Teens, Technology, and the Antidote | Ilana Nguyen | TEDxOakland

Summary

In 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

00:00

😣 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.

05:01

🌟 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.

Keywords

💡Technology

Technology refers to the tools, systems, and methods developed from scientific knowledge to solve problems and accomplish tasks more efficiently. In the video, technology is both a blessing and a curse, providing connectivity and community building but also leading to issues like cyberbullying and social isolation. The speaker mentions the fast development of technology since 2007 and its role in forming connections despite geographical distances.

💡Connection

Connection denotes the relationship or link between people or things. The video emphasizes the importance of meaningful connections, both online and offline, as a counter to the negative effects of technology. The speaker contrasts digital connections with the demands of real friendship and discusses the loneliness epidemic resulting from superficial or absent connections.

💡Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully others, typically by posting negative or harmful messages. The script identifies cyberbullying as one of the unintended negative consequences of technology's widespread instantaneous connection, contributing to anxiety and other serious issues.

💡Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. In the context of the video, anxiety is mentioned as a result of the negative exposure from technology, such as the fear of meeting people in person after only texting, which can lead to social isolation.

💡Loneliness

Loneliness is the state of feeling alone, typically characterized by a lack of companionship or social interaction. The video discusses the loneliness epidemic, where people, especially younger generations, feel more isolated despite being technologically connected, with the speaker citing statistics about the decline in confidants and the rise in suicide rates.

💡Social Isolation

Social isolation refers to the lack of social integration or interaction with others. The speaker uses the term to describe the paradox of feeling alone despite being surrounded by people, which is exacerbated by technology that encourages digital rather than face-to-face interactions.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity is the quality of being genuine, original, and not copied or false. The video encourages authenticity in relationships, suggesting that it is through being true to oneself and engaging in real conversations that strong connections are formed, as opposed to maintaining a perfect online persona.

💡Active Listening

Active listening is the process of giving one's full attention to the speaker, acknowledging their message, and responding thoughtfully. The speaker in the video argues that active listening is essential for meaningful interactions and is often lacking in our personal lives, which can lead to misunderstandings and a lack of connection.

💡STEM

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. It is a term used to group these academic disciplines. The speaker is passionate about diversity in STEM fields and teaches workshops to underrepresented groups, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity in the creation and development of technology.

💡Diversity

Diversity refers to the inclusion of different types of people (including but not limited to race, gender, age, and background) in a group or organization. The video script mentions the importance of diversity, particularly in STEM fields, as a means to ensure a broad range of perspectives and to prevent the perpetuation of existing biases in technology.

💡Responsible Technology

Responsible technology involves the ethical and sustainable development and use of technology, considering its impact on society and the environment. The speaker calls for the creation of technology that is inclusive and beneficial to all, advocating for a decision-making process that includes diverse perspectives to avoid perpetuating existing problems.

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]