This Is Why You Don't Succeed | Simon Sinek on The Millennial Generation
Summary
TLDRThe speaker discusses the addictive nature of technology, drawing parallels with dopamine release from alcohol, nicotine, and gambling. They highlight the impact of excessive technology use on relationships and mental health, particularly among millennials and younger generations. The script emphasizes the need for balance, the dangers of early exposure to social media and smartphones, and the importance of companies and parents taking responsibility for the well-being of young people in their care.
Takeaways
- 📱 Technology, while beneficial, can become addictive and disrupt the balance in our lives if not managed properly.
- 🧠 Dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure, is released when we use technology, similar to how it's released with alcohol, nicotine, and gambling, suggesting potential for addiction.
- 👨👩👧👦 The overuse of technology can harm relationships and lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, especially if it replaces human interaction.
- 🚫 There are age restrictions on alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling due to their addictive nature, but no such restrictions exist for social media and cell phones, which can be harmful to developing minds.
- 👶 Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to technology addiction, as their brains are still developing and they are learning to navigate social stressors.
- 📈 There is a correlation between technology addiction and increased rates of mental health issues, such as depression, suicide, and accidental deaths due to overdoses.
- 🏫 Schools and universities are seeing a rise in students requesting leaves of absence due to depression, indicating a broader societal issue.
- 👪 Parents play a significant role in this issue, often enabling technology addiction by providing unrestricted access to devices and social media.
- 💼 The workplace is also impacted, with companies needing to adapt to support the mental health and well-being of their younger workforce.
- 🌟 A generation is growing up with lower self-confidence and an inability to ask for help, which is compounded by their reliance on technology for validation and connection.
Q & A
What is the main concern raised about technology in the script?
-The main concern is that technology, while beneficial, can become addictive and unbalanced in our lives, potentially leading to negative impacts on relationships and mental health.
How is dopamine related to technology addiction as described in the script?
-Dopamine is released when we receive notifications from our phones or emails, similar to how it is released with alcohol, nicotine, and gambling, suggesting that the constant stimulation from technology can be addictive.
What is the comparison made between alcohol, gambling, and technology in terms of addiction?
-The script compares the release of dopamine from technology use to that of alcohol, gambling, and nicotine, indicating that technology can be addictive if not used in moderation.
Why does the script suggest that there should be age restrictions on social media and cell phones?
-The script suggests age restrictions because immature minds are not yet strong or mature enough to handle the addictive potential of these technologies, similar to how age restrictions exist for alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling.
What are the potential consequences of unchecked technology use in adolescents as mentioned in the script?
-Unchecked technology use can lead to addiction, increased feelings of isolation and loneliness, and may contribute to higher rates of suicide, accidental deaths due to overdoses, and mass homicides.
How does the script describe the impact of technology on communication and relationships?
-The script describes technology as potentially destructive to relationships, with examples such as people checking their phones instead of engaging with others and the lack of face-to-face communication leading to feelings of isolation.
What is the script's view on the role of parents in managing technology use among children?
-The script holds parents partly responsible for the overuse of technology by children, suggesting that parents should intervene and limit access to social media and phones at young ages.
Why does the script argue that companies have a responsibility towards their younger workforce?
-The script argues that companies have a responsibility to create environments that support the mental health and growth of their younger workforce, as these individuals may be coming into the workforce with technology addiction and lower self-confidence.
What is the script's perspective on the current work culture and its effect on younger employees?
-The script suggests that current work cultures, which prioritize numbers over people and lack support for personal growth, are not conducive to the well-being of younger employees and may exacerbate their existing challenges.
How does the script address the issue of instant gratification and its impact on younger generations?
-The script discusses the problem of instant gratification, where younger generations expect immediate results and struggle with patience and long-term goals, which can lead to frustration and a lack of fulfillment in their careers and personal lives.
Outlines
📱 The Impact of Technology on Dopamine and Addiction
The speaker discusses the dual nature of technology as both beneficial and potentially addictive. They highlight the release of dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure and reward, when we engage with technology, comparing it to the effects of alcohol, nicotine, and gambling. The speaker argues that while technology is helpful, an over-reliance on it can disrupt personal relationships and lead to addictive behaviors. They express concern about the lack of balance in our use of technology, especially with the younger generation, and the potential for it to replace human interaction, leading to feelings of isolation and loneliness.
