Welcome to Digital Disconnect.
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I am again your
host Scott Ritsema.
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It's a joy to be with you
for this series of programs.
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And I say that with
a bittersweet feeling
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because there so
many heartbreaking aspects
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of the data, the
research, and the reality
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as it surrounds our
media and that of our children.
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In episode 4 Anti-Social Media
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we looked at some
catastrophic suicide rates
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and mental health implications
that the digital age has
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brought to us. For our
young people 300% increase
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in suicide among 12
to 14-year-old girls.
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These sorts of numbers that
make our hearts just rip apart
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and say: "How long, O Lord? "
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And what is the
solution to this?
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Well I want to
give you some hope.
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It's not just the teens, by
the way. You look at college
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students. You're 2.7 times
more likely to be depressed
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if you're a heavy
social media user.
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And a full one quarter
of college students today
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have now been diagnosed
with a mental health disorder
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so it's not a surprise that the
founding president of Facebook
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right alongside Mark Zuckerberg
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his name was Sean
Parker. He said: "God only knows
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what this is doing to
our children's brains. "
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So we left off in
episode 4 Anti-Social Media
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with the implication
and the impression that
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the media mind is
stressed and depressed
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and anxious but
the mind of Christ
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can be filled with joy
and peace and fullness.
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'Cause I want to remind you:
what did Dr. Victoria Dunckley
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find in her practice of
taking people off media?
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Young people are given a
media fast for three weeks.
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And she found 80% of her
patients had the majority
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of symptoms disappear.
That's a wonderful sign
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that when we do life differently
we can find greater joy.
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And there was another study also
that I referenced in episode 1
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from the University of PA as
well as another one in Denmark
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that took college students down
to 30 minutes of social media
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per day or
eliminated it entirely.
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And we found their
loneliness scores dropping.
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You know what else dropped?
33% decline in depression
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when you take people off
social media for one week.
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So we can see some
very positive results
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to getting back into
real social, real nature,
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and relationships
and study of God's Word
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and experiencing life the way He
designed it to be experienced.
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But this session entitled
This is your Brain on Media
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is going to get into
the aspect of addiction.
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A lot of people are flat
out addicted to various types
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of media. George Barna
told us in the first episode
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that it's the greatest
addiction in America today.
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But, you know, everybody
knows video game addiction,
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pornography addiction.
We've got a session on that
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coming up: Number
11... The Lust Trap.
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But a lot of people
don't realize social media
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itself can become addictive.
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To many people it has dynamics
not just of mental health
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conditions of depression
and anxiety and stress
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but also addiction.
Now it's a good gauge
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to see if you're a good
candidate to take a break
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from social media or
maybe get off of it entirely
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if you... They've looked at
three questions or statements
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that if somebody feels
these feelings quite frequently
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then they're a good
candidate to not be on it
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because they are impact more
mentally by the social media.
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And the three
statements are as follows:
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Many of my friends
are happier than me.
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Many of my friends
have a better life than me.
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I am often feeling
inferior to others.
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If these feelings
sometimes intrude on your psyche
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and your heart, then
you are in the population,
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the demographic of
people that is harmed more
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psychologically by
social media exposure.
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So consider limiting it or
my wife actually just got off of
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Facebook completely.
She's got a wonderful testimony
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about that. Shared
it one time publicly.
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She was in front of
cameras in front of an audience
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and shared that. And so I
just pass that along to you
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that 30 days off of Facebook
for her was a real blessing.
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We've got a session
coming up called Digital Detox.
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And we're going to talk a
little bit more about fasts
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and breaking free
from some of these things,
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but when you think about
the use of these digital tools
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think about the quantity.
At what times of the day?
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At what frequency of use?
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For what duration of use?
You know, that list of questions
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that we went
through at the beginning.
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We will re-visit
that as we think about
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our media use... even for
seemingly innocuous things
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like social media accounts.
We're not talking about
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worldly media there
and Hollywood entertainment
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which we will get into as
well in the subsequent sessions.
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But This is your Brain on Media.
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Here we are in episode
five asking about the addiction
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aspect as it relates to media.
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And some people think:
"Well, you know, Scott,
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you're from the 90's. You
don't understand what it's like
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to be growing up
in the digital age
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and growing up with
social media and everything. "
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But I want to share something
with you that takes me back
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and it will take
many of you back as well
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to a sound that will
be like music to your ears
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if you were coming
of age in the 90's.
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To the kids listening this will
be like: "What is this horrible
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sound? " You're
going to hear dial up.
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This is the old
sound of the Internet.
