Simon Sinek warns that overprotective parenting combined with heavy social media use and addictive smartphones may leave a generation ill-equipped to handle stress, contributing to rising depression, anxiety, and suicide. He argues a balance between humans and technology is possible and necessary, likening excessive technology use to excessive alcohol consumption and emphasizing responsibility and awareness of dopamine-driven behaviors.
My fear is that.
An over coddled parent combined with excessive amounts of social media, combined with the addictive qualities of a phone, that there's a generation where too many people in that generation are not learning the skills to deal with stress. And we see this with increasing rates of depression and anxiety and it's worst case suicide.
Absolutely. Is there a balance that you see in which humans and technology can work together where it's sustainable and there's longevity to that and creates resilience?
Of course, of course. I mean, that's like saying, you know, is there balance between alcohol and human beings? Of course, of course. You know, excessive drinking, not good for any of your relationships or your own health. Well, excessive technology, not good for any of your relationships or your health. Of course there's balance and it's about being responsible. You know, we, we know that other dopamine releasing things like gambling or smoking or alcohol.
Right.
That we have laws to help us, but we also know that there's a responsibility that comes with those things. But we don't really talk about the responsibility that comes with technology. We've all felt it. You know, you're out with a friend and they're on their phone the whole time. It doesn't feel good. You wake up in the morning and the person you live with, you know, checks their phone before they say good morning to you. It doesn't feel good. You're out with a friend, they pull out their phone, you feel stupid so you pull out your phone. It doesn't feel good. And so it's, you know, I think we have to learn the skill to balance these things because it's a gift to our friends, it's a gift to the people we love. It's not even a selfish thing, it's a service. So we start to see learning to find balance of technology in our lives as a service to the people. So they feel loved, that they feel that we're present with them. I think it's a better way of treating it as opposed to I have to get a handle on this, but rather I'm going to do it for you.
