutritional labels on food.
The importance of making conscious choices about the type of content we consume on social media is emphasized.
The conversation concludes with optimism for future guidelines and the personal responsibility each individual has in selecting the art they engage with.
Transcripts
so a few weeks ago I was catching up
with a friend over dinner and we're
having a conversation about the negative
effects of social media on people
because she asked me whether or not I
thought I was contributing to the
problem
because of my current job publishing
short films on YouTube and making a
living from it
we looked up some research and found
that 91 of 14 year olds now own a phone
and with the average screen time being
seven hours a day internet addiction is
now linked to structural and functional
changes in the brain associated with
emotional processing executive attention
and decision making
so she looked at me again and said do
you feel like you're contributing to the
problem
and I said well to be completely honest
no because I think in creating art on
social media and Publishing that art can
be part of the solution to offsetting
this epidemic she looked at me and said
art on YouTube how so I told her about
this new movement on social media called
the YouTube New Wave It's a reaction to
the clickbait content that propagates
most of our feeds today by pushing for
more meaningful content that tells
stories instead of begging for attention
she said okay good luck with that but I
was confident about my thesis so I use
the only analogy that came to mind and
asked her when was the last time she had
a nice meal for a special occasion
perhaps at a fancy restaurant or some
well-prepared and intentional meal and
if after that meal she went back home
and still felt really hungry and wanted
to eat a lot of snacks
she paused and said no and said I felt
satisfied after the meal I said exactly
it's the same thing with our brains
whenever I watch a good artistic or
Indie movie I never feel compelled to go
on social media to Doom scroll because I
feel satisfied and I want to properly
digest what I just consumed
she agreed and said yeah sharifi had
changed her diet had been intentionally
cooking all of her meals and felt like a
new version of herself
and
got me thinking about this food analogy
we consumed both media and food yet one
seems to be talked about a lot more than
the other a group learning about food
pyramids plate charts recommended
portions and ratios and different diets
but
never had I heard about a social media
pyramid a social media consumption Ratio
or social media diet aside from just a
detox
as a matter of fact I think the only
solution I've ever been presented with
is to knock on my phone
but imagine you went to the doctor and
you're like ah my stomach hurts I have a
stomach ache and they told you to not
eat food as a solution to feeling better
I really don't think consumption is the
problem I think it's what we're
consuming I think we need to acknowledge
that our phones are here to stay but
it's our relationships with them that
need to change
over Thanksgiving I was with my
grandmother and after dinner she asked
me to help her with her phone because
she had been logged out of Facebook and
needed help getting back in we logged
back in the first post that popped up
was I posted 6 000 civilians had been
killed because of the war in Ukraine
I scrolled down a little bit and saw a
cute cat video
you know if we all pause for a second
I'm sure we can think to a moment in our
lives where we read a shocking headline
sometime in the past year
or let alone the past month week day or
even hour
now let me ask you this do you think you
would have had a larger reaction to that
maybe five years ago 10 years ago 20 or
even 50.
I think we can all agree that because of
the internet we're becoming largely
desensitized to the world around us
increasingly I feel like I care less and
less about the issues people around the
world are facing but I'm not a bad
person right
people Now consume 90 times the amount
of information they did when compared to
the 1940s so it's no wonder we often
feel over stimulated and consequently
desensitized
and if we say in the past for a moment
and take a peek back into our history
there are time there have been movements
that reflect you know humanity and
society's view about the world modernism
for example is a 19th century literary
and artistic movement that captured the
idealism of a newly industrialized world
and the Eiffel Tower is a fantastic
example of this post-modernism on the
other hand
reflected the Lost state of humanity
after the second world war we see this
in existentialist literature or even the
irony of Andy Warhol soup can but where
are we now
well our society is described as being
in a meta-modernistic state which is
essentially an extreme oscillation
between optimism and nihilism about the
world around us but at a very rapid pace
an example would be one moment feeling
like you can help save the environment
by doing your part driving an electric
car cycling or saving water but the next
you read a headline that large companies
are doing more environmental damage than
anything your individual actions might
ever offset
you end up feeling like the world is
doomed and that nothing you ever do will
actually have an impact
with the internet we've been exposed to
this emotional Whiplash in a much faster
Pace than ever before in history
now show that people can displace