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When we used to go
online we used to literally
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call the Internet and you'd
pick up. It'd be like the phone
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is being picked up but
the computer is calling
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and dialing. What is this
terrible noise you're wondering.
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What is that?
This is going online.
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OK, so when we would go there
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it was an experience
to go America Online.
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That was the
service at the time.
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And the hope and the
desire is: "Did I get any?
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Did I get any? Did I get
any? " "You've got mail! "
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"Yes! I got mail... I got
e- mail... electronic mail! "
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Now I'll tell you
something: when that happened
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the ultimate
dopamine hit occurred
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and so I was
addicted. I'm telling you
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a testimony right now: addic-
ted to the first social media.
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You saw it on the graphic.
You're alone; you're going
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online and now you're on
the big family online together
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social online experience
circa 1996 on dial up.
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And the you've got mail
thing: "Did I get any e-mail
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from strangers and pretty
girls that I'm looking up online
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to chat with at age 16
till 2 in the morning? "
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Super
embarrassing to admit, I know.
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I was in the world. I was into
this trap of media addiction.
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And so in this session of
media addiction I share it
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with you as somebody who has ex-
perienced the online addiction;
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experienced the
love of video games;
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the immersion in Hollywood.
I used to play in a rock band
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so I know what it means to
be addicted to worldly media.
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Now you know
you're addicted when...
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In a recent survey of
millennial-aged young adults
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they found that they
value Internet connection
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above hot water and daylight
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in the things they value
most for quality of life.
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Sixty-six percent
of people we are told
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suffer from what
is called nomophobia.
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Have you ever heard
of nomophobia before?
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Well, people are suffering
from this fear of not having
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their mobile phone:
no mobile phone phobia.
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And that ranks as
high on people's fear scale
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as a terrorist attack.
And where they did that survey
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was in a place where terrorist
attacks had been known to happen
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in London. In the
United Kingdom also
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they did a survey and they
asked people: "What is the word
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that comes to mind when you
think of not having your phone
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nearby? "
Seventy-three percent of people
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said: "The word
that comes to mind?
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PANIC! " That
was the word: panic.
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Not like "Oh, it's a
concern... a major concern. "
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No... downright panic.
You'll see on the graphic
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here from Science Daily, a
publication charting the latest
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scientific study: Smartphone-
loss anxiety disorder
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is the latest
actual diagnosable thing.
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Smartphone-loss
anxiety disorder.
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Now Sherry Turkle at
MIT has done research
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on people losing the
cellphone, misplacing it.
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And she has found the
emotional hit that people take
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when they've
lost their Smartphone
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is equivalent to that
of losing a loved one...
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a loved one dying.
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And so that goes
back to the first session
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the neuromarketing expert
at Apple who discovered that
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when we are
interfacing with our devices
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we are in love with our
iPhones. Do you remember that?
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Now here's a very serious
quotation from the author
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of the book Glow Kids. Dr.
Nicholas Kardaras tells us:
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So we might laugh at
the craziness in our culture
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but when it comes down to it
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we are really struggling
with a serious addiction.
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Media addiction is
diagnosed and diagnosable
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in the psychiatry community
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particularly gaming addictions,
pornography addictions.
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When you ask Dr. Peter Whybrow
at UCLA, he's a neuroscience
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researcher there, he says this
media issue is like electronic
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cocaine to the user.
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Chinese researchers
have a term that they use
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called "digital heroin.
" I've often used the term
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digital Pharmacia. Pharmacia
meaning drug use or sorcery.
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Digital Pharmacia
is what we are facing.
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Now you ask Dr. Dunckley
going back to her excellent work
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Reset Your
Child's Brain. She says:
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So you got the idea there.
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It is a stimulant and
it has the same affect
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on the brain as other stimulants
like caffeine, cocaine, etc.
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Back to Dr. Kardaras.
He shares a similar thing
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with us. He says:
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So it's a digital drug like
cocaine... a very serious thing.
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In fact we've
known for quite some time
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that simply playing those video
games - this goes back decades -
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it increases the level of
dopamine released in the brain
00:11:01.16\00:11:03.83
like taking the drug Speed.
You remember the 80's rave drug
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that was a curse
upon so many people.
00:11:07.73\00:11:10.20
And so a stimulant these
video games are no doubt.
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One of the most
famous video game designers
00:11:14.94\00:11:17.51
in the world called Ian Bogost
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he has come out and said:
"You know the scandal here
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really is that the video
game industry are the cigarette
00:11:22.94\00:11:25.55
companies of this century. "
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You remember the whole
scandal about cigarettes?
