TED2019
Joseph Gordon-Levitt: How craving attention makes you less creative
Filmed:
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt has gotten more than his fair share of attention from his acting career. But as social media exploded over the past decade, he got addicted like the rest of us -- trying to gain followers and likes only to be left feeling inadequate and less creative. In a refreshingly honest talk, he explores how the attention-driven model of big tech companies impacts our creativity -- and shares a more powerful feeling than getting attention: paying attention.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Actor, filmmaker, entrepreneur
As an actor, filmmaker and founder of the online community HITRECORD, Joseph Gordon-Levitt seeks to inspire creativity through collaboration. Full bio
As an actor, filmmaker and founder of the online community HITRECORD, Joseph Gordon-Levitt seeks to inspire creativity through collaboration. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
First of all, thank you
for your attention.
for your attention.
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There's nothing quite like
being in a room full of people like this,
being in a room full of people like this,
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where all of you are giving
your attention to me.
your attention to me.
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It's a powerful feeling, to get attention.
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I'm an actor, so I'm a bit
of an expert on, well, nothing, really.
of an expert on, well, nothing, really.
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(Laughter)
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But I do know what it feels like
to get attention --
to get attention --
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I've been lucky in my life
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to get a lot more
than my fair share of attention.
than my fair share of attention.
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And I'm grateful for that,
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because like I said,
it's a powerful feeling.
it's a powerful feeling.
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But there's another powerful feeling
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that I've also been lucky
to experience a lot as an actor.
to experience a lot as an actor.
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And it's funny, it's sort of
the opposite feeling,
the opposite feeling,
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because it doesn't come
from getting attention.
from getting attention.
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It comes from paying attention.
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01:00
When I'm acting,
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I get so focused that I'm only
paying attention to one thing.
paying attention to one thing.
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Like when I'm on set
and we're about to shoot
and we're about to shoot
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and the first AD calls out "Rolling!"
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And then I hear "speed," "marker," "set,"
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and then the director calls "Action!"
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I've heard that sequence so many times,
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like, it's become this Pavlovian
magic spell for me.
magic spell for me.
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"Rolling," "speed," "marker,"
"set" and "action."
"set" and "action."
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Something happens to me,
I can't even help it.
I can't even help it.
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My attention ...
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narrows.
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And everything else in the world,
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anything else that might be bothering me
or might grab my attention,
or might grab my attention,
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it all goes away, and I'm just ... there.
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And that feeling, that is what I love,
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that, to me, is creativity.
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And that's the biggest reason
I'm so grateful that I get to be an actor.
I'm so grateful that I get to be an actor.
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So, there's these two powerful feelings.
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There's getting attention
and paying attention.
and paying attention.
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Of course, in the last decade or so,
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new technology has allowed
more and more people
more and more people
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to have this powerful feeling
of getting attention.
of getting attention.
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For any kind of creative
expression, not just acting.
expression, not just acting.
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It could be writing or photography
or drawing, music -- everything.
or drawing, music -- everything.
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The channels of distribution
have been democratized,
have been democratized,
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and that's a good thing.
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But I do think there's
an unintended consequence
an unintended consequence
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for anybody on the planet
with an urge to be creative --
with an urge to be creative --
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myself included,
because I'm not immune to this.
because I'm not immune to this.
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I think that our creativity
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is becoming more and more
of a means to an end --
of a means to an end --
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and that end is to get attention.
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And so I feel compelled to speak up
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because in my experience,
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the more I go after that powerful
feeling of paying attention,
feeling of paying attention,
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the happier I am.
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But the more I go after
the powerful feeling of getting attention,
the powerful feeling of getting attention,
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the unhappier I am.
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03:08
(One person claps)
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And -- thanks.
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(Laughter)
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03:13
(Applause)
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So this is something
that goes way back for me.
that goes way back for me.
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I think the first time I can remember
using my acting to get attention,
using my acting to get attention,
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I was eight years old at summer camp.
