Paul I’m a student of class 10 at the
choice school and up until a while ago I
was like every other Gen Y kid or
millennial as they call it these days a
head full of dreams and my phone
constantly in my hand if I was born it
was my first choice and I would spend
hours surfing random stuff on the
internet every day but recently I came
across something that completely changed
my perspective on how addictive habit
this was it reveals something to me that
was hiding in plain sight it’s right in
front of all of us but we just don’t see
it why because we’re too busy looking at
that funny cat video or stalking your
sister’s best friends brother’s
girlfriends cousins account on Instagram
I mean it’s become a way of life for
every two steps that technology has
taken further into this century humanity
seems to lag behind the step technology
has completely changed our lives and
most definitely for the better I mean I
have nothing against phones or laptops I
love my phone but we have let it seep
into our lives so deeply that no one
sees its drawbacks anymore and it hit me
that it’s going to stay this way unless
we do something to control ourselves
the Internet has already made us
impatient people we have everything that
we could ever want right at our
fingertips there’s no need to wait for
anything at all because the Internet
provides us with it all from phones to
books to groceries to even furniture no
more going into tens of stores and
walking around for hours searching for
the right
dress in the right size and the right
color just click a few buttons and buy
it online we have been provided with
every provision in the world and it’s
creating such a laid-back attitude and
it leaves children to believe that
everything in life comes this easily
like love or relationships and when it
doesn’t
we are surprisingly disappointed no
child ever has to worry about figuring
out what kind of person they are or what
it takes to make friends and the right
ones at that because the Internet allows
you to be literally anyone communicate
with anyone it may seem like everyone’s
life is all rainbows and unicorns on the
internet and that you are the only one
suffering but it’s not people put the
highs of their life on the pedestal that
is social media but there are laws do
these devices have begun to affect the
children of this century controlling
their emotions their relationships their
outlook on the world seeing these people
with these amazing lives on the Internet
children question every action they make
like am i smart enough am I pretty
enough and it just creates an all the
more traumatic scenario for adolescents
nowadays every two and three year old
can easily work an iPad or a smartphone
and play time and soos playing candy
crush saga for hours on end before all
we had was outside this in a and we see
so many teens these days who smoke and
drink just to post pictures on the
Internet the scenario has changed so
drastically that it’s altering our ways
of life it’s curbing our capacity to
form meaningful relationships but as
much as it is our fault the people
around us are also making mistakes
for instance you see so many parent
these days who smoked and sorry you see
so many parents these days who promote
their kids on social media calling them
child prodigies putting them on Facebook
just cuz they’re hungry for fame like I
said before it’s just added pressure on
these kids to impress their parents and
the world at large now I’m not seeing
this generation is bad or useless or
lazy or anything and I’m not blaming
them either because this is the
environment that they were born into and
then they were encouraged to adapt to
but if we don’t stop curbing the
imbalance of technological use starting
with children itself it’s going to be
harder for them as adults to detach from
their phones it will start as a pastime
move on to being a mildly bad habit and
then he to a full-blown addiction social
media and the Internet have the power to
be as addictive as alcohol or drugs and
just like alcohol and drugs it too will
slowly destroy relationships cost you
time cost you money and make your life
worse now I can stand here and complain
about this problem for hours anyone can
but then this talk is pointless what I
can do is try in my own small way to
help you now I’m not saying completely
stop using gadgets completely quitting
using your phone is illogical we become
so attuned to using these devices for
everyday activities that it would just
derail daily life a full electronic
device detox is good no doubt but it’s
still only a short-term solution there
are some long term means that we can use
to help ourselves and help each other
taking the advice of a reputed author
Ted speaker mr. simon Sinek instead of
charging your phone in your room at
night before going to bed charge it in
the living room so that way you remove
the temptation of getting up in the
middle of the night when you can’t sleep
and taking your phone and sitting on it
for hours oh you won’t be like yeah I’m
going to sleep now and then stay on your
phone until 3:00 a.m. in the morning
it’s been done I’ll show you now the
main excuse people give when they hear
this he says is but it’s my alarm clock
I can attest to this because I’ve used
this very excuse with my mother multiple
times and I’m sure all of you would have
done the same there’s a simple solution
to this also buy an alarm clock they’re
not that hard to find in the morning in
the morning instead of checking your
phone first thing say good morning to
your family members look out the window
plan your day enjoy life secondly do I
really need to take our phones when we
go into the bathroom I mean I get that
where I get that it’s entertaining but
it’s no reason to fuel an addiction you
guys another trend that’s been coming up
these days is that of the gadget free
vacation so there you go that’s three
good ideas already fourth banned phones
at the dinner table just ban them in
most contemporary homes dinner time is
the one time where people really sit
down and connect with their family
members or close friends and so it makes
no sense for you to be sitting there
texting someone who is somewhere else
especially when you have so many
interesting people that you know right
in front of you I’ve seen kids sit in
front of my long buffets absolute
oblivious to the mountains of food in
front of them with the eyes glued to a
screen and no food on that plate and
everyone around them does nothing to
stop it even when we go out as friends
for a dinner party or a simple hangout
one of my friends on him is Daniel
Matthews she’s somewhere around here she
has a habit of taking all our phones
from us keeping it in a pile right next
to her where no one can reach it and we
only get a back at the end of the day I
don’t know where she got the inspiration
but yeah and we only get it back at the
end of the day and so there’s no wall
between us we’re free to connect and to
mingle with each other which is what
we’ll come to do initially it used to
annoy all of us because we were so
attached to our phones but now it
doesn’t matter anymore we’re all used to
it and it’s worked so well for us
so you see it’s small ideas like this
small changes that can completely turn
your life around and before deciding to
go big or go home let’s decide to take
baby steps the world progressed so much
in the 21st century that somewhere along
the way we forgot how to embrace life
when you stop everything look around and
observe the world that’s when you truly
enjoy life when you put down your phone
and actually talk to the people in front
of you that’s when you can learn the
deepest things about them and how you
can form friendships for life that’s
when your head starts to form ideas and
how you can give birth to innovation
that can completely change the world and
in the end it’s the small things that
matter now we’ve heard this from
countless adults time and again and to
no effect so it seemed to me that maybe
this time if it came from
teenager someone who is most affected by
this situation maybe people would get it
this may not be an uncharted realm or
anything but we have been ignoring it
for too long and have been blind to the
fact that it doesn’t take much to create
a positive outlook on life I know I am
NOT old enough to be giving parenting
advice but I do think I can make a
request to all parents please take some
time away from your phones and spend it
with your children you may be able to
save them from peer pressure addiction
to alcohol and drugs and other things
that could eventually lead to depression
parents don’t need to be their best
friend they have more than enough of
those at school and on Facebook and
Instagram who guide and misguide them
they need you as parents for all which
no one else can take on keep track of
what they’re doing where they’re going
how they’re spending their time on their
gadgets now teens being teens will
obviously come up with the privacy issue
but privacy is definitely not more
important than their life so parents
it’s up to you this is an impending
crisis as big as anything else going on
in the world right now because it’s just
been running its course for so long and
it needs to be addressed I may not have
done much of note in my 16 years but I
do hope that I was able to influence at
least some of you today to take the
first step towards weaning yourself and
your loved ones away from this
treacherous gadget prediction pray for
me because now I have to go face my
friends in the back who are going to be
cursing me for giving you this advice
but anyway thank you for taking time out
to listen to a little girl with
and before I go
just a reminder buy an alarm clock thank
you [Applause]