00:11:27.32\00:11:29.22
"Oh it's not an addiction;
oh it's not harmful. "
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And the tobacco corporations
got in big trouble later on
00:11:31.29\00:11:34.39
because they covered that up.
00:11:34.59\00:11:36.22
And now we have Surgeon General
warnings and we have a lot of
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information about
the danger of tobacco
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when people used
to be in total denial.
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We're still kind of in the
denial phase for many people
00:11:42.93\00:11:45.47
when we face the
video game addiction.
00:11:45.67\00:11:47.60
But the bottom line
is while the media mind
00:11:47.80\00:11:50.41
has become totally
addicted to these media
00:11:50.61\00:11:54.34
the mind of Christ can be free.
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I know that it's kind
of a dark and oppressive
00:11:57.05\00:12:00.52
reality we face
when we go: "Wow!
00:12:00.72\00:12:03.28
this is just like drugs! "
00:12:03.49\00:12:05.29
And that can become discouraging
00:12:05.69\00:12:08.16
but don't forget
what the Bible says:
00:12:08.36\00:12:10.73
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is
00:12:10.93\00:12:12.86
there is liberty. "
00:12:13.06\00:12:15.53
"Thanks be to God
who gives us the victory
00:12:15.73\00:12:19.07
through our Lord Jesus Christ. "
00:12:19.27\00:12:21.10
You know, "the enemy
may come in like a flood"
00:12:21.50\00:12:23.71
the Bible says "but
the Spirit of the Lord
00:12:23.91\00:12:26.04
raises up a
standard against him. "
00:12:26.24\00:12:28.04
And so that victory is
gained in Christ at the cross
00:12:28.24\00:12:31.18
and we can claim that.
You might be in the depths
00:12:31.38\00:12:32.98
of video game
addiction right now.
00:12:33.18\00:12:34.72
Or you're seeing in
these quotes your own children
00:12:34.92\00:12:37.65
or your own grandchildren.
00:12:37.85\00:12:39.19
And the power of the Spirit
of God and practical steps
00:12:39.25\00:12:42.36
we can take to break
the chains of addiction
00:12:42.56\00:12:44.79
will absolutely gain
the victory in this battle.
00:12:44.99\00:12:48.70
Now I want to go to a
statement by a young teen
00:12:48.90\00:12:52.77
that was interviewed in an
article in The Atlantic magazine
00:12:52.97\00:12:56.40
called Has the Smartphone
Destroyed a Generation?
00:12:56.60\00:12:59.87
And the teen interviewed
actually was lamenting that
00:13:00.28\00:13:02.91
they've been
foisted into addictions.
00:13:03.11\00:13:05.25
And she said: "We
didn't have a choice
00:13:05.45\00:13:07.42
to know any life
without iPhones and iPads. "
00:13:07.62\00:13:10.89
She says: "I think we like
our phones more than we like
00:13:11.05\00:13:14.66
actual people. " I thought
that was a very interesting
00:13:14.86\00:13:17.53
insight that we like our
phones more than actual people.
00:13:17.69\00:13:21.00
But the first part of the
quotation from this young lady
00:13:21.20\00:13:23.90
especially
captured my attention.
00:13:24.10\00:13:25.70
She said: "We
didn't have a choice. "
00:13:25.90\00:13:27.44
Sometimes people take a message
00:13:28.04\00:13:30.27
about finding
freedom from media addiction
00:13:30.47\00:13:33.14
as some sort of legalistic
thing or controlling thing.
00:13:33.34\00:13:36.64
Oh these parents that
limit their children's media...
00:13:36.85\00:13:39.41
these parents
are so controlling.
00:13:39.61\00:13:41.58
But time out! It's
actually the opposite.
00:13:41.78\00:13:43.89
When somebody has
entered into an addiction
00:13:44.29\00:13:48.19
an addiction comes into
their life without their choice
00:13:48.39\00:13:50.26
because from babyhood
they've been inoculated
00:13:50.46\00:13:53.23
with media
addiction then did we actually
00:13:53.43\00:13:57.77
affirm their
individuality in that?
00:13:57.97\00:13:59.67
NO... we want to
protect them from it.
00:13:59.87\00:14:01.87
In fact, there's a school...
a type of school... out in the
00:14:02.07\00:14:05.41
West Coast where
they limit media exposure
00:14:05.61\00:14:08.31
in very strict
ways. And they say:
00:14:08.51\00:14:11.11
"We're not even going to
do educational technology. "
00:14:11.31\00:14:13.21
We'll talk about that
in an upcoming session.