symptoms similar to PTSD just by
consuming violent news alone
and psychologists now believe that we're
becoming emotionally desensitized as a
defense mechanism against our hyper
consumption of media
so I thought back to the conversation I
was having with my friend
how does this tie back into art and how
could I put art forward and push it as a
solution in the wake of all of this
noise
well what do you think of when you think
of art do you think of the Mona Lisa do
you think of an old Greek statue or
perhaps the long line into a museum
but what I'm guessing didn't pop into
your mind was a video on your phone of
someone playing guitar
person singing or perhaps an avocarned
film on YouTube
throughout history art has been a
vehicle to share stories and emotions
that transcend time our brings us
together it helps us better understand
The Human Experience we quite literally
have the ability to put ourselves in
someone else's shoes through a process
called embodied cognition which then
leads to cognitive empathy
social media gives us the ability to
share stories and art that brings us
together in a way that we've never been
able to before in history
it's proven to increase levels of
oxytocin which spark empathy and
connection but it also reduces bias and
helps bring us together and helps us see
and understand different perspectives
and ways of life
I don't think social media is the
problem I think what we're consuming on
social media is the problem
but as I was thinking about this it kind
of clicked to me in the moment and I
thought back to my childhood and
everything I've been told about the
importance of eating veggies I was like
huh could the consumption of online art
be the metaphorical veggies for the mind
I grew being told about the importance
of eating healthy in my schools I saw
posters of food pyramids with
recommended portions and ratios and we
were drilled that breakfast was the most
important meal of the day now having a
colorful plate was a necessity if we
wanted to grow up to be strong and
healthy
but still I'd never heard of the same
guidelines let alone the same
specificity regarding our consumption
of media
what was the equivalent of social media
vegetarianism of social media veganism
would it be no social media would it be
no online news would it be a limited
number of hours per day
you know growing up is one of the first
generations with a smartphone there's
virtually no guidance on navigating the
complex Wild West that is the internet
it's kind of shocking considering that
there is this lack of infrastructure
that's commonly discussed considering
this is one of the largest issues we
face
so
I thought back to my friend
and the conversation that we were having
and
how art plays a role in all this
and
I thought back to
this kind of emotional desensitization
that we are facing in these moments in
this kind of emotional Whiplash that
we've been faced with
and you know within the food industry
there are regulations to protect us from
all of this right we have information
labels so that we know what we're
consuming and then we have calorie
amounts so that we know how much we're
consuming
but
the whole industry again is based around
this 2 000 calorie diet that's a
recommendation it's not a
one-size-fits-all solution but it's at
least a helpful reference
you know we've been reinforced in our
schools and by our teachers the
importance of eating healthy
but we lack this guidance and
reinforcement when it comes to our
consumption of media
my question is where are the guidelines
to protect us from this cognitive
manipulation
what is the equivalent of a food
why don't I know what I'm consuming and
how much of it
should I be watching YouTube and what
type of videos should I be watching on
YouTube
given this operation
guidelines and recommendations and all
of that how could anyone let alone a kid
make good decisions about what they're
consuming its impact on their health
well I believe art can provide us with
the answer
and art in its broadest sense I believe
art is content that adds meaning to our
lives it's more available and accessible
than ever
my grandma for example loves comedy and
likes to take walks and listens to
comedians on her phone
my mom on the other hand is a teacher
who likes to watch videos about French
history and me I love to watch
first-person documentaries from people
all around the world
we all find our own pockets of the
internet that's something more to our
lives but what we're adding doesn't have
to bring us down
I believe that these pockets on the
internet that we find are art and they
can bring us together and but more
importantly they spark are oxytocin as
well which Sparks empathy and connection
but it also releases our blood pressure
levels and rates of anxiety and
depression
so I believe that the more we can
consciously fill our e-diets with art
the better our mental health will be the
more connected we'll all become but most
importantly the more human we'll all
feel
by the end of the night my friend and I
had found some sort of common ground and
thankfully she didn't think I was a part
of the problem and it's agreed that art
could be a part of the solution
I'm optimistic that we will see more
guidelines and regulations and
protections over time I really am but at
the end of the day just like with food
we're the ones pushing the metaphorical
shopping carts in the grocery store each
and every time we pick up our phones
let's choose art
thank you
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