How Smartphones Change The Way You Think | Jeff Butler | TEDxHilliard

Summary

The script narrates a tragic incident in Jing Chou, China, where a mother's smartphone distraction led to her son's death. It delves into the reasons behind our smartphone addiction, citing South Korea's high usage and addiction rates. The talk explores sociological and neurological factors contributing to this phenomenon, such as peer pressure and dopamine release from notifications. It concludes with practical tips to manage smartphone usage, emphasizing the importance of focusing on depth over digital distractions to enrich our intellectual and emotional lives.

Takeaways

• 😔 The script starts with a tragic story from Shanghai about a mother distracted by her smartphone, resulting in her son's death, highlighting the dangers of smartphone addiction.
• 📱 The speaker introduces the topic of smartphone usage, aiming to discuss the reasons behind our attachment to smartphones and how to manage it better.
• 🧐 The talk is divided into three parts: the speaker's personal journey into smartphone usage studies, the factors that draw us into smartphone use, and tips for a healthier relationship with our devices.
• 🌍 The script mentions South Korea as the top smartphone-using country, with a high percentage of the population and children showing signs of smartphone addiction.
• 📈 Statistics are cited to show that the US is projected to reach 70% smartphone usage, emphasizing the importance of understanding smartphone addiction.
• 🤔 The script explores the concept of smartphone addiction, including symptoms like disregard for negative consequences, chronic anxiety, and lack of impulse control.
• 📊 Sociological factors such as peer pressure and the expectation to be constantly available contribute to increased smartphone usage.
• 🧠 The neurological aspect of smartphone addiction is discussed, particularly the role of notifications in creating a dopamine-driven cycle that reinforces checking habits.
• 📉 The script points out that our attention spans have decreased, with some studies suggesting they are now shorter than a goldfish's, due to the constant stimulation of smartphone notifications.
• 💡 Three tips are offered to improve our relationship with smartphones: understanding the reasons behind our usage, turning off phones during certain times, and reducing the number of notifications.
• 🚀 The talk concludes with a call to master new technology responsibly, learning from its unattended consequences to reach new heights of achievement.

Q & A

What is the tragic incident that the speaker mentions at the beginning of the script?

A woman lost her two-year-old son who was hit by a white van while she was distracted by playing games on her smartphone at a bus stop.

What is the main focus of the speaker's talk?

The main focus of the talk is to discuss why people are so hooked on their smartphones and how to have a more empowering and efficient relationship with them.

What did the speaker do in pursuit of their entrepreneurial dreams?

The speaker took a big financial risk by adding a job to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, which led to losses in money and relationships.

What percentage of the South Korean population was reported to be smartphone users in 2015?

In 2015, 88 percent of the South Korean population was reported to be smartphone users.

According to a government survey in South Korea, what percentage of children showed symptoms of smartphone addiction?

The survey concluded that one out of every South Korean child showed symptoms of smartphone addiction.

What is the ratio of smartphone addiction among children in South Korea compared to the ratio of alcoholism among Americans according to the National Institute of Alcoholism?

The ratio of children with smartphone addiction in South Korea is higher than the ratio of alcoholism among Americans, which is one out of every 12.

What are some symptoms of smartphone addiction as concluded by researchers in the scientific social review article?

Symptoms of smartphone addiction include disregarding negative consequences, chronic anxiety, and lack of impulse control.

What is the projected percentage of smartphone users in the United States in a couple of years?

The United States is projected to hit 70 percent smartphone usage in a couple of years.

How does the speaker describe the sociological aspect of being pulled into using smartphones?

The speaker describes the sociological aspect as peer pressure, where people feel the need to be constantly available due to expectations of immediate responses to texts and emails.

What is the neurological aspect that the speaker discusses regarding the pull of smartphones?

The neurological aspect discussed is the brain's response to notifications, which triggers the secretion of dopamine, creating an association that leads to a cycle of seeking more notifications for the dopamine hit.

What is the current attention span of people in the digital age according to a study by Microsoft?

According to Microsoft, the current attention span of people in the digital age has dropped to eight seconds, which is less than that of a goldfish.

What are the three tips the speaker provides to have a more empowering and efficient relationship with smartphones?

The three tips are: 1) Write down the reasons why you check your phone so much, 2) Turn your phone off during certain times of the day, such as in the morning or during dinner, and 3) Reduce the number of notifications coming to your phone.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Smartphone Addiction and Its Societal Impact

The first paragraph of the video script introduces the topic of smartphone addiction, using a tragic real-life story from Shanghai to highlight the dangers of being overly engrossed in our devices. The speaker then outlines the structure of the talk, which will cover the study of smartphone usage, the reasons behind our attachment to these devices, and strategies for a healthier relationship with technology. The script also touches on the prevalence of smartphone use, referencing South Korea's high smartphone penetration and addiction rates among children, which are alarmingly higher than the rate of alcoholism in the United States. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding smartphone addiction to prevent a similar situation in the U.S.