00:14:13.42\00:14:15.18
But the founder of this school
had a very interesting insight.
00:14:15.38\00:14:18.15
She said:
00:14:18.35\00:14:19.69
Another
researcher said it this way:
00:14:33.54\00:14:35.70
Dr. Nicholas Kardaras,
author of the book Glow Kids,
00:14:53.76\00:14:57.03
basically echoed those
same thoughts when he said:
00:14:57.23\00:15:00.00
"We should let the child's
frontal lobe first develop
00:15:00.20\00:15:03.93
before we introduce
them to media and how to gain
00:15:04.13\00:15:08.44
control of these tools. "
00:15:08.64\00:15:09.97
Because as your heard from
these prominent researchers
00:15:10.01\00:15:11.94
they are not in control; they're
at the mercy of these things.
00:15:12.14\00:15:14.58
We have a moral responsibility!
00:15:14.78\00:15:17.21
And these are not
even Christian voices.
00:15:17.41\00:15:19.45
Even the secular
world is crying out
00:15:19.65\00:15:22.25
for protecting
the children's brains
00:15:22.45\00:15:25.02
from the media
addiction onslaught.
00:15:25.22\00:15:27.42
Now I remember seeing
a program on 60 Minutes -
00:15:27.82\00:15:30.26
a news program - and people
were really excited to share it
00:15:30.46\00:15:32.99
with me: "Scott, you've
been talking about media
00:15:33.19\00:15:35.13
all these years, doing
your Media on the Brain seminars
00:15:35.33\00:15:37.97
at churches and look
the mainstream news is
00:15:38.17\00:15:40.77
now on board with
skepticism over media use
00:15:40.97\00:15:44.64
particularly in childhood
and youth, particularly
00:15:44.84\00:15:46.54
entertainment media. "
And so they pointed me to this
00:15:46.74\00:15:49.64
this episode of the news.
And I saw what the researchers
00:15:49.84\00:15:53.38
were saying and there
was some very good stuff.
00:15:53.58\00:15:55.65
But one of the things
that really troubled me was
00:15:55.85\00:15:57.49
they said: "We've
got a $300 million study
00:15:57.69\00:16:00.32
that's been launched by the
National Institutes of Health
00:16:00.52\00:16:03.06
and funded well by
the federal government
00:16:03.26\00:16:04.73
and we're going to
do a ten-year study.
00:16:04.93\00:16:07.36
And at the end of 10
years we will tell you
00:16:07.56\00:16:09.56
if media in young
people and video games might be
00:16:09.76\00:16:13.64
addictive to them. "
Like you're going to tell us
00:16:13.84\00:16:16.10
in ten years?
Another person on the program
00:16:16.30\00:16:19.57
was saying: "You know
we have a hypothesis that
00:16:19.77\00:16:22.04
it's possible that childhood
entertainment media use
00:16:22.24\00:16:25.18
and interactive screen
time on their iPads and stuff
00:16:25.38\00:16:28.28
might release dopamine in the
brain. We're going to exam... "
00:16:28.48\00:16:31.02
We KNOW that, right?
00:16:31.22\00:16:32.55
$300 million in 10 years...
we're going to find out?
00:16:32.69\00:16:35.12
So we do need to
raise a rallying cry.
00:16:35.32\00:16:38.19
Because right now I
want to quote Jim Steyer,
00:16:38.39\00:16:40.56
CEO and Founder of
Common Sense Media.
00:16:40.76\00:16:43.00
A whistleblower... a
watchdog on this. He says:
00:16:43.20\00:16:46.37
Dr. Kardaras says
the bottom line here is:
00:16:53.98\00:16:57.28
Now that one might have
hit people a little bit like:
00:17:12.43\00:17:16.13
"Wait a minute! Minecraft,
there's nothing necessarily
00:17:16.33\00:17:18.17
worldly about that. We're
not talking about 'shoot-em up'
00:17:18.37\00:17:20.24
video games. We're not talking
about violence and bloodshed. "
00:17:20.44\00:17:23.07
"We're not talking
about Hollywood entertainment
00:17:23.27\00:17:26.21
and worldly music. "
00:17:26.41\00:17:27.74
"Minecraft...
it's an innocent game.
00:17:27.78\00:17:29.11
I mean, come on...
angry birds and these types of
00:17:29.21\00:17:30.98
innocent fun
games for little kids?
