Is technology really ruining your life? | David Ellis | TEDxLancasterU
Summary
TLDRThis talk explores the impact of technology on our lives, addressing concerns that it might be ruining them. The speaker, a psychologist, discusses historical anxieties about new technologies like the telephone and microwaves, and compares them to today's worries about smartphones and social media. They critique simplistic correlations between screen time and mental health, emphasizing the need for nuanced research. The speaker advocates for curiosity and critical thinking, warning against a negative view that could stifle innovation.
Takeaways
- 🤔 Technology's disruptive nature can cause psychological discomfort due to the constant changes it brings to our lives.
- 📱 The prevalence of smartphones and social media raises questions about their impact on our well-being and social interactions.
- 📊 Historically, new technologies like the telephone and microwave oven faced skepticism and concerns about health and social implications.
- 🏋️♂️ The current concern is the effect of screen time and social media on mental health, with the UK government conducting inquiries into these effects.
- 🧐 Correlation does not imply causation; increased social media use could be a result of mood rather than a cause.
- 📊 Surveys and questionnaires might not accurately reflect actual technology usage, as they rely on self-reported data which can be unreliable.
- 🔍 To better understand technology's impact, researchers are measuring behavior directly rather than relying solely on self-reports.
- 🏃♂️ One of the potential threats of screen time is the displacement of physical activity, which is a significant issue in the developed world.
- 📚 Technology, including social media, has both positive and negative aspects, and it's important to consider the balance.
- 🔬 Long-term studies tracking screen time across multiple devices and correlating it with outcomes like academic performance are needed for a more comprehensive understanding.
- 🌟 It's crucial to remain curious and critical about technology's role in our lives, avoiding extreme views that can stifle innovation.
Q & A
What is the main concern regarding technology's impact on our lives today?
-The main concern today is about the use of social media and smartphones, and the amount of time spent on these devices. There is a significant debate on whether screen time and social media usage are negatively affecting people's lives, especially the younger generation.
How does the speaker address the historical perspective on technology's impact?
-The speaker discusses the historical perspective by mentioning how new technologies like the telephone and microwave oven were met with skepticism and fear, similar to how people today have concerns about smartphones and social media.
What was the public's initial reaction to the telephone in the 1800s?
-The public's initial reaction to the telephone was one of confusion and skepticism. Many people questioned the necessity of the telephone, and there were concerns about its potential to cause mental illness or deafness.
What is the speaker's stance on the claim that video games cause violence?
-The speaker argues against the claim that video games cause violence, citing that the majority of scientists believe they do not. They also mention that violent crime rates have decreased since the introduction of video games.
Why does the speaker say correlation does not equal causation in the context of social media use and mood?
-The speaker explains that correlation does not equal causation because a person might feel depressed and then use social media, or they might use social media and feel depressed after seeing others' seemingly perfect lives. The direction of the relationship is not clear from correlation alone.
What method does the speaker suggest to better understand the effects of screen time?
-The speaker suggests measuring behavior directly rather than relying solely on self-reported surveys and questionnaires. They mention that their lab has started to track actual usage of smartphones and technology to get a more accurate understanding of its impact.
What is the UK government's current approach to understanding the effects of screen time on young people?
-The UK government is conducting a public inquiry to investigate the effects of screen time and social media on young people, indicating that this is a significant and recognized issue.
How does the speaker differentiate between actual technology usage and self-reported usage?
-The speaker differentiates between actual technology usage and self-reported usage by pointing out that people often underestimate how frequently they check their smartphones. They mention studies where participants were tracked and found to check their phones much more often than they initially reported.
What potential long-term outcomes does the speaker suggest should be studied in relation to screen time?
-The speaker suggests studying the potential long-term outcomes of screen time, such as its impact on academic performance. They propose looking at whether a student's smartphone and social media use can predict their grades at the end of the academic year.
What is the speaker's advice on how to approach discussions about technology's impact on our lives?
-The speaker advises remaining curious and thinking critically about technology's impact. They encourage questioning the sensationalist claims often made in the media and considering the full range of evidence before concluding whether technology is 'ruining' our lives.
Outlines
🤔 The Impact of Technology on Our Lives
The speaker begins by questioning whether technology is negatively impacting our lives, a concern that spans personal and societal levels. As a psychologist, the speaker is deeply invested in understanding this issue. Technology's disruptive nature can cause discomfort due to the rapid changes it brings. Despite this, people often feel compelled to adopt new technologies to avoid being left behind. Historically, similar concerns were raised about the telephone in the 1800s, with people fearing it could cause mental illness or deafness. The speaker humorously notes that such fears persist today with technologies like microwave ovens and social media. The UK government's inquiry into the effects of screen time and social media on youth underscores the contemporary relevance of these concerns. The speaker critiques simplistic correlations between social media use and mood, emphasizing the need for more nuanced research that considers context and causation.
