Why our screens make us less happy
4,515,986 views |
Adam Alter |
TED2017
• April 2017
What are our screens and devices doing to us? Psychologist Adam Alter studies how much time screens steal from us and how they're getting away with it. He shares why all those hours you spend staring at your smartphone, tablet or computer might be making you miserable -- and what you can do about it.
What are our screens and devices doing to us? Psychologist Adam Alter studies how much time screens steal from us and how they're getting away with it. He shares why all those hours you spend staring at your smartphone, tablet or computer might be making you miserable -- and what you can do about it.
This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.
About the speaker
What makes us incessantly check our phones? Adam Alter dives into the fascinating psychology that drives our tech addictions.
Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness | Rodale Books, 2017 | Book
There are hundreds of "be your best self" books, but this one is my favorite. Brad and Steve are down-to-earth experts who explain, in practical terms, the origins of focused long-term success. The strategies they propose encourage us to, among other things, wean ourselves off the sorts of tech devices that encourage mindlessness and obsession.
Catherine Steiner-Adair, with Teresa H. Barker | Harper Collins, 2013 | Book
Steiner-Adair does a masterful job of explaining to parents how they should engage with their children in the digital age. One of her wisest observations is that parents should learn as much as they can about the social networks that consume their kids — by, for example, taking the time to navigate Snapchat and Instagram — so they can discuss them in a way that makes them sound informed rather than out of touch.
Nancy Jo Sales | Alfred A. Knopf, 2016 | Book
Sales visited hundreds of girls around the United States as they lived their lives, tracking their interactions with the digital world. American Girls is entertaining and vivid but also disturbing for what it tells us about how teen girls are shaped by the time they spend immersed in social networks.
Richard Louv | Algonquin Books, 2005 | Book
Louv won the Audubon Medal for this illuminating book on the role of nature in promoting healthy childhood development. As Louv described it, nature is a powerful antidote to the screen world (and to many other maladies, from obesity and attention disorders to depression and anxiety).
Natasha Dow Schull | Princeton University Press, 2012 | Book
Schull spent more than a decade observing the behavior of slot machine gamblers in Las Vegas and spoke to dozens of experts who explained how slot machines are designed to be addictive. Gambling is the original behavioral addiction — the grandfather of social networking sites, email and video games — and much of what Schull discovered about gambling also explains why these newer behaviors are so hard to resist.
Learn more
This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.