Hello everyone.

Before I begin my talk today, 
I would like to do a small experiment.

By a raise of hand, how many of you here
are extremely annoyed by these symbols?

(Laughter)

Many of you, indeed.

Before I go on to explain to you 
why I ask you to do this,

I'm going to introduce to you a concept

that really baffled me 
called the "productivity paradox."

From 1971 to 2015, an era 
known as the Digital Revolution

which introduced the Internet, 
personal computer,

smartphone, and so on,

while the number of transistors 
per microprocessor --

which is a reliable indicator
of technological capabilities --

doubles every two years.

At the same period of time,
worker productivity growth

actually goes down instead of going up.

What this paradox tells us is that

as technology becomes more advanced 
and more readily available --

which should have supposedly made 
our jobs easier and more efficient --

the marginal gain in our productivity
actually decreases.

So what actually happened 
with productivity growth?

While there are many factors 
to be blamed for this decline,

such as an aging workforce,

there is one particular factor 
that really captures my attention,

since I was also a "victim" of it,

is addiction to 
technological distraction.

You see, with a plethora 
of information accessible

right in your palm, 
from irresistible clickbait

like "Top 17 most shocking truth
about blah, blah, blah.

You won't believe number 9!"

to Reddit threads, YouTube videos, 
Facebook hashtags,

and "you may also like" suggestions 
at the bottom of every single article --

we are being directed to an unlimited 
supply of mostly useless information.

And before you even know it,

it's already 11:00 pm and 
your assignment is due at midnight!

(Laughter)

You feel bad, work like hell 
to meet the deadline

with mediocre work, 
promise to yourself

that it would never ever happen again.

And then we do it all over again.

(Laughter)

The bad news is it doesn't stop here.

After I escaped from the prison 
of Internet addiction,

sometimes I find myself haunted
by images that I was once a part of.

Images like a group of friends 
coming to a coffee shop.

They took a selfie, posted to Instagram

and then, silence, everyone 
was scrolling at their phone

while sipping the coffee.

Images like my classmate

who ranted about 15 seconds of buffering

and loading of his Netflix video.

Images like a girl crying over 
her boyfriend's "late response" --

"It's been ten minutes, and he hasn't 
replied to my message yet," she said.

(Laughter)

Or a guy screaming over a 15-second 
YouTube advertisement

and keeps pushing the "Skip ads" button 
until his screen is broken.

(Laughter)

The problem is, it's not our fault.

Every single site and app, 
from YouTube to Facebook,

is deliberately and intentionally 
designed to be addictive.

"If you're not paying for it, 
you become the product."

Unlike a newspaper subscription, 
social media apps and online sites

don't charge you a cent 
for using their products.

Obviously, you still have to pay 
for the Internet fees.

(Laughter)

Anyway, they have an entire 
R&D team that is dedicated

to maximize the time 
you spent on these apps.

As Aza Raskin, the inventor 
of infinite scroll, himself said,

"Behind every screen on your phone, 
there are generally like literally

a thousand engineers
that have worked on this thing

to try to make it maximally addicting.

It's as if they're taking 
behavioral cocaine

and just sprinkling it 
all over your interface,

and that's the thing that keeps you like
coming back and back and back."

Indeed, features like infinite scroll,
instead of having to turn the pages,

or real-time notification of everything,

from likes, comments, mentions, 
trending hashtags, messages, etc.,

are intended to keep you 
in a vicious cycle of impulses

and to keep you stay in the apps 
for as long as possible.

The more you use them,

the more data they have about you
to sell to advertisers.

That's why you see advertisements 
about vacation deals on Facebook

after searching for a flight on Google.

By not giving your brain time 
to catch up with these impulses,

online sites and social media are actually

more effective than cocaine and alcohol
in making you depend on them,

according to a 2015 study by ASU.

Similarly, recent studies by MSU

also indicated that 
excessive social media usage

can compromise our decision-making 
capabilities, similarly to drug addiction.

This is extremely concerning considering 
that many young children nowadays

are given access to Internet 
at a very young age.

Technologies' capability of hooking 
young people

by constantly releasing 
dopamine in their brain

can create a new generation

that is toxic, impatient, 
and unproductive.

The good news is it's never too late
to rehabilitate.

While I may not be in the best position 
to give you specific medical advice,

one approach that worked 
quite well for me

is to designate a particular 
screen-free time.

At first, it would sound very 
tough and counterintuitive,

even futile, to resist this temptation.

So it might be helpful to start small;
maybe just 30 minutes a day,

and then gradually increase it.

I would suggest surrendering all of your
electronic devices to a trusted friend.

During this "screen-free time," 
you can try to read a book,

go for a walk,

or even spend some minutes 
on meditation

and allow your brain 
to quiet down and recover.

The first step in every 
recovery process --

whether it is substance
or behavioral abuse --

is to accept the fact 
that you are addicted.

It would be a difficult journey,
but remember, the rewards are worth it.

By regaining control of your mind

and escaping from the prison 
of constant distraction

built by technology,

we are also regaining 
the time and energy,

those that can be used 
to finish our work on time,

gain more sleep, hit the gym,

call your grandmother or contemplate life.

Thank you!

(Applause)

(Cheering)