📱 Understanding Smartphone Usage and Its Effects
The speaker discusses the challenges in accurately measuring technology usage, particularly with smartphones, and the discrepancies between self-reported data and actual behavior. They note that while people do regulate their smartphone use, there is a mismatch between survey results and actual usage patterns. The speaker suggests that the real issue with screen time might be the opportunity cost of time spent on devices rather than the technology itself. They compare modern concerns about smartphones to historical concerns about activities like reading books or working, which also consumed time. The speaker concludes by advocating for curiosity and critical thinking when evaluating technology's role in our lives, warning against a negative narrative that could stifle innovation. They emphasize the importance of understanding both the positive and negative aspects of technology and the need for long-term studies to truly assess its impact.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Technology
💡Disruptive
💡Psychological
💡Smartphones
💡Social Media
💡Correlation
💡Causation
💡Screen Time
💡Addiction
💡Innovation
Highlights
Technology is disruptive and can make us feel uncomfortable due to the constant changes it brings.
The necessity of using technology is often forced upon individuals to avoid being left out.
Historically, new technologies like the telephone and microwave oven faced skepticism and fear.
The World Health Organization found no evidence linking microwave ovens to cancer after reviewing 30,000 studies.
Video games are often wrongly accused of causing violence, despite crime rates dropping after their introduction.
The current concern is the impact of social media and smartphones on daily life.
The UK government is conducting an inquiry into the effects of screen time and social media on young people.
Correlation between social media use and mood does not imply causation.
People often overestimate or underestimate their smartphone usage.
Behavioral studies show that technology usage is consistent but does not necessarily align with self-reported surveys.
The biggest threat of screen time might be the displacement of time that could be spent on other activities.
Technology, including smartphones, allows for social interaction, which humans are naturally drawn to.
It's important to remain curious and think critically about technology's impact on our lives.
The comparison of social media addiction to drug addiction is an exaggeration not supported by current scientific evidence.
Innovations in technology have transformed our lives for the better and will continue to do so.
Transcripts
[Applause]
so is technology ruining your life it's
quite a blunt question another way of
phrasing that question might be is
technology having a negative impact on
you or your friends or your family
there's a perfectly reasonable question
to ask both there's a as much for myself
as I'm a psychologist and I spend a
disproportionate amount of time thinking
about it but also just day-to-day why do
we ask ourselves that question well
technology is disruptive it changes the
way we do things it changes how other
people do things and psychologically
that can make us feel quite
uncomfortable because everything's
changing around us and we like to know
where we are and at the same time if you
think about the technologies that you've
all got in your pocket like your
smartphone's of your tablets your use of
social media you know how much choice do
you have if you don't use these
technologies you get carried away you
know other people use them and then
you're left out so you're kind of
dragged along regardless so what effect
is this having well actually this is not
a new question historically this has
always been asked and you know if you
think about from a historical
perspective let's go back to the 1800s
and the telephone the telephone was
invented the first thing people said
bearing in mind most people at that time
had never seen any kind of gadget like
this they said why on earth would I need
this which is exactly what my dad said
about the Internet why why would we need
this it was viewed as a toy as a gimmick
it was viewed that it might make people
mentally ill or caused them to go deaf
Telegraph companies were concerned sort
of tried to spread rumors to put out of
business people were also worried about
the cause being tapped so some things
have never changed because we're still
worried about that with with Facebook
fast-forward a bit
the microwave oven many people still
believe microwave ovens can give you
cancer they can't give you cancer and in
fact the World Health Organization
looked at about 30,000 peer-reviewed
papers over the last 10 years and found
there's no evidence to say that you know
signals from your smartphone or electric
power lines or your microwave can give
you cancer but it but it's still there
it's that if you google microwaves
cancer tons of stuff
not suggesting you go out and do that
and and then if we fast we do games
video games cause violence that the vast
majority of scientists would argue that
video games do not cause violence in
fact if you look at violent crime
statistics based on when video games
first appeared violent crimes come down
so based on that crazy logic we should
actually get people to play more violent
video games that would stop again I'm
not suggesting that that's what we do to
combat violent crime so where are we
today what's the biggest concern about
technology ruining our life well today
it's very much about social media and
your smartphone and the amount of time
that you spend in those devices now it's
not just me that has that concern are
you the UK government is currently
conducting a rather expensive public
inquiry about this regarding the effects
of screen time and social media on young
people so it's it's a big big issue and
indeed there are studies out there that
have asked people as I could do now how
much time do you spend on Facebook and
then I could ask you about your mood and
then I could put those two numbers
together and I might find positive
relationships ie
the the happier you are the more you use
social media or the other way around so
the single jet with something going on
but as it was yet and it's a big bot how
have we got to that point
well remarkably the way we've got to