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And I'd been going on auditions
for about a year by then,
for about a year by then,
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and I'd been lucky to get some small parts
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in TV shows and commercials,
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and I bragged about it a lot,
that summer at camp.
that summer at camp.
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And at first, it worked.
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The other kids gave me
a bunch of extra attention,
a bunch of extra attention,
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because I had been on "Family Ties."
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That's a picture of me on "Family Ties."
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(Laughter)
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Then, the tide turned --
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I think I took it too far
with the bragging.
with the bragging.
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And then, the other kids
started to make fun of me.
started to make fun of me.
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I remember there was this one girl
I had a crush on, Rocky.
I had a crush on, Rocky.
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Her name was Rachel, she went by Rocky.
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And she was beautiful, and she could sing,
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and I was smitten with her,
and I was standing there, bragging.
and I was standing there, bragging.
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And she turned to me
and she called me a show-off.
and she called me a show-off.
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Which I 100 percent deserved.
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But you know, it still really hurt.
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And ever since that summer,
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I've had a certain hesitance
to seek attention for my acting.
to seek attention for my acting.
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Sometimes, people would ask me,
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"Wait a minute,
if you don't like the attention,
if you don't like the attention,
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then why are you an actor?"
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And I'd be like,
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"Because that's not what acting's about,
man, it's about the art."
man, it's about the art."
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And they'd be like, "OK, OK, dude."
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(Laughter)
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And then Twitter came out.
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And I got totally hooked on it,
just like everybody else,
just like everybody else,
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which made me into a complete hypocrite.
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Because at that point,
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I was absolutely using my acting
to get attention.
to get attention.
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I mean, what, did I think
I was just getting all these followers
I was just getting all these followers
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because of my brilliant tweets?
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I actually did think that -- I was like --
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(Laughter)
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"They don't just like me
because they saw me in 'Batman,'
because they saw me in 'Batman,'
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they like what I have to say,
I've got a way with words."
I've got a way with words."
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(Laughter)
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And then in no time at all,
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it started having an impact
on my dearly beloved creative process.
on my dearly beloved creative process.
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It still does.
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I try not to let it.
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But you know, I'd be sitting there,
like, reading a script.
like, reading a script.
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And instead of thinking,
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"How can I personally identify
with this character?"
with this character?"
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Or "How is the audience
going to relate to this story?"
going to relate to this story?"
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I'm like, "What are people going to say
about this movie on Twitter?"
about this movie on Twitter?"
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And "What will I say back
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that will be good and snarky enough
to get a lot of retweets,
to get a lot of retweets,
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but not too harsh,
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because people love to get offended,
and I don't want to get canceled?"
and I don't want to get canceled?"
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These are the thoughts that enter my mind
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when I'm supposed to be reading a script,
trying to be an artist.
trying to be an artist.
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And I'm not here to tell you
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that technology
is the enemy of creativity.
is the enemy of creativity.
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I don't think that.
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I think tech is just a tool.
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It has the potential to foster
unprecedented human creativity.
unprecedented human creativity.
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Like, I even started
an online community called HITRECORD,
an online community called HITRECORD,
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where people all over the world
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collaborate on all kinds
of creative projects,
of creative projects,
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so I don't think that social media
or smartphones or any technology
or smartphones or any technology
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is problematic in and of itself.
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But ...
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if we're going to talk
about the perils of creativity
about the perils of creativity
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becoming a means to get attention,
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then we have to talk about
the attention-driven business model
the attention-driven business model
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of today's big social media
companies, right?
companies, right?
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(Applause)
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This will be familiar territory
for some of you,
for some of you,
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but it's a really relevant question here:
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How does a social media platform
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like, for example, Instagram, make money?
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It's not selling
a photo-sharing service --
a photo-sharing service --
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that part's free.
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So what is it selling?
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It's selling attention.
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It's selling the attention
of its users to advertisers.
of its users to advertisers.