05:00

🌐 Societal and Neurological Factors Behind Smartphone Usage

The second paragraph delves into the sociological and neurological reasons that drive our constant use of smartphones. It discusses the pressure to be constantly available due to expectations in personal and professional relationships, citing France's move to limit work-related emails on weekends as a countermeasure. The neurological aspect focuses on the role of notifications in creating a dopamine-driven feedback loop, which can lead to desensitization and an increased need for these 'hits'. The speaker also addresses the impact of this cycle on our attention span, referencing a study by Microsoft that suggests our capacity to focus is now less than that of a goldfish. The paragraph ends with a critique of the shallow thinking that results from our adaptation to rapid digital stimuli, contrasting it with the depth required for true intellectual and emotional richness.

10:02

🛡️ Strategies for Managing Smartphone Use and Its Consequences

The final paragraph of the script presents three strategies to help manage smartphone use and mitigate its negative effects. The first strategy involves self-reflection on the reasons behind the constant checking of one's phone. The second suggests turning off the phone during certain times of the day, particularly during moments that require deep focus or rest. The third strategy is to reduce the number of notifications received, which can help improve the ability to concentrate. The speaker concludes by returning to the initial story, reinforcing the message that while smartphones offer great practicality, they come with significant costs that we must be aware of and manage. The goal is to master this technology to achieve greater heights without succumbing to its potential pitfalls.

Keywords

💡Smartphone Addiction

Smartphone addiction refers to a compulsive behavior where individuals excessively use their smartphones, often to the detriment of their social, work, and personal life. In the video, the concept is introduced through the tragic story of a mother who loses her son due to being distracted by her smartphone. It is also discussed in the context of South Korea, where a significant portion of the population, including children, are reported to show symptoms of this addiction.

💡Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure and reward. In the script, it is mentioned in relation to how the brain reacts to smartphone notifications, creating a 'reward' cycle that can lead to addiction. The more notifications one receives, the more dopamine is released, potentially leading to a dependence on these 'hits' of pleasure.

💡Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is the influence exerted by a person's peers to encourage them to change their behavior or attitudes to conform to group norms. In the context of the video, it is discussed as a sociological factor that contributes to excessive smartphone use, with the expectation to respond immediately to texts and emails, thus increasing the time spent on smartphones.

💡Neurological Aspect

The neurological aspect refers to the way our brain processes and responds to stimuli, such as smartphone notifications. The script explains how our brains can become desensitized to these stimuli, requiring more frequent notifications to achieve the same level of dopamine release, which can contribute to addictive behavior.

💡Sociology

Sociology is the study of society, patterns of social relationships, and institutions. The video touches on sociological factors like peer pressure and societal norms that influence our behavior, particularly in relation to smartphone usage and the expectations placed on us to be constantly connected and responsive.

💡Impulsive Behavior

Impulsive behavior is acting without forethought or consideration of the consequences. In the script, it is mentioned as a symptom of smartphone addiction, where individuals may check their phones compulsively without considering the potential negative outcomes, such as missing out on real-life experiences or interactions.

💡Attention Span

Attention span refers to the length of time that a person can concentrate on a task without becoming distracted. The video discusses how the constant use of smartphones and the rapid stimulus of notifications can shorten our attention span, making it difficult to focus on tasks that require deep thought or concentration.

💡Digital Age

The term 'Digital Age' refers to the current era characterized by digital or electronic technology and communication. In the script, it is used to highlight the impact of technology, particularly smartphones, on our behavior and cognitive abilities, such as our attention span and the way we process information.

💡Notifications

Notifications are alerts or messages that inform users of updates or messages on their devices. The script discusses how notifications can trigger a dopamine response, leading to a cycle of addiction. It also mentions the negative impact of excessive notifications on our ability to focus and the importance of reducing them to improve concentration.

💡Intellectual Depth

Intellectual depth refers to the ability to think deeply and critically about a subject or idea. The video script mentions that the constant distraction of smartphones can hinder our intellectual depth, making it harder for us to engage in meaningful and complex thought processes.

💡Mastery

Mastery is the state of having complete control or command over something. In the context of the video, mastery of technology, particularly smartphones, is presented as a goal. It suggests that by understanding and managing our relationship with smartphones, we can use them to achieve greater heights of personal and professional success.

Highlights

Jing Chou China incident: A woman lost her son due to being distracted by her smartphone.