🚫 The Absence of Age Restrictions on Technology
This paragraph delves into the lack of age restrictions on technology, particularly social media and cell phones, which are compared to addictive substances like alcohol and gambling. The speaker points out that while there are legal age limits to protect young minds from the potential harms of alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling, no such protections exist for technology. They express concern that adolescents are being exposed to potentially addictive digital environments without the necessary maturity to handle them, leading to a generation growing up with addiction and an inability to cope with stress through healthy means.
🏢 The Workplace and the Millennial Generation
The speaker addresses the challenges faced by the millennial generation in the workplace, emphasizing the need for companies to adapt to support their youngest employees. They discuss the generation's impatience and lack of developed skills for seeking help, which is compounded by a work culture that often prioritizes productivity over personal growth. The speaker calls for a reevaluation of leadership and workplace practices to better support the emotional and psychological well-being of employees, particularly the younger generation that may be entering the workforce with pre-existing issues related to technology addiction and social isolation.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Technology
💡Dopamine
💡Balance
💡Addiction
💡Phantom Beeps
💡Millennials
💡Isolation
💡Self-Image
💡Instant Gratification
💡Leadership
💡Mental Health
Highlights
Technology can be addictive like alcohol, nicotine, and gambling due to the release of dopamine.
An imbalance of technology in our lives can be destructive to relationships.
The need for a balance in technology usage is often overlooked.
Checking phones before human interaction can indicate an unhealthy relationship with technology.
Phantom phone vibrations can be a sign of technology addiction.
The lack of age restrictions on social media and cell phones is compared to giving adolescents free access to alcohol.
An entire generation is growing up addicted to technology, leading to increased feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Increased rates of suicide and accidental deaths are linked to technology addiction in the younger generation.
Schools and universities are seeing more students requesting leaves of absence due to depression.
Parents are partly to blame for not restricting technology use in young children.
The younger generation has a lower self-confidence due to a failed parenting strategy.
The impatience of the younger generation is a result of instant gratification from technology.
Work cultures that prioritize numbers over people are not helping the younger workforce.
Companies have a responsibility to take care of their employees, especially the younger generation.
Leadership is crucial in creating a work environment that supports the growth and well-being of employees.
Executives should consider the impact of their company's culture on the younger workforce, including their own children.
Transcripts
[Music]
i mean
the technology is great you know it's
lots of fun very helpful makes a lot of
things easy
but like anything in the world there's
um
there is too much of a good thing you
know um
and i think one of the things we don't
talk about is what is the balance of
technology in our lives
and i would argue that for many of us
it's out of balance
we know that the chemical dopamine is
released whenever we get a bing buzz
flash or beat from our phone or email
right so dopamine is the exact same
chemical that's released
in alcohol nicotine and gambling
right in other words it can be addictive
if left unbalanced a little alcohol is
great
too much alcohol not so great gambling
is fun
too much gambling really bad right
technology is wonderful
too much technology can be very
destructive and destroy
our relationships like all addictions
destroy our relationships
right and so what the one thing we're
not considering is what is the right
balance if you wake up in the morning
and you check your phone before you say
good morning to your spouse
that's a problem right if you have
phantom beeps
that's a problem that comes from
something
right if you find yourself incapable
of getting through a day without needing
to check
that's a problem right now where it gets
really dangerous
is with kids millennials
some of them aren't kids anymore right
um so
almost all alcoholics on the planet
discovered alcohol
when they were children when we're very
very young the only thing we need is the
approval of our parents
right when we go through adolescence we
now need
approval from our peers frustrating for
our parents very important for us
because it allows us to acculturate
outside of our immediate families into
the larger group
right very stressful time
and we're supposed to learn in this time
of anxiety to rely on our friends
to reach out to our friends for help
that's we're supposed to learn some
people quiet by accident discover
alcohol
and they learn the numbing effects of
dopamine actually help
them get through the stress of
adolescence this connection
unfortunately becomes hardwired
and so for the rest of their lives when
they face
any kind of financial career or social
stress
they don't turn to a person they turn to
the bottle
right now we have age restrictions on
alcohol
cigarettes and gambling because we know
that an immature mind is not yet
strong enough or mature enough to deal
with the powers
of these addicting chemicals these