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And there's a lot of discussion right now
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about how much attention we're all giving
to things like Instagram,
to things like Instagram,
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but my question is:
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How is Instagram getting
so much attention?
so much attention?
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We get it for them.
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Anytime somebody posts on Instagram,
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they get a certain amount of attention
from their followers,
from their followers,
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whether they have a few followers
or a few million followers.
or a few million followers.
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And the more attention you're able to get,
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the more attention
Instagram is able to sell.
Instagram is able to sell.
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So it's in Instagram's interest
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for you to get as much
attention as possible.
attention as possible.
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And so it trains you
to want that attention,
to want that attention,
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to crave it, to feel stressed out
when you're not getting enough of it.
when you're not getting enough of it.
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Instagram gets its users addicted
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to the powerful feeling
of getting attention.
of getting attention.
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And I know we all joke, like,
"Oh my God, I'm so addicted to my phone,"
"Oh my God, I'm so addicted to my phone,"
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but this is a real addiction.
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There's a whole science to it.
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If you're curious, I recommend
the work of Jaron Lanier,
the work of Jaron Lanier,
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Tristan Harris, Nir Eyal.
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But here's what I can tell you.
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Being addicted to getting attention
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is just like being addicted
to anything else.
to anything else.
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It's never enough.
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You start out and you're thinking,
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"If only I had 1,000 followers,
that would feel amazing."
that would feel amazing."
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But then you're like, "Well,
once I get to 10,000 followers,"
once I get to 10,000 followers,"
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and, "Once I get to 100 --
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Once I get to a million followers,
then I'll feel amazing."
then I'll feel amazing."
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So I have 4.2 million
followers on Twitter --
followers on Twitter --
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it's never made me feel amazing.
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I'm not going to tell you
how many I have on Instagram,
how many I have on Instagram,
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because I feel genuine shame
about how low the number is,
about how low the number is,
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because I joined Instagram
after "Batman" came out.
after "Batman" came out.
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(Laughter)
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And I search other actors,
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and I see that their number
is higher than mine,
is higher than mine,
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and it makes me feel
terrible about myself.
terrible about myself.
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Because the follower count
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makes everybody feel terrible
about themselves.
about themselves.
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That feeling of inadequacy
is what drives you to post,
is what drives you to post,
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so you can get more attention,
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and then that attention that you get
is what these companies sell,
is what these companies sell,
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that's how they make their money.
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So there is no amount
of attention you can get
of attention you can get
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where you feel like you've arrived,
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and you're like, "Ah, I'm good now."
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And of course, there are a lot of actors
who are more famous than I am,
who are more famous than I am,
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have more followers than I do,
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but I bet you they would tell you
the same thing.
the same thing.
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If your creativity is driven
by a desire to get attention,
by a desire to get attention,
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you're never going to be
creatively fulfilled.
creatively fulfilled.
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But I do have some good news.
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There is this other powerful feeling.
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Something else you can do
with your attention
with your attention
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besides letting a giant tech company
control it and sell it.
control it and sell it.
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This is that feeling I was talking about,
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why I love acting so much --
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it's being able to pay attention
to just one thing.
to just one thing.
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Turns out there's actually
some science behind this too.
some science behind this too.
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Psychologists and neuroscientists --
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they study a phenomenon they call flow,
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which is this thing that happens
in the human brain
in the human brain
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when someone pays attention
to just one thing,
to just one thing,
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like something creative,
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and manages not to get distracted
by anything else.
by anything else.
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And some say the more regularly
you do this, the happier you'll be.
you do this, the happier you'll be.
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Now I'm not a psychologist
or a neuroscientist.
or a neuroscientist.
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But I can tell you,
for me, that is very true.
for me, that is very true.
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It's not always easy, it's hard.
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To really pay attention
like this takes practice,
like this takes practice,
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everybody does it their own way.
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But if there's one thing I can share
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that I think helps me focus
and really pay attention, it's this:
and really pay attention, it's this:
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I try not to see other creative
people as my competitors.
people as my competitors.
