Viet Thanh Nguyen

I think it's pretty fast.

If we think about the development of the personal laptop, for example, what was that, the 1980s?

And then the iPhone was about 15 years ago.

In our own lifetime.

in the lifetime of our children, 15 years.

I remember the times before the iPhone.

I remember times before the cell phone.

I remember my first cell phone from 1997, okay?

The life has been completely transformed.

I'm someone who loves literature and language, and even I have been transformed by the iPhone.

I spend an inordinate amount of time reading things that are stupid on my iPhone.

I also spend time reading things that are good on my iPad.

But nevertheless, even someone like me who specializes in words has been shaped by this technology.

Who knows what a 12-year-old who has hardly ever read a book, how they will be impacted by this technology.

So in fact, I think this technological transformation, we've already seen the evidence that it's extremely rapid with the introduction of personal devices, and it's going to get a lot faster.

Well, it's hard to say.

I mean, the students I get at my university, which is USC, tend to be extremely well-prepared.

They've already been through a certain kind of educational system.

So I think they're at least a little bit aware of the dangers posed by technology, because I don't actually allow them to use laptops or phones in my classroom, and no one has ever protested.

You figure if these people are that addicted, they would protest.