addictive chemicals right so we put an
age limit
we have no such age limit or age
restriction
on social media or cell phones
right so ostensibly what we've done is
we've thrown open the liquor cabinet and
we've said to our adolescents
hey i know this whole adolescent thing
is really stressful so here's the vodka
take as much as you need that's
basically what we've done and so what we
have is an entire generation
that's growing up addicted and
like all addicts they haven't learned
the skill set
of when they suffer stress to turn to a
person what they do is they turn to the
device
and what that only does is increase
senses of isolation and loneliness and
can actually destroy relationships we've
all had the experience where you're with
somebody walking down the street in a
meeting
out for dinner whatever and they pull
out their phone
and you feel like an idiot right or when
you're talking to them and they're going
uh-huh
uh-huh you sort of like what am i what's
the point of this
now take an entire generation that has
no memory of a time
before the device we at least can
reference times before
cell phones and internet and social
media we at least have a point of
reference
they don't so this is their normal that
that's how they feel
so you have an entire generation growing
up with addiction
and an increased sense of loneliness and
isolation
we're already seeing the results we're
seeing increased rates of suicide
amongst this generation we're seeing
increased rates of accidental deaths due
to
overdoses amongst this generation we're
seeing increased
numbers of mass homicides largely
performed by this generation
school shootings yeah over 70
perpetrated by kids born after the year
1984.
we um schools universities are now
dealing
with numbers they've never dealt with
before of
kids requesting leaves of absence due to
depression
we're already seeing it right
we're seeing the effects of loneliness
and isolation we're seeing it
and yet we're not reacting to it we're
not doing anything about it
right and parents are a lot to blame for
this because parents
there are some schools who want to
restrict phones in schools and it's the
parents who demand that they keep their
phones in case of emergencies
seriously seriously when was the last
time the cell phone was used for an
emergency
what time are you coming home what time
should we pick you up and if there is an
emergency you call the office
and they know what classroom the kid's
in and in five minutes they'll bring the
kid to talk to you on the phone like
the old way worked just fine remember we
talked before about innovation it has to
solve a real human problem
what human problem exactly did we solve
by compressing the five minute time
frame
we added the problem we didn't solve it
so that's one huge problem
so combine that with the facts you have
a an addicted generation that doesn't
have the
skill set to ask for help combined with
the fact that they're so good at
facebook and instagram they're good at
putting filters on everything
so they're good at showing you how smart
and strong they are these kids who
commit suicide you go look at their
instagrams you would have no clue
that they were depressed because they're
happy and they're star athletes
right you'd have no clue because they're
really good so when we say silly things
like
my door is always open you're assuming
they have the courage to come in
combined with the fact that they're
subject largely not all but too many
to a failed parenting strategy because
their parents told them they were
special
they could have anything they wanted
they can be anything they want
they got medals for coming in last which
by the way we know doesn't work it
devalues
the medal for the one who comes in first
and the one who came in last it makes
them feel stupid because they know they
didn't deserve it right
the kids got into honors classes not
because they deserved it but because the
parents complained
and some of them got good grades not
because they earned them but because the
teachers didn't want to deal with the
parents
and then the kids graduate college and
they get a job
and in an instant they find out they're
not special
they don't get anything for coming in
last the parents can't get them a
promotion
and you can't have whatever you want
just because you want it
and in an instant their entire
self-image is shattered and so you have
an entire generation growing up
with lower self-confidence than previous
generations
so you have lower self-confidence than
previous generations combined with
an inability to ask for help with things
that you're struggling with and you turn
to social media or device
you keep checking you keep checking you
count your likes you count your likes
you count you follow your account your
followers
if somebody unfriends you oh my god it's
trauma right
the way they break up with each other is
they just ghost each other just
cut each other out and stop returning to
text returning text and returning phone
calls because they don't have the skill
set to say hey it's not working out
it's not me it's you right there's no
closure on things
right combined with the fact there's an
institutionalized impatience
so they've grown up in a world of
instant gratification
you want to buy something you go on
amazon it shows up the next day
you want to get in touch with someone
you don't leave a message on their
machine and wait four hours for them to
get the message you just text them and
they get back to you immediately
you want to watch a movie you just log
on and watch it you don't have to check
movie times