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I try to find collaborators.
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Like, if I'm acting in a scene,
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if I start seeing the other actors
as my competitors, and I'm like,
as my competitors, and I'm like,
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"God, they're going to get
more attention than I am,
more attention than I am,
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people are going to be talking
about their performance more than mine" --
about their performance more than mine" --
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I've lost my focus.
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And I'm probably
going to suck in that scene.
going to suck in that scene.
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But when I see the other actors
as collaborators,
as collaborators,
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then it becomes almost easy to focus,
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because I'm just paying attention to them.
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And I don't have to think
about what I'm doing --
about what I'm doing --
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I react to what they're doing,
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they react to what I'm doing,
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and we can kind of
keep each other in it together.
keep each other in it together.
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But I don't want you to think
it's only actors on a set
it's only actors on a set
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that can collaborate in this way.
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I could be in whatever
kind of creative situation.
kind of creative situation.
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It could be professional,
could be just for fun.
could be just for fun.
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I could be collaborating with people
I'm not even in the same room with.
I'm not even in the same room with.
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In fact, some of my favorite
things I've ever made,
things I've ever made,
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I made with people
that I never physically met.
that I never physically met.
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And by the way,
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this, to me, is the beauty
of the internet.
of the internet.
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If we could just stop
competing for attention,
competing for attention,
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then the internet becomes
a great place to find collaborators.
a great place to find collaborators.
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And once I'm collaborating
with other people,
with other people,
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whether they're on set,
or online, wherever,
or online, wherever,
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that makes it so much easier
for me to find that flow,
for me to find that flow,
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because we're all just paying attention
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to the one thing
that we're making together.
that we're making together.
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And I fell like I'm part
of something larger than myself,
of something larger than myself,
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and we all sort of shield each other
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from anything else that might
otherwise grab our attention,
otherwise grab our attention,
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and we can all just be there.
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At least that's what works for me.
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Sometimes.
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Sometimes -- it doesn't always work.
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Sometimes, I still totally get
wrapped up in that addictive cycle
wrapped up in that addictive cycle
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of wanting to get attention.
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I mean, like, even right now,
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can I honestly say there's not
some part of me here who's like,
some part of me here who's like,
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"Hey, everybody, look at me,
I'm giving a TED Talk!"
I'm giving a TED Talk!"
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(Laughter)
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There is -- there's, you know, some part.
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But I can also honestly say
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that this whole creative process
of writing and giving this talk,
of writing and giving this talk,
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it's been a huge opportunity
for me to focus
for me to focus
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and really pay attention to something
I care a lot about.
I care a lot about.
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So regardless of how much attention
I do or don't get as a result,
I do or don't get as a result,
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I'm happy I did it.
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And I'm grateful to all of you
for letting me.
for letting me.
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So thank you, that's it,
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you can give your attention
to someone else now.
to someone else now.
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Thanks again.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Actor, filmmaker, entrepreneurAs an actor, filmmaker and founder of the online community HITRECORD, Joseph Gordon-Levitt seeks to inspire creativity through collaboration.
Why you should listen
In Joseph Gordon-Levitt's own words: "I'm lucky. I found a creative outlet young. I started working as an actor when I was six years old. When I was 19, I quit acting to go to college. And a few years later (yes, I dropped out) when I tried to get back into it, nobody would give me a part. That really hurt.
"I realized my old creative outlet wouldn't work anymore, because it depended too much on other people. I had to be able to express myself on my own. And my personal metaphor for this was the REC button. 'HIT RECORD,' I'd say to myself. Push the button. Get started. Make something.
"What started as a private rallying cry became a humble website, which grew into a worldwide community of hundreds of thousands, an Emmy-winning production company, and now a new collaborative media platform. Irony is, today's HITRECORD is not about expressing yourself on your own. What we've found over the years is that the best way for many people to find their creative outlet is through collaborating with others."
Joseph Gordon-Levitt | Speaker | TED.com