00:17:31.18\00:17:33.11
It can't be that
harmful because it's not so
00:17:33.31\00:17:36.38
worldly and
filled with immorality. "
00:17:36.58\00:17:38.49
The reality though is the
devil is a little more tricky
00:17:39.29\00:17:41.56
than that. If he can do
things to our children's brains
00:17:41.76\00:17:44.66
under the guise of
"It's not that bad"
00:17:44.86\00:17:47.36
and it can affect
their character development
00:17:47.56\00:17:50.10
and their happiness
and their mental health
00:17:50.30\00:17:52.37
and get them addicted
and be a gateway drug into
00:17:52.57\00:17:55.20
deeper and darker
things then that becomes
00:17:55.40\00:17:57.27
the checkmate for the devil.
00:17:57.47\00:17:59.47
So I appreciate
secular voices coming out
00:17:59.67\00:18:02.01
and being willing to say:
"Your kid's brain on Minecraft
00:18:02.21\00:18:05.15
looks like a brain on drugs. "
00:18:05.35\00:18:07.08
So when we asked
those series of questions
00:18:07.48\00:18:09.75
at the beginning, you
know: What kinds of media?
00:18:09.95\00:18:11.95
At what ages? On
what types of devices?
00:18:12.15\00:18:14.02
Are we going mobile? And
for what frequency of use?
00:18:14.22\00:18:16.46
What duration of use?
What times of the day? Etc.
00:18:16.66\00:18:19.39
Under what kinds of media
00:18:19.96\00:18:21.93
I would love it if
we just saw the end
00:18:22.13\00:18:25.03
to playing video games entirely.
00:18:25.23\00:18:27.17
What kinds of
media? Can we just say
00:18:27.37\00:18:29.60
"You know what? Let's use media
00:18:29.80\00:18:32.14
that beneficial to our
children's development. "
00:18:32.34\00:18:34.98
"Let's use media that is
educational and balanced. "
00:18:35.18\00:18:38.71
And "gamifying" their life
and altering their dopamine
00:18:38.91\00:18:42.98
sequence and the pleasure/reward
centers that we're going to talk
00:18:43.18\00:18:45.19
about in an upcoming session
00:18:45.39\00:18:46.79
harming their development,
hampering their prefrontal
00:18:47.09\00:18:50.96
cortex development as you
just heard from Dr. Kardaras.
00:18:51.16\00:18:54.30
He says: "That's going to
inhibit their impulse control.
00:18:54.50\00:18:57.17
It's affecting their
brain like cocaine. "
00:18:57.37\00:18:59.97
So I know that's a big chal-
lenge. That's a high standard.
00:19:00.17\00:19:02.60
And it's not a question
of moral versus immoral.
00:19:03.00\00:19:05.37
It's a question of:
"What's best for their brains? "
00:19:05.57\00:19:07.34
We already tossed out
everything worldly I hope
00:19:07.54\00:19:10.11
if you're a
believing godly family.
00:19:10.31\00:19:12.38
We don't have
violent video games.
00:19:12.58\00:19:14.25
We don't have
Hollywood entertainment.
00:19:14.45\00:19:15.85
But raising that standard and
asking: "Lord, what can we do
00:19:16.05\00:19:19.45
that's better than the
innocent video games? "
00:19:19.65\00:19:22.69
Some food for thought. You
know, I grew up in the 80's
00:19:22.89\00:19:25.26
when they had
this commercial going.
00:19:25.46\00:19:27.30
And it was a...
They had a frying pan
00:19:27.50\00:19:31.07
with a bunch of
hot butter and oil.
00:19:31.27\00:19:33.23
There you see the graphic.
And they put the egg in there
00:19:33.44\00:19:36.10
sshshskww... "This
is your brain on drugs.
00:19:36.30\00:19:39.44
Any questions? " And
there was this ominous music
00:19:39.64\00:19:42.54
and I'm a kid
listening to these commercials.
00:19:42.74\00:19:44.78
I'm like: "No... I
don't have any questions.
00:19:44.98\00:19:46.82
I don't want my
brain fried by drugs! "
00:19:47.22\00:19:50.69
So you know the 60's
and 70's had happened.
00:19:50.89\00:19:53.22
The crazy drug use epidemics
of that time and addictions.
