Henry Williams notes that we live in a world that is saturated with a web of connected devices. Although the internet purports to keep us in closer contact, he adds, technology is actually pulling us apart, putting up barriers in social circles that keep us in our own separate digital worlds. Henry’s talk will argue that fundamentally, our technology status quo is manipulating our psychology, fracturing our culture, and making us-young people especially-profoundly unhappy. Despite this crisis, he says, there are reasons for optimism: that technology is becoming more "human," that the world of internet subcultures can nurture the lonely, and that we will someday be able to define healthy digital identities. If we are wise in our journey to the future, we can craft a world where we are brought together by our "black mirrors" more than we are torn apart. A 17-year-old senior from New York, Henry Williams is one of the editors-in-chief of Tower, the School newspaper; a co-president of the Model United Nations club, and is currently working on a senior thesis to analyze social patterns through machine learning. Henry will be attending Columbia University in the fall to study computer science, math and physics, and he hopes to help contribute to the field of artificial intelligence and social transformation through technology. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx