Participant Spotlight: Julius Olavarria

We are pleased to share an essay from SEUT Essay Challenge participant Julius Olavarria, a student at Lake Highland Preparatory School. In “Reelize Our Addiction,” Julius reflects on how algorithm-driven platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok impact our attention, relationships, and learning. Drawing on personal experience and the words of Edward O. Wilson, he calls for more awareness and action around the addictive nature of these technologies.

You can read Julius’s essay below.

I begin with a quote, attributed to the renowned sociologist Edward O. Wilson: “The real

problem of humanity is we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like

technology.” In any crises, he explains, “...we need to have a better understanding of human

nature, because the real problems we face — climate change, biodiversity loss, social and

economic inequality — are problems that cannot be understood or solved without a deep

understanding of humanity itself.”

For hundreds of years technology has rapidly improved. The problems that organizations

like SEUT fight are certainly not novel ones. Edward O. Wilson understood that technology-

when not carefully preserved, weeded, and regulated- could be the undoing of humanity, the

collapse of our precious human connection, and the downfall of the very thing that makes us

associative animals. When handling technology, it is this very humanity, Wilson proposes, that

underlies our weakness. But I argue that it is our very humanity- the bond we all share, our

innate extroversion that unites the human race- that can fight technology’s encroachment on our

natural lives. It is obvious we must come together to recognize this fact. And as a high school

student, I believe we must come together to recognize our painful addiction to an artificial

world: the single biggest challenge in our use of technology today.

A popular internet meme stuck with me years ago. The meme was in response to online

dating, in which users would carefully craft online personas to share with the world. If they were

lucky they found a date. Users would post videos showing the best parts of themselves, often to

large audiences, in hopes of finding a match. A popular response to these dating platform

connoisseurs was simple: “touch grass.” The entire meme, although humorous, was

demonstrative of a serious problem. It addresses one true issue with the online world: it

consumes our lives and controls the very thing that makes us human, distorting our reality into

crafted simulations. It’s unnatural, disconnected living.

But there’s hope. The first step to solving problems is recognizing that there is one. As a

high school student, social media is a big part of my life, and the lives of every student across the

globe. With my peers, I attended a camp months ago, without my phone, for two weeks in the

woods of Pennsylvania. To tell you this was the most freeing experience would be an

understatement. But putting away our phones was the hardest part.

Technology is powerful, and must be used with caution. But technology is an umbrella

term. In my opinion, the largest, frighteningly illustrative examples of our addiction are

applications like Instagram Reels and the algorithms that back them. Companies and their uses

of algorithms are based on user response, which increases engagement and company profits.

When TikTok was first banned by Congress around a year ago, Instagram Reels exploded in

popularity. Congress highlighted security concerns over control by a foreign adversary. But what

I think they were truly after were the algorithms, expressly designed to control and addict users

across the country.

We need to “reelize” our addiction. Schools across the country need to have talks with

their students about the dangers of Instagram Reels, TikTok, and other exploitative algorithms.

When Wilson mentions “god-like” technology, I think when applied today, means the almost

god-like ability to engage and distract users from our natural world. On a smaller scale, it means

the god-like ability to distract high schoolers from their homework, in-person social connection,

or essential learning.

From my experience with social media talks around the country, the primary focus seems

to be on data safety, warnings about corporate data theft, or cautions about inputting sensitive

information. Many mention online threats, manifesting in a simple “be careful what you post”

omen. But none comment on algorithms, Instagram Reels, or TikTok. None seem to highlight

our severe addiction crises.

A starting step is talking to students about this problem. Moving forward, government

activism can push the regulation of algorithms, push the protection of our future, and mitigate

unproductive online engagement. This may have its legal concerns. But I think with enough

support, we can jump those hurdles.

COVID-19 played a big part in our development. As an 8th grader during the pandemic, I

consider myself lucky. I say this in no way lightly: COVID-19 and online learning destroyed a

fundamental part of our lives, which translated to the youngest in our country.

I wrote about this in the past, the huge issues facing our youth and their learning during

quarantine. I heard of this problem, ironically, through TikTok, during the first couple of

months back to in-person learning. TikTok teacher (with the online handle @QBSkiiii) wrote: “I

teach 7th grade, they are still performing on the 4th-grade level. I don’t care how you flip it, turn

it, swing it, they are still performing on the 4th-grade level... why don’t yall know that your kids

are not performing on their grade level? These kids can’t read, they can’t do code, they have no

vocabulary, no background knowledge, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Millions of teachers corroborate this account, even from my school. These are just the

effects of applications designed to “hijack” your attention. Recognition, and then activism, is the

vaccine to take back our natural lives from addicting algorithms. Parents, high school students,

colleges, the government, and anyone in between have understood social media- in the

aggregate- is toxic. But they need to know algorithms, Instagram Reels, and TikTok are the true

adversaries.

I leave with Edward O. Wilson- his words will ring true for years to come- and serve as a

scathing premonition for the future of our world. We need to get “reel.” High school students,

parents, educators, and our broader communities need to address this issue and attack it with all

that we have, to secure our posterity and reclaim our humanity.