00:19:53.42\00:19:57.19
And I'm a child of
that previous generation
00:19:57.39\00:20:00.76
hearing the warnings 'cause
they don't want this to happen
00:20:00.96\00:20:03.26
to kids. And cocaine was...
crack cocaine was on the march
00:20:03.47\00:20:08.57
in the 80's. Now we've
got whole new classes of drugs
00:20:08.77\00:20:12.07
and types of ways that
people are chemically messing up
00:20:12.27\00:20:15.11
their lives. And
we do a great job
00:20:15.31\00:20:18.31
with warning kids:
"Don't take drugs. "
00:20:18.51\00:20:21.38
In fact, when I was a kid
chapel speakers would come in
00:20:21.58\00:20:24.52
and tell their testimony of how
they had become drug addicts.
00:20:24.72\00:20:27.56
I remember this one guy came in
00:20:27.76\00:20:29.46
and it was like: "Hey kids.
You know I'm from the 60's.
00:20:29.66\00:20:33.13
I did a lot of drugs
and I played in the band
00:20:33.33\00:20:36.53
and lived in the world.
" He had a great testimony!
00:20:36.73\00:20:39.33
But then he was like: "I don't
remember what I was gonna say
00:20:39.53\00:20:41.64
next. " And it
affected his life.
00:20:41.84\00:20:44.67
And he had a powerful testimony
that reached and touched
00:20:44.87\00:20:46.88
my heart and I never touched...
I'm telling you: I lived
00:20:47.08\00:20:49.21
worldly as a
teenager... don't get me wrong.
00:20:49.41\00:20:51.18
Praise God for the
victory and for the salvation
00:20:51.58\00:20:54.38
in Jesus Christ
that I later found.
00:20:54.58\00:20:56.18
But even living in the
world I did not want to touch
00:20:56.38\00:20:58.92
those narcotics 'cause
I knew how they had ruined
00:20:59.12\00:21:01.92
so many peoples' lives.
And everybody wants to have
00:21:02.12\00:21:03.96
a happy life...
even a selfish person
00:21:04.16\00:21:05.79
doesn't want to be captive
and become a slave to something.
00:21:05.99\00:21:09.10
But how much more for
those of us who are seeking
00:21:09.33\00:21:11.37
to glorify God with our lives
and live a life of purpose.
00:21:11.57\00:21:14.54
Should we be having
these same kinds of warnings:
00:21:15.44\00:21:18.27
this is your brain
on video game addiction.
00:21:18.47\00:21:20.74
This is your brain on
pornography addiction.
00:21:20.94\00:21:22.98
This is your mental health on
social media for the vulnerable
00:21:23.18\00:21:26.25
heart and psyche.
00:21:26.45\00:21:28.28
And young girls and a
suicide rate... We've gotta be
00:21:28.48\00:21:31.55
giving STRONGER
warnings for this media epidemic
00:21:31.75\00:21:34.52
than we ever did
for the drug epidemic
00:21:34.72\00:21:36.32
'cause it's wider,
deeper, and more catastrophic.
00:21:36.52\00:21:38.83
But I have some good news.
00:21:39.23\00:21:40.66
There's an area in the brain
called the nucleus accumbens
00:21:41.06\00:21:44.27
and it's where
we sense pleasure.
00:21:44.47\00:21:46.17
And a lot of times
that gets co-opted by drugs,
00:21:46.47\00:21:51.27
by eating
super-exciting unhealthy food,
00:21:51.47\00:21:54.41
by smoking, by video
games, by your media quest
00:21:54.61\00:21:58.48
for pleasure-seeking. So the
only way that we get satisfied
00:21:58.68\00:22:02.62
in there is through media.
Well, if you fill that area
00:22:02.82\00:22:06.99
with the bond of relationships
00:22:07.19\00:22:09.46
it's amazing. The love circuits
are wired right into that
00:22:09.66\00:22:13.70
so when you're having
positive relationships
00:22:13.90\00:22:16.23
it can actually
preempt the need...
00:22:16.43\00:22:20.14
Oh, we're going to talk about
this more in a future session,
00:22:20.34\00:22:22.60
number 11, episode 11
called The Lust Trap...
00:22:22.80\00:22:26.51
and how we can break
free from these addictions.
00:22:26.71\00:22:28.94
There is so much hope, and
the Bible promises us the hope.
00:22:29.14\00:22:33.31
It says: "Thanks be to God
who gives us the victory. "
00:22:33.72\00:22:36.65
And we can claim that victory
and walk in that victory.
00:22:36.85\00:22:38.82
More on that in a
bit. But you know, we live
00:22:39.02\00:22:40.96
now in big tech age.
00:22:41.16\00:22:43.73
You know video games
are a fairly old technology.
00:22:43.93\00:22:46.49
But today we have the problems
coming from many angles.