The talk is divided into three parts: the speaker's journey into smartphone usage study, the reasons behind smartphone addiction, and tips for a healthier relationship with smartphones.

The speaker's personal experience with smartphone usage as a coping mechanism for financial and relationship losses.

South Korea reported 88% smartphone usage in 2015, with one in every South Korean child showing symptoms of smartphone addiction.

Comparison of smartphone addiction prevalence to alcoholism in the United States, highlighting a potentially more significant issue.

Symptoms of smartphone addiction include disregarding negative consequences, chronic anxiety, and lack of impulse control.

The United States is projected to reach 70% smartphone usage, emphasizing the urgency to understand smartphone addiction.

Sociological factors like peer pressure and the expectation of immediate responses contribute to increased smartphone usage.

Neurological aspect of smartphone usage involves the brain's dopamine release in response to notifications, creating a feedback loop.

The brain's desensitization to notifications leads to an increased need for dopamine hits, causing a 'treadmill of dopamine' effect.

Adapting to rapid smartphone notifications can make everyday tasks and human interactions more difficult due to a shortened attention span.

Microsoft study reveals that the digital age has reduced human attention span to eight seconds, less than that of a goldfish.

William Powers in 'Hamlet's BlackBerry' discusses the importance of deep focus for intellectual and emotional richness.

Three tips are provided to improve the relationship with smartphones: understanding the reasons for checking phones, turning off phones during certain times, and reducing notifications.

The importance of mastering new technology while being aware of its unattended consequences to achieve greater heights.

The talk concludes with a call to action to learn from the consequences of smartphone addiction to leverage technology for betterment.

