Smartphones: It’s Time to Confront Our Global Addiction | Dr. Justin Romano | TEDxOmaha

We are entering a new pandemic of addiction that might be the most pervasive in human history – and it might surprise you to know that you are probably influenced by it. Follow Dr. Justin Romano as he reveals how smart phones are addictive, ticking dangerously in our pocket, calling to us, delivering on tap, 24 hours a day, adapting to our needs, hacking our addictive tendencies through computer code and creating dependencies. While we may not change our habits, at least we can be aware of them. Dr. Justin Romano is a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at Creighton University. His podcast Millennial Mental Health Channel is a platform to educate the people of all ages on mental health disorders and reduce the stigma around getting help for mental health. Discussing social issues such as cell phone addiction to general education on traditional psychiatric disorders such as depression and personality disorders. His aspirations include increasing access to mental health care in rural areas, advocating for mental health equity in state and federal legislatures, and rethinking traditional medical models to improve care and outcomes. Focus area: Medicine/psychiatry. Exploring the issues of social media and increasing usage of social media platforms by youth and young adults. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at