00:22:46.70\00:22:51.37
I want to share with
you a few different stories
00:22:51.57\00:22:53.54
from some people who
became whistleblowers
00:22:53.74\00:22:56.04
out of big tech
like the guy who invented
00:22:56.24\00:22:59.01
the Facebook like button.
00:22:59.21\00:23:02.04
Now a lot of people
kind of like the like button
00:23:02.24\00:23:04.78
because it kind of
democratizes things.
00:23:04.98\00:23:06.92
Somebody puts out some
horrific nasty trash on YouTube
00:23:07.12\00:23:10.85
and everybody down votes
it. And all right, great.
00:23:11.05\00:23:13.69
On the other hand, however,
"The like button. " he said,
00:23:14.52\00:23:17.66
"on Facebook did so much to
people's sense of self worth
00:23:17.86\00:23:21.53
and they were
seeking and craving likes. "
00:23:21.73\00:23:24.80
And people who by the way
crave likes on social media
00:23:25.00\00:23:28.27
are also more likely to be
harmed psychologically with
00:23:28.47\00:23:31.27
mental health and with
more social media exposure.
00:23:31.47\00:23:34.28
And so he says: "We were
just playing right into people's
00:23:34.48\00:23:36.71
insecurities with that.
" And he regrets making it.
00:23:36.91\00:23:39.18
There was another
guy who actually invented
00:23:39.38\00:23:41.48
the function on your device
where you pull to refresh.
00:23:41.68\00:23:44.35
And he came out and
it's like: "You know what?
00:23:44.75\00:23:46.76
This has become such an addic-
tive little compulsive behavior
00:23:46.96\00:23:50.63
people do. " And he
says: "The refresh rate
00:23:50.83\00:23:53.40
with the band width and the
signal, the data speeds we have
00:23:53.60\00:23:56.80
it's not even necessary to
sit there and physically pull it
00:23:57.00\00:23:59.50
down anymore. But
at that point at least
00:23:59.70\00:24:02.67
they kept doing it because
it's the compulsive behavior
00:24:02.87\00:24:06.04
like the lighting up and
smoking, like the pulling of the
00:24:06.24\00:24:09.11
slot machine or whatever
it might be that's the trigger
00:24:09.31\00:24:12.31
for an addiction. " And people
asked him in an interview:
00:24:12.51\00:24:14.98
"You know, you're pulling
down and then it comes up
00:24:15.18\00:24:17.42
and it's like ding,
ding, ding, ding, ding
00:24:17.62\00:24:18.95
and all of it lights
up. Is that meant to be like
00:24:19.12\00:24:20.99
a slot machine? " He's
like: "Yeah, that's pretty much
00:24:21.19\00:24:22.86
exactly what was
going on there. "
00:24:23.06\00:24:24.49
He also referred to
what's called variable rewards.
00:24:24.89\00:24:28.20
Something becomes especially
addictive when you don't know
00:24:28.40\00:24:31.23
if you're going
to get the reward.
00:24:31.43\00:24:32.93
If it's a guaranteed thing,
that's one type of addiction.
00:24:33.13\00:24:35.84
But variation in the rewards,
whether you're going to get it
00:24:36.04\00:24:38.84
or not, how much,
what's going to come in
00:24:39.04\00:24:41.04
that can captivate you
in a unique way just like
00:24:41.24\00:24:44.11
the casinos have
done for many decades.
00:24:44.31\00:24:46.88
Now you remember Sean Parker?
00:24:47.28\00:24:48.65
I've referred
to him a few times.
00:24:48.85\00:24:50.19
By the way,
you've gotta hear him say
00:24:50.25\00:24:52.15
"God only knows what it's doing
to our children's brains. "
00:24:52.35\00:24:54.92
You've gotta hear the other
executive from Facebook say
00:24:55.12\00:24:58.19
"We are ripping apart the
social fabric of the country.
00:24:58.39\00:25:00.80
We are destroying
how society works. "
00:25:01.00\00:25:03.00
It's one thing for me to quote
them and explain it to you.
00:25:03.20\00:25:06.10
But I want you to hear it from
them. If you type into YouTube
00:25:06.30\00:25:09.40
"The Media Mind, trailer 1"
00:25:09.60\00:25:13.04
"The Media Mind, trailer 2"
00:25:13.24\00:25:15.34
there's two videos
like 2-3 minutes long
00:25:15.54\00:25:18.28
some of it is interspersed
with me ranting about media
00:25:18.68\00:25:22.28
but I'm sending you to those
clips to listen to Sean Parker
00:25:22.48\00:25:25.99
and listen to the
other Facebook executive
00:25:26.19\00:25:28.22
in their interviews
saying these things.