right everything happens you want to get
a date swipe right you don't even have
to
muster up the courage to go like hey you
know you don't have to
there you go got a date right and so the
problem is
they're accused of being entitled i
don't think they're entitled at all
not at all i think they're impatient i
keep meeting these fantastic
smart driven ambitious idealistic
fantastic kids
who graduated school they got a job they
want to make an impact in the world
and i go up to them and say how is it
going and they say
i think i'm going to quit i'm like why
they're like i'm not making an impact
i'm like
you've been here eight months and it's
as if
it's as if they see the summit of a
mountain as if they're standing at the
foot of a mountain they can see the
summit they can see the thing they want
i want to make an impact what they don't
see is the mountain
this large immovable object you can go
up fast you can go up slow i don't care
but there's still a mountain what they
don't understand
is that life that relationships
and career fulfillment are a journey
there's no app for that i got nothing
you've got to go through the
slow plotting annoying
meandering process called career and
life
but if they don't get it in eight months
they go look for it somewhere else and
they don't get it
they go look for it's impatience and
because they don't have the skill set
to ask for help and because they feel
lonely it compounds and compounds
so then we dump them in office
environments that are
built on theories from the 80s and 90s
that prioritizes a number before a
person and no one
really cares about their confidence and
their personal growth
they're just numbers on a spreadsheet
and so they enter
work cultures that don't help them and
the problem is they're entering the
workforce at a deficit
i hear from kids they tell me that they
struggle to form deep meaningful
relationships and the companies don't
care
and so it's destructive to them as
individuals but ultimately it'll hurt
the companies because more and more
millennials are entering the workforce
i believe to your point about solution
that now
the responsibility on companies is even
greater than it's ever been before
to take care of its people because if
the environments in which we're asking
our
youngest workers to work in isn't built
to help them
i can't even imagine what the suicide
and
homicide and just the rates of
depression
you know an accidental death due to
overdose are going to look like in the
future
it's going to reach epidemic proportions
it's already the the statistics are
already alarming and yet nobody's
sounding any alarm bells
parents have to intervene we have to
stop giving our kids free access to
social media and phones at young ages
they are not ready for
it their minds cannot cope with the
dopamine balance is fine
you can give a kid a phone but they
can't use it in their bedroom they can't
have it at the dinner table they can't
take it to school
they can only have it up to a certain
hour and you take it away
they're children you can take the phone
away
we've got to intervene as parents but as
companies we now have to deal with the
influx of kids
that are coming into our companies with
addiction
watch i see it all the time walk through
any office you'll see the older
employees have their phones on the sides
of their computers as they're working
you'll see the youngest employees have
their phones face up
in front of their keyboards between
their arms as they're working and this
is how they work
and this is the science is alarming they
did experiments on mice
where they they did the multitasking
they put flashing lights to mimic going
from the computer to the cell phone the
computer to the cell phone to the tv
the mice that were exposed to the
changing lights it took them three times
longer to solve a maze than the mice
that weren't
and the damage was permanent it didn't
improve when they stopped the lights
and leadership now is even more
important yeah and the leaders now are
even more
irresponsible you are responsible for
the lives of human beings
and some of these human beings are your
children so okay you bad ceo who thinks
all the stuff that i talk about is
craziness
and you don't have time to make these
changes this is i hear we don't have
time it's a war out there i've actually
heard executives tell me that
it's a war out there i don't have time
for this leadership stuff
i know guys who go to war and i'll tell
ya it's not a war
what you're going through you know you
tinker with money
it's not a war you do have time for this
and if it's really
that way then what were you doing when
it wasn't a war it's even more
it's what an indictment that in peaceful
times when times were good that you
weren't focusing on this stuff
right but my point is is a lot of these
executives
have children of this age working at
other companies
and my question is would you like those
other companies would you like those
other executives
to care about the growth of your child
the confidence of your child
the career success of your child would
you like those other companies to help
your kids
learn the skills of social interaction
the ability to ask for and receive help
would you like their jobs to give that
to them
set the example do it for other people's
children
every single employee 100 is someone
someone someone's daughter
a hundred percent and if you want
someone to take responsibility for the
life of your children
in their company then why don't we start
taking responsibility for the lives of
the children in our companies
[Music]
you
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