Transcripts

welcome to Jing Chou China a booming

city with many local attractions it's a

sunny day aside from a light smog and

noisy from the traffic zipping by on the

busy street a woman walks hand-in-hand

with her two-year-old son she's excited

to start her weekend shopping spree the

two of them sit down at a bus stop and

wait for the oncoming bus in order to

pass time the mother pulls out her

smartphone and starts to play games but

after a short while the mother hears a

loud crack starved she looks up and

realizes she's missing something her

two-year-old son she then looks in the

direction of the crack to find her

two-year-old son is bleeding to death

underneath a white van her son were not

when she was not looking he was

immediately rushed to the hospital but

did not make it in time leaving the

mother roadside weeping this is a true

story from the shanghai Chronicle and

that is why I'm here today to talk to

you about why are we so hooked with our

smartphones this talk will be divided

into three different parts the first

part is how I began studying smartphone

usage second is how do you get pulled

into using your smartphone and third but

last but not least our tips that you can

use after this talk to have a more

empowering and efficient relationship

with your smartphone now it's pretty

easy to scalp out someone who stuck to

their smartphone many of us have an

image of someone walking across the

street unaware of the surroundings

playing the game like I don't know

Pokemon go

this might be funny but it's a different

story when it happens in your own life

recently I took a big financial risk I

could add a job in the pursuit of my

entrepreneurial dreams but it was not a

yellow brick road

I immediately lost money and

relationships and more money

relationships that I lost the more time

I spent to my smartphone trying to

forget the reality that I lived in but

it was in seconds minutes or hours but

days where I was trying to forget who I

was as a person that is what led me to

study smartphone usage some people say

were hooked

others dependent some researchers even

go so far to say as we are addicted

regardless of the label to figure out

what's what's really going on let's look

at the number one smart phone using

country in the world South Korea in 2015

South Korea was reported that it had 88

percent of its population as smartphone

users in addition to that stat a

government survey concluded that one out

of every South Korean child

showed symptoms of smartphone addiction

to put this in perspective how many of

you know someone was an alcoholic well

the thing is is that the National

Institute of alcoholism states that one

out of every 12 Americans are alcoholics

which is a lower ratio the number of

children with self in South Korea who

have smartphone addiction now what is

addiction that's such a big word to

throw around

well the science social review a couple

researchers and article concluded that

if you have some of the following

symptoms

you could have smartphone addiction

disregard negative consequences chronic

anxiety or lack of impulse control I'm

sure many of us here have a smartphone

in either our pocket or purse and if you

keep checking that during the talk that

has lack of impulse control which is a

symptom of smartphone addiction

since the United States is increasing

the smartphone usage in fact were

projected to hit 70 percent in a couple

of years it's more imperative than ever

to understand why as addictions are

taking place in other countries if we do

not learn there's a strong possibility

that we will also follow in their

footsteps now how do we get pulled into

using our smartphones well I'm going to

go over two different ways the first one

is sociological peer pressure how many

of you get frustrating when someone does

not respond to a text message fast

enough come on yeah we all do that why

because there's a possibility that

someone can respond immediately so in a

way we expect it and being a recipient

you want to be a good spouse significant

other or co-worker so what do you do

well you make yourself just that much

more available here that much more

available there and it's perpetuates to

a point where you're literally on your

phone 24/7 because you're trying to keep

up with external obligation it may also

notice this is very common in the

workplace managers literally have their

employees on a leash because the

convenience factor of Technology

employees now they bring their home work

home saying oh I have to take care of

some 9:00 p.m. emails what we find

though is that moving forward that some

countries are fighting back France

recently announced that they are outline

banning emailing for companies more than

50 people on the weekends that's that's

funny isn't it the thing is is that they

state that people have the right to

disconnect people have the right to

disconnect doesn't mean that you also

have the right to disconnect in America

because the convenience factor that

technology brings to our daily lives or

expected to be more available through

external obligation now that's the peer

pressure aspect what about the

neurological aspect what happens in our

brains

well there's a lot of ways this happens

I'm going to go over one for the short

talk and that is through notifications

yes text messages emails or an app on

your phone telling you is a one degree

change in the weather

and when you receive this notification

you feel good why well loved one just

texted from across the United States or

you finally figured out that UPS package

finally arrived at your doorstep but

underneath the happiness the brain is

secreted dopamine and an instant the

brain associates dopamine with a

notification creating a bond also known

as an arrow

Association therefore when you look for

that notification in the future or

rather the dopamine you look for the

notification and there you go round and

round

notification dopamine notification

dopamine but the brain takes it one step

further after that it becomes

desensitized instead of needing 5-10-15

notifications to feel that hi you now

need 20 50 or 100 you're essentially

running a treadmill of dopamine through

notifications but is that really that

bad

I mean sure you're stuck on your phone

but more and you feel good from all that

dopamine hits well here's an interesting

question how many of you tuned me out

for a couple of seconds hopefully not

minutes during this talk we do this all

the time think of a really boring

meeting when someone uninteresting is

talking so what do you do you say well

I'm gonna tune them out for a little bit

so you take out your phone you look down

for a dopamine hit huh you see you have

a rhythm where you expect dopamine hits

and if I'm not fast enough you tune me

out because you've adapted to the rapid

stimulus of notifications from your

phone making everyday tasks such as

reading writing or simply talking to a

friend difficult out of all places

Margaret's off corporation supports this

point of view stating that in the

digital age our attention span has now

dropped down to eight seconds headlining

I kid you not

your attention span is less than a

goldfish

thanks Microsoft William powers in this

book Hamels blackberry points out the

caveat to this thinking as he says the

greatest thinkers of our time that were

considered geniuses were able to apply

their intelligence and focus depth to

their work to bear forth new ideas the

ability to focus or have depth is what

makes life rich intellectually

emotionally or through meaning end quote

yes the practicality that smartphones

brings to our daily lives is phenomenal

but it comes at the price of shallow

thinking is not what we do in the

digital world that's so powerful but

rather outside of the digital world who

are able to analyze interpret the

information for deeper meaning

unfortunately from adapting to the rapid

stimulus notifications we are less able

to focus now I know that sounds really

scary because now your attention spends

less than a goldfish

according to Microsoft so what do you do

about this well I put in three tips in

this speech that could help out with

this predicament the first one is you

get to play psychotherapist for a bit

write down why why do you want to have

why do you check your phone so much

maybe you're excited because a loved one

might text you guilty because your boss

is on your back or maybe you might want

to escape you want to avoid that escape

reason it's an easy segue into addiction

that's the first reason second very

common advice but it's turn your phone

off during certain times of the day

first thing in the morning lasting an

evening because smartphones have been

shown to drop sleep cycles or more

importantly during moments of

intellectual depth and focus big of

lunch with a friend or dinner with your

kids just put it away that's tip number

two tip number three is reducing the

number of notifications coming to your

phone yes I know it feels great being a

micro celebrity when your phone keeps

going off in front of your friends but

honestly no one cares except for you

what you'll find is as you reduce the

number of notifications the ability to

focus Rises and correspondence to review

play psychotherapist for a bit write

down why to turn off your phone during

certain times of the day and three

reducing the number of notifications

coming to your phone going back now to

Jing Jie Zhao China with the woman weak

and roadside because of the death of her

son we no longer see an oblivious parent

but rather there was a battle at hand

for the mother's attention a one hand or

smartphone the other her son in this

case the smartphone went out yes the

practicality that smartphones brings to

our daily lives is phenomenal but it

comes at the price and near addictive

behavior and the shortening of our

attention spans some pay higher price

than others but as we learn to master

this new technology just like any other

innovation in the past we will be

brought to new heights of achievement

and the point of this talk is to reveal

those unattended consequences so we can

use it as a stepping stone to those

bitter Heights thank