that point is simply as I've just done
there I've asked you about your social
media use and that's problematic it's
problematic first of all because
correlation does not equal causation so
for example I could feel depressed and
go in social media because I'm feeling
low or I could look at social media and
go look how wonderful all my friends
lives are and that makes me feel
depressed but don't know the direction
it also removes the whole context
there's a big difference between you
going on Facebook and having a
conversation with your friend and going
on Facebook and again looking at how
wonderful everyone else's life life is
it also ignores the fact that you might
not be very aware of what you're doing
and I know research for example we've
asked people how many times you think
you check your smartphone a day and
they'll say about 40 times a day and
then we put an application in their
phone that tells us they're not checking
the phone right
they're checking the phone about a
hundred times a day now that doesn't
mean it's a problem you might you might
use your phone a lot but it doesn't
necessarily equate to problem usage but
the point is it's very very difficult
for you to actually access that
information and memory I can ask you
about it but it doesn't mean you're
going to remember and that's what a lot
of current risk evidence is based on so
what do we do to answer this question if
we're going to go down and another route
how could we understand the effects of
screen time and what we've done in our
lab is we have started to just do that
we've started to measure behavior rather
than just ask you and one of the things
that we conclude from this is that yes
you do use your smartphones eventually
you do use technology eventually that's
that's that seems to be by and large
what happens you also regulate that
usage if you check your phone 80 times
today you'll probably check it 80 times
tomorrow you'll probably check it 80
times a week tomorrow that seems to be
consistent but one of the things we're
finding is that that behavior doesn't
necessarily match up to these kind of
surveys and questionnaires that a lot of
other researchers have asked so for
example questions such as I become
anxious when I'm not with my smartphone
is it does not necessarily map onto how
often you use your smartphone so this
might be measuring a very very different
thing now while we're trying to do that
the government inquiry is carrying on
and we've like many academics we have
given our evidence to suggest that there
is a lot more work to be done but many
many other people have pushed in and
said this is a problem they said this is
a big societal problem and I would argue
that if you want to see screen time is a
problem
the biggest threat it probably fate
poses at the moment is that it's time
that could be used somewhere else so you
may use your phone a lot and one of the
biggest threats we have in our current
developed world is a lack of physical
activity so you can try it if you want
but if you try to use your smart phone
when you're trapped a football is very
difficult so you have to separate those
things but just think about this for a
second and think about the historical
examples it's the same if you were
reading a book you couldn't play
football it's the same if you did other
activities people spend a lot of time
doing lots of things people spend too
much time working they can spend too
much time doing X
they can spend too much time shopping
smartphone usage or social media usage
is potentially another one of these
behaviors but the case doesn't mediate
that it's actually ruining your life
it's a big part of your life so in terms
of answering this question as I've kind
of hinted at it would require tracking
this kind of use of your role long term
so for example we intend in the future
to look at people's screen time usage
from lots of different devices and then
perhaps link that with other long-term
outcomes so for example does a student's
smartphone and social media use actually
predict their academic performance at
the end of the year what might the
answers from some of this research be
well like many get out clauses from a
scientist it will show good and bad
things there are many good things that
technology allows us to do and let's say
colleges for example we know that social
interaction is a positive thing now I
don't think that the majority of people
are addicted to their smartphone but one
thing we are addicted to is social
interaction and while it is very
difficult to predict what technologies
will become successful it's often ones
that involve some type of social
interaction which is why we use our
smartphones and social media to such a
degree yes they do openness to abuse the
open to trolling the open to billion but
so did the telephone so did the
telephone many years ago and we wouldn't
think twice I've realized that many
people in this room may never use a
landline telephone but they do still
exist but you know that they opened the
door to the same thing it's really
important that my message to you really
is to try and remain curious about all
of this stuff it's far easier to get a
press release picked up that uses words
like addiction and Technology and
problematic for news than it is to get a
press release picked up that says we use
our technology a lot and that's quite
interesting and trust me I've tried it
no one wants to cover that story because
it's not very interesting so my message
to you is remain curious think
critically and try and think about about
how is this I hope they come to this
answer how is it how is this really an
addictive behavior because some certain
people within public commentators have
argued that
social media addiction is as potentially
addictive as cocaine or drug use and I
mean that sounds in the face of it
unbelievably incorrect but that's often
what then filters down rather than the
science that's going on behind the
scenes the reason that it's really
important to get that balance right is
if we do become too negative and we do
believe that all this stuff is having
such a negative impact on our lives we
run the risk of stifling the very
innovations that we can all think about
off the top of our heads that have
transformed our lives for the better and
will continue to do so thank you
[Applause]
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