Ideas worth spreading

How better tech could protect us from distraction

2,146,881 views | Tristan Harris • TEDxBrussels

How often does technology interrupt us from what we really mean to be doing? At work and at play, we spend a startling amount of time distracted by pings and pop-ups -- instead of helping us spend our time well, it often feels like our tech is stealing it away from us. Design thinker Tristan Harris offers thoughtful new ideas for technology that creates more meaningful interaction. He asks: "What does the future of technology look like when you're designing for the deepest human values?"

How often does technology interrupt us from what we really mean to be doing? At work and at play, we spend a startling amount of time distracted by pings and pop-ups -- instead of helping us spend our time well, it often feels like our tech is stealing it away from us. Design thinker Tristan Harris offers thoughtful new ideas for technology that creates more meaningful interaction. He asks: "What does the future of technology look like when you're designing for the deepest human values?"

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxBrussels, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Join the movement to design for time well spent. Stay up to date and explore resources for parents, users, designers and company leaders at TIMEWELLSPENT.io.

About the speaker

Tristan Harris

See speaker profile

Tristan Harris helps the technology industry more consciously and ethically shape the human spirit and human potential.

Tristan Harris | Medium, May 2016 | Article

How Technology Hijacks Our Minds -- from a Magician and Google’s Design Ethicist

I wrote this piece to explain to the public how technology manipulates their minds, both intentionally and unintentionally. It’s comprehensive and meant for a broad audience – including parents, teachers and teenagers.

Joe Edelman | Article

Is Anything Worth Maximizing?

Joe Edelman, the ex-CTO of CouchSurfing in my TED talk and my collaborator on Time Well Spent. In this talk, he explains why we need to evolve companies ways of measuring success from simple maximizers (that maximize transactions) to reasons-based maximizers (which maximize the alignment between the deep human reasons people use services with businesses’ reasons.)

Damon Horowitz: | TEDxSilicon Valley, 2011 | Watch

Why we need a moral operating system

Damon’s TED talk is an important call to Silicon Valley to deepen its moral compass. As another former technology entrepreneur, his talk deeply inspired me to do the work that I do.

Neil Postman | Penguin Books, 1982 | Book

Amusing Ourselves to Death

Neil Postman was a brilliant public intellectual who deeply understood how media shapes society. I thought I understood media and technology – and then I read Neil Postman it changed my worldview.

Learn more

About TEDx

TEDx was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." It supports independent organizers who want to create a TED-like event in their own community.

Find a TEDx event near you

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxBrussels, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Join the movement to design for time well spent. Stay up to date and explore resources for parents, users, designers and company leaders at TIMEWELLSPENT.io.