00:25:28.42\00:25:30.19
It's critical to
understand that the very people
00:25:30.39\00:25:33.36
who were building these plat-
forms are coming out and saying
00:25:33.56\00:25:37.27
these things. "God only
knows what it's doing to our
00:25:37.47\00:25:40.14
children's brains. " Do you
want to hear another one from
00:25:40.34\00:25:41.97
Sean Parker? Here he
says about the dopamine,
00:25:42.17\00:25:44.87
he says... the inventors,
the creators of social media...
00:25:45.07\00:25:48.58
he says: "It's me, it's
Mark Zuckerberg, it's Kevin
00:25:48.78\00:25:51.71
Systrom on
Instagram. It's all these people
00:25:51.91\00:25:54.15
understood this,
understood this consciously,
00:25:54.35\00:25:57.85
and we did it anyway. " He says:
"We give them a little dopamine
00:25:58.05\00:26:00.89
hit... " That was
part of the interview.
00:26:01.09\00:26:02.89
"give them a little dopamine
hit just at the right time
00:26:03.09\00:26:05.56
to keep them on the platform
to keep them contributing more
00:26:05.76\00:26:08.86
content and that's
the business model. "
00:26:09.06\00:26:11.10
So he says: "We knew
exactly what we were doing
00:26:11.50\00:26:14.10
and we did it anyway. "
He's saying: "Shame on us. "
00:26:14.30\00:26:16.24
He's on an apology tour
just like the other guy who said
00:26:16.44\00:26:18.84
"We're ripping apart the
social fabric of society. "
00:26:19.04\00:26:21.34
Again, The Media Mind trailer
1; The Media Mind trailer 2.
00:26:21.74\00:26:25.55
You've gotta hear them say
that. That quote is on there
00:26:25.75\00:26:27.85
as well on the
little videos on YouTube.
00:26:28.05\00:26:30.59
So he admitted they knew
how they were going to overrule
00:26:30.79\00:26:34.49
your self-regulation; handicap
your ability to self-regulate
00:26:34.69\00:26:38.09
by getting those dopamine
receptors under the control
00:26:38.29\00:26:41.16
of big tech. Now
there was one guy also who
00:26:41.36\00:26:43.80
kind of got a
conscience if you will
00:26:44.00\00:26:46.74
about what he was
doing with people's time.
00:26:46.94\00:26:49.44
He had created a Smartphone
game called Flappy Bird.
00:26:49.64\00:26:53.14
And millions of people
were downloading it and getting
00:26:53.34\00:26:55.41
addicted to it. And he
looked at the analytics
00:26:55.61\00:26:58.08
and he was looking at how
many of people were wasting
00:26:58.28\00:27:00.22
millions of
hours of time on this.
00:27:00.42\00:27:01.88
And he felt terrible.
He couldn't sleep at night.
00:27:02.08\00:27:03.75
He was making tens of
thousands of dollars a day
00:27:03.95\00:27:06.09
but he pulled the game
from the app store and said:
00:27:06.29\00:27:08.96
"I can't do this anymore. "
00:27:09.16\00:27:10.49
And other people
made knock-off games
00:27:10.56\00:27:11.99
and walked away with the cash
00:27:12.19\00:27:13.53
but he walked away
with his integrity.
00:27:13.56\00:27:15.30
'Cause when you look at what
the research says even about
00:27:15.50\00:27:17.43
texting, the study of more
than 400 eighth and 11th graders
00:27:17.63\00:27:20.50
found that many teenage texters
00:27:20.70\00:27:23.07
had a lot in common
with compulsive gamblers
00:27:23.27\00:27:26.61
including losing
sleep because of texting,
00:27:26.81\00:27:29.84
problems
cutting back on texting,
00:27:30.05\00:27:32.45
and lying to cover up the amount
of time they spent texting.
00:27:32.65\00:27:35.18
So you name the
latest social media platform
00:27:35.38\00:27:38.29
and app whether it's Snapchat,
00:27:38.49\00:27:42.29
whether it's TikTok or whatever
00:27:42.49\00:27:45.13
the bottom line is in
2007 we picked up our phones
00:27:45.33\00:27:48.13
and said: "Cool! I'm
going to control this. "
00:27:48.33\00:27:49.93
And then fast-forward
a decade: it controls us.
00:27:50.13\00:27:53.17
It's as if it uses us.
But God wants to be used
00:27:53.97\00:27:56.60
by us and
technology to be used by us.
00:27:56.81\00:27:59.34