By Uma Hiremath
INE TED Columnist
BOSTON–“If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled” says the Tao. In this light but thoughtful 13-minute TED talk, Joseph Gordon-Levitt meditates on how big business has structured social media so that we are addicted to looking to others for fulfillment.
The bittersweet charms of “being liked” or getting a thumbs up emoji on social media are here to stay; usage has rocketed from just about 5% in 2005 to 72% in the most recent 2019 Pew survey.
Gordon-Levitt should know; this 39-year old actor, filmmaker and founder of an online community has been getting our attention since he began his acting career at the age of 4.
In his musings on social media as an addiction for more and more attention, he gently slips in the idea that paying attention could lead to a more creative life than getting attention.
To watch Gordon-Levitt’s TED talk, please click here or on the image below:
