What’s your name? What’s your department?
My name is Varun Reddy and I’m a 3rd-year Computer Science major in the School of Engineering and Applied Science
What’s your hometown?
Ashburn, Virginia
How are you connected to TYDE?
I connected to TYDE through my undergraduate research assistantship working with Prof. Laura Barnes in the Sensing for Systems Health team at the Link Lab. Our team often collaborates with Prof. Bethany Teachman and the PACT lab on various projects.
What’s your research about?
I’m interested in exploring new ways humans can interact with computers, especially leveraging advancements in domains such as natural language processing and neuro-symbolic AI. My main focus is building interpretable, robust, and safe models to help experts tackle pressing and complex societal issues.
How do you use technology in your daily life?
I integrate digital technology into nearly every aspect of my daily life. From staying updated on current events, keeping in touch with friends and family, and even tracking my workouts and sleep, digital technology plays a vital role. It serves as a powerful tool that streamlines my lifestyle, enabling me to be more efficient, organized, and connected to the world around me.
In your opinion, what are the main challenges that young people face navigating the world of digital technology and/or social media?
Digital technology, particularly social media platforms, has the ability to capture vast amounts of user data, allowing for highly personalized content and experiences.
However, when this extensive personal data is paired with powerful machine learning recommendation systems—many of which have not been thoroughly tested for their psychological and cognitive impacts—it can lead to adverse effects.
These systems exploit the brain’s dopamine-driven response to new stimuli, often resulting in young people spending hours mindlessly scrolling. This not only affects their attention span but also has broader implications for their mental well-being. Due to this, finding a healthy balance with social media use is becoming increasingly difficult for young people, making it harder to break free from the constant